A move-in guide for new Baltimore residents: reservoir water and what it does to fixtures, city and county bulk pickup, lead paperwork for older rentals and cleaning before the boxes come in.
Moving into a Baltimore home usually means moving into an old one. With about 41.5 percent of the city's homes built in 1939 or earlier, many new residents inherit plaster walls, decades-old cabinets and floors that several families have walked on. A clean start before unpacking is worth more here than in a new subdivision.
This guide covers the practical side of settling in: who supplies your water, how to get rid of what the last occupant left, the lead paperwork a renter should see, and how to clean an empty house the right way.
The City of Baltimore's Department of Public Works supplies drinking water to about 1.8 million people across the metro area through roughly 3,800 miles of mains. The water is collected in the Liberty, Loch Raven and Prettyboy reservoirs, and the Susquehanna River is used only in severe drought. The system reaches beyond the city line: DPW's water quality report lists main break contacts for Baltimore, Howard, Carroll and Harford counties as well as the city.
The water is moderate in hardness. DPW lab reports put the average at about 78 milligrams per liter from the Ashburton plant and about 110 from Montebello. Expect a little spotting on glass shower doors and chrome over time, nothing like the heavy scale of hard water regions.
A new home often comes with a broken chair in the basement or an old mattress in the back room. Cleaners do not move or remove furniture, so plan for the big items before the clean.
In Baltimore City, you can set out up to three bulk items per household on a set Saturday each month by booking through 311 at least four working days ahead. In Baltimore County, each single family home and townhome gets two scheduled bulk collections, up to three items each, and you do not need to call. County residents in Essex may also see the county's trash cart pilot program.
Maryland requires owners of rental homes built before 1978 to register with the state every year and to provide a valid lead inspection certificate at each tenant turnover, unless the home is certified lead-free. In Baltimore City, every non-owner-occupied rental also needs a city rental license, which requires a passing inspection and current lead certification for each unit.
Before you sign or move in, ask the landlord for the current lead certificate and the rental license. Once you are in, clean painted sills and trim by damp wiping, and report any chipping paint to the landlord instead of scraping it yourself.
An empty home is the only time every surface is reachable, so it is the moment for a Moving Clean. The Moving Clean covers everything in a One-Time Deep Clean, including hand washed baseboards, wet-wiped blinds, window tracks, ceiling fans, light fixtures and vents wiped in place and faucets detailed, plus inside the oven, refrigerator and kitchen and bathroom cabinets.
In an older Baltimore rowhouse, ask for attention to the stair run, radiator tops and the deep window sills where dust has settled for years. Point out anything fragile, such as an original light fixture or a marble threshold, before the work begins.
If you are new to Maryland, the cleaning year has a clear rhythm. University of Maryland Extension describes a long spring with pollen that coats windshields. Summers are humid, with July dew points at BWI around 63 to 68 degrees. In the fall, stink bugs and lady beetles look for a way indoors. Winter averages about 19.3 inches of snow and plenty of road salt. The seasonal calendar walks through each stretch, and a Recurring House Clean keeps the house on track once you are settled.
The questions Baltimore homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
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