With 43 percent of city homes from 1939 or earlier, older house care is everyday life in Harrisburg. Learn how to treat old finishes gently, what to know about lead, and what to leave for a specialist.
Old houses reward careful and patient work, and they rarely forgive rushed work. Plaster, old wood and worn tile can look wonderful, but they dislike strong chemicals and too much water. Harrisburg has more of these homes than most cities, so knowing how to handle them is well worth it.
This guide looks at the local housing, at what to watch for, and at how to clean room by room without doing harm.
About 43 percent of Harrisburg's housing units were built in 1939 or earlier, and about 85 percent before 1980. Attached single family homes, including row houses, make up about 43 percent, and only about 14 percent of homes are detached. Allison Hill, described as the city's first suburb, has well built row houses along its main street.
The region shares this. About 40 percent of Carlisle's housing and about 49 percent of York's dates from 1939 or earlier. In Hershey, the worker homes that Milton S. Hershey built were built with electricity, indoor plumbing and central heating.
Six municipal historic districts in Harrisburg regulate exterior changes visible from a street, sidewalk or alley. Those rules do not affect interior cleaning, but they do mean you should check with the city before pressure washing or altering anything out front.
The EPA says homes built before 1978 are more likely to have lead based paint, and that settled lead dust can re-enter the air when a home is vacuumed or swept. In a city where 85 percent of homes predate 1980, this applies to most households.
Look at windows, door frames, porch rails and baseboards, where friction and age wear paint first. If paint is intact and well kept, normal gentle cleaning is usually fine. If it is chipping or dusting, stop and have it evaluated before anyone scrubs or sands. Harrisburg's Bureau of Codes health officer enforces state and local rules on lead paint hazards in homes.
Water deserves a look too. Capital Region Water says lead is not present in the water it delivers, but some older properties may still have it in customer-owned service lines, plumbing or fixtures. It publishes a service line map you can check.
Most damage in older homes comes from good intentions, too much water and too much product.
Annual humidity of about 66.7 percent keeps some older basements damp. Clear items off basement floors. If you see a musty smell or spreading stains, look for the source. Harrisburg's Bureau of Codes will check for leaks that cause mold in rental homes, though it does not handle the mold itself.
Low lying homes may also have flood history. The 1972 Agnes flood left some buildings under 13 feet of water. Old damage can show up as stains or crumbling plaster, which call for a contractor rather than a cleaner.
For regular upkeep, a Recurring House Clean is a good fit, with a One-Time Deep Clean to reach baseboards and tracks. Tell your cleaner about fragile finishes up front. TotalCare Cleaning does not provide mold or water damage remediation or lead hazard work.
The questions Harrisburg homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Harrisburg and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
