From brick downtown Portsmouth to the old mill towns inland, much of the Seacoast's housing is old. These homes need a gentle hand, and pre-1978 paint needs some real caution.
Portsmouth was settled in 1630, Dover in 1623, and Exeter and Hampton in 1638. So old houses are simply part of living here, whether a family has held one for generations or has just bought its first. They collect dust like any other house, but the materials under that dust behave differently.
This guide covers where the old housing is, what to know about paint and how to clean plaster, wood and old tile without wearing them out.
Census estimates put about 32.5 percent of Portsmouth's homes at 1939 or earlier, with about 26 percent in Dover, 23 percent in Exeter and 17.5 percent in Rochester. In Portsmouth, major fires in the early 1800s, including one in 1813 that destroyed 244 buildings, led to required brick construction with slate roofs in the downtown fire district. Strawbery Banke Museum preserves a nearly 10 acre area of historic houses known as Puddle Dock in the South End, and many houses saved from 1960s renewal in the North End now stand in the area called The Hill.
Elsewhere the history is about mills. Dover's Cocheco millyard, home of a textile company founded in 1827, closed in 1937 and is now the Cocheco Falls Millworks. Rochester grew as a woolen and shoe mill town on the Cocheco River, and East Rochester is a former mill village on the Salmon Falls River.
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. Paint in good shape is less of a concern than paint that is chipping or rubbing, as it does on window sashes, door jambs and stairs.
So the routine changes. Damp wipe old sills, stair treads and baseboards rather than dry dusting them. Use a vacuum with good filtration, and do not sand or scrape anything. A cleaner is not a lead abatement contractor, so if paint is flaking, or there are young children or a pregnant person at home, consider having the house tested. Tell any cleaner what you know before they start.
Old plaster scuffs and chips more easily than drywall, so wipe gently and leave cracks alone. Wide wood floors often have soft or thin finishes after many refinishings, and grit from winter boots can scratch them quickly. A barely damp mop and a good mat setup matter more than any product.
Hexagon tile and old grout are porous and easily stained, and strong acids or bleach can break them down. Test anything new in a hidden corner. Old brass and hand made hardware should stay in place, and it is usually better not to polish anything that has a finish you want to keep.
Dark marks in an old sink may be more than age. Portsmouth adds a phosphate sequestering chemical to reduce iron and manganese precipitation, and it reports 2025 manganese results up to 172 parts per billion against a 50 part per billion secondary standard. Exeter warns that tap water discoloration can occur and advises against doing laundry while it lasts, because clothes may stain.
On old porcelain, some of what looks like a stain may be worn glaze, which will never come clean. Mild products and patience are the right approach. Abrasive powders and steel wool can remove what is left of the shine, and once it is gone only a refinishing shop can bring it back.
Walk through with your cleaner, or leave a clear note, about anything fragile: unsealed wood, soft stone, loose window hardware, peeling paint, antique light fixtures. A One-Time Deep Clean or Initial Deep Clean is a good first step, since it reaches baseboards, window tracks and blinds that have more ledges in an old house. See the deep cleaning guide for what it covers. After that, regular gentle visits generally do less harm than occasional heavy scrubbing. If a musty smell or a recurring stain shows up, call a contractor, since mold and water damage are outside what a cleaner can address.
The questions Portsmouth homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Portsmouth 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.
