How to clean a Victorian rowhouse, a Georgetown federal or a 1920s Arlington colonial without harming plaster, old wood, radiators or original tile, with the paint and pipe cautions older District homes need.
Few American cities hold as much old housing as Washington. Census estimates put 31.5 percent of District homes in buildings finished before 1940, and the city is ringed by historic districts: Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle and Georgetown inside the District, Old Town Alexandria and Lyon Village across the river.
Old homes are not harder to clean so much as easier to damage. This guide covers the materials that show up most often in local older homes and how to care for each one.
Beyond the 31.5 percent built before 1940, 69 percent of District homes were built before 1980. Rowhouses are prominent in the parts of the city developed after the Civil War, typically in Federal and late Victorian designs. The Capitol Hill Historic District, listed on the National Register in 1976, is one of the largest in the country, and most of its rowhouses date from the 19th century.
Dupont Circle's historic district, listed in 1978, is mostly rowhouses built before 1900 in Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. In Georgetown, the Old Georgetown Act of 1950 requires consultation with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts before changes to buildings. Homeowners there tend to treat original doors, trim and windows as something to keep, not replace.
Paint in homes built before 1978 may contain lead. Cleaners wipe painted trim, doors and walls with a damp cloth and vacuum dust, but never sand, scrape, dry-brush or strip old paint. If paint is chipping or peeling, it should be addressed by a certified renovator before routine cleaning around it.
DC Water notes that lead service lines were mostly installed before the mid-1950s, with some as late as 1977, and advises cleaning faucet aerators every three months as one step to reduce possible exposure. Look up your home's service line with DC Water if you have not already.
Plaster walls are hard but brittle, and old paint over them chalks easily. Dust walls with a soft, dry microfiber and spot clean marks gently rather than scrubbing. Picture rail, crown molding and the cap on tall baseboards collect a ridge of dust that a vacuum brush attachment lifts better than a cloth.
Window stools in thick masonry walls are deep and catch pollen and grit from old wooden sashes. Vacuum the sash channels before wiping, so the grit is not dragged across the paint.
Original floors in older rowhouses are often softwood like heart pine or narrow strip oak, refinished many times. Use a barely damp mop with a pH-neutral cleaner and dry it right away; standing water raises grain and finds its way into the gaps between boards. Never use steam mops on old wood.
Small hex and subway tile bathrooms are common in pre-war homes. Old grout is porous and often stained beyond what cleaning can lift; scrub gently with a neutral cleaner and avoid bleach on colored grout. Marble thresholds and vanity tops need stone-safe products, never vinegar.
Cast iron radiators hold dust deep between the fins, and the first heat of winter turns it into a burnt smell. Use a radiator brush or a long, thin vacuum attachment and wipe the top before heating season. Cleaners will not move radiators or open valves.
Rowhouse staircases with turned spindles and curved banisters are dust traps. Clean from the top floor down so dust settles onto floors not yet cleaned. In Arlington's Lyon Village, established in 1923 with more than 60 percent of homes showing Colonial Revival elements, and in Alexandria's Rosemont, built mostly from 1908 to 1914, the same care applies to center-hall stairs and built-in cabinets.
Older rowhouse basements tend to be the dampest room in the house, and University of Maryland Extension lists camel crickets as usually found in basements. Vacuum basement edges and corners, keep stored items off the floor and run a dehumidifier in summer. Visible mold or water damage needs a remediation specialist, not a cleaner.
Old wooden windows are also where Asian lady beetles gather on sunny fall days and where stink bugs slip in looking for shelter. A vacuum is the gentlest way to remove them from sills and frames.
The questions Washington DC homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
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