Cleaning a Philadelphia Rowhome: Narrow Stairs, Old Floors and City Dust

If your rowhome faces a busy street, you have probably noticed a gray film on window sills, blinds and anything near the front windows. Traffic, construction and buses push fine dust into homes even with the windows closed. Wipe front sills and blinds with a damp microfiber cloth every week, and vacuum window tracks monthly.

Dust with a damp cloth instead of a feather duster, which only moves the particles around. A vacuum with a good filter also makes a difference in a city home.

Stairs are the backbone of a rowhome, and in a trinity they are often a steep, winding staircase. Dust and hair collect at the back of each tread and along both sides. Vacuum each step with a hand vacuum or crevice tool weekly, and wipe the handrail, which collects more grime than any other surface in the house.

On wood stairs, use a barely damp cloth with a wood-safe cleaner and dry it well, so the treads do not become slippery.

Many Philadelphia rowhomes have original pine or oak floors, sometimes uncovered during a renovation. Vacuum with a soft head, then clean with a barely damp microfiber mop and a pH-neutral wood cleaner. Steam mops and soaking wet mops can damage old boards.

Renovated homes and newer condos often have engineered wood, luxury vinyl plank or tile. These are tougher, but grit is still the enemy. Use mats at the front and back doors, and vacuum before you mop.

Plenty of older Philadelphia homes still heat with radiators. They hold dust between their fins, and when the heat comes on that dust gets carried through the room. Before the heating season starts, clean each radiator with a long radiator brush or a vacuum crevice tool, then wipe the outside. Repeat once or twice during winter.

Rowhome kitchens are often long and narrow, and many bathrooms sit on the second floor with a small window or none at all. In a compact kitchen, grease and splashes concentrate on a few surfaces, so wipe the stovetop and backsplash after cooking and clean the microwave and range hood filter regularly.

Philadelphia summers are humid, and a small bathroom with poor ventilation is where mildew shows up first. Run the fan during and after showers, crack the window when you can, squeegee tile or glass and scrub grout weekly.

Most rowhomes have a basement, often with the laundry, the water heater and storage. Older stone or brick basements can be damp in summer. Keep a dehumidifier running, store items in plastic bins rather than cardboard and off the floor, and sweep and dust the basement every couple of months so dust and cobwebs do not travel upstairs.

High-rise and mid-rise condos are a different story. Many have large windows, open kitchens and in-unit laundry, with building rules about elevator use and service hours. Dust settles on window ledges and electronics, kitchens get heavy daily use and bathrooms are often interior, with no window. A weekly or every-other-week cleaning that covers the kitchen, bathrooms and floors, plus regular dusting, keeps a condo in good shape.

If you are moving in or out of a rental or condo, a deep cleaning that covers inside cabinets, appliances, closets, baseboards and fixtures makes the walk-through much easier.

The front stoop is part of the Philadelphia rowhome experience, and whatever collects on it gets tracked inside. Sweep the steps and the area by the door weekly, and keep a sturdy mat outside and a washable one inside. On trash and recycling day, rinse bins occasionally so odors do not drift into the kitchen or the back of the house.

Rowhomes are narrow, so every room does double duty and clutter shows quickly. A ten-minute reset each evening (dishes, mail, shoes, clothes) keeps surfaces clear. Wall hooks and closed bins on stair landings or under beds keep things off the floor, which makes vacuuming and mopping much faster.

If you share the house with roommates, agree on a simple weekly split of the kitchen, the bathroom and the common areas, or have a cleaning service handle those shared spaces so nobody is keeping score.

S&A House Cleaning is based in Delran, New Jersey, just across the Delaware River via the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, and has more than four years of experience cleaning houses, apartments, condos and offices. We clean rowhomes, trinities and condos in Philadelphia. For details, see our house cleaning in Philadelphia page, or call or text (856) 258-0638 to request a quote.