Pesach Cleaning according to Halacha

amother

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 5:25 pm

So I’m the organized type who likes to spring clean and Pesach clean from three months before Pesach with a perfect schedule.. this year with multiple things going on.. I didn’t start. Bh got little kids and I’m always exhausted. Please enlighten me on what’s needed to be done for Pesach without becoming paranoid. Thanks ladies

amother

Seashell

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 5:38 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Get the book Pesach Made Easy by Rabbi Tendler from Amazon. It says it shouldn’t take more than a couple hours.

amother

Ginger

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 6:00 pm

Make sure there's no chometz in your pantry or fridge or cabinets.
Wipe down any surfaces that will touch things that will then touch your counters (aka fridge, cabinets etc- you can cover them instead if that's easier for you)
vacuum and spray cleaner anywhere else there might be food.
Clean and kasher anything that needs kashering (mainly oven and stove) and cover actual food prep surfaces (counters etc).
Make sure there's no food in the toy boxes or pack em up, sell them and buy new ones.

amother

Vermilion

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 6:22 pm

Listen to shiur by rabbi Efrem Goldberg, Boca Raton synagogue. He’s doing a zoom / phone conference this week on hilchos Pesach. Or listen to his shiur from last year on YU Torah, clearly goes through halacha

ra_mom

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 8:41 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Pesach cleaning with joy, by Rav Scheinberg a"h
https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/13351

Goldie613

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 11:39 pm

Best advice I ever got about Pesach cleaning was from one of my teachers in seminary = dust is not chometz, and our children are not the korban Pesach!

In plain English - do what needs doing, but don't make the family nuts while doing it.

So, bare bare bones of what needs doing =

Fridge/freezer
Counters/sink
Someplace for non perishables to go (can be a cabinet, a set of shelves, a few cardboard boxes - whatever works)
Highchair/diaper bag - both tend to have cheerios/snacks hidden in them
Kids' schoolbags (for same reason as above)
Carseats/car - also for same reason as above
Coat pockets/pocketbooks (hunting for stray sucking candies, gum, etc)
Wash/cover/line table you will be eating on
Any area you eat on (will differ by household, but figure chairs, couch, recliner, maybe beds if you eat in the bedrooms)
Change toothbrushes, swap out toothpastes
Vacuum/wash floors
Lock up chametz pots/dishes, etc

I did not put the stove or oven on here because you can close up both and just buy electric burners to cook on

Many people will say toys, but in a pinch toys can stay off the table and kids' tea party/cooking sets can be put away for Pesach (just like mommy's!)

This may not be everything but it's probably most of the most important things.

amother

Babyblue

Mon, Mar 16 2020, 11:51 pm

For me, the main things to keep in mind are:

Around the house, crumbs are NOT a problem. Only large pieces of chometz that a sensible person (not a baby or a dog) might be tempted to eat if they came across them on Pesach; think bag of super snacks, cookie, pretzels.

In the kitchen/dining room, crumbs are an issue, because if they fall into your food on Pesach they will not be botul, however small they are, and can make your food chometzdik. So those areas need to be cleaned well, and/or crumbs should be nullified with an inedible cleaning agent.

A main reason for Pesach cleaning around the house is to make it easier for someone to do Bedikas Chometz; but it really is the responsibility of the one SEARCHING to ensure that there are no crackers or brownie bars in the drawers or toy boxes. The cleaning we do beforehand just makes the Bedikas Chometz easier.