Pesach Cleaning Guide - 5784

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

KITCHEN

DINING AREA

SINK COUNTERTOPS

COOKINGAPPLIANCES

FOODSTORAGE

TABLETOP

TABLECLOTHS

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE

FLOORS

CLOTHESCLOSETS

STORAGE AREAS

PERSONAL ITEMS

CLOTHING,BLANKETS, ANDBEDDING PANTSANDCOAT POCKETS BOOKS TOYS CAR DENTURES

Compiled by: Refael Bassel

Former Researcher - Emor Mapping Project

Edited by: Rabbi Eli Ozarowski

Researcher – Emor Mapping Project

English and Hebrew Divisions

INTRODUCTION

No leaven shall be found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats what is leavened, that person—whether a stranger or a citizen of the country—shall be cut off from the community of Israel.

OnPesach,itisforbiddentoownanychametz(leavened productofthefivegrains),andonemustremoveall chametzfromone’spossession. Forthisreason,manypeoplespendcountlesshours cleaningforPesach. Whileitiscertainlyadmirabletoinvestsignificanttimein fulfillingthemitzvaofriddingone’shouseofchametz, oneneednottransformtheprocessinto“Spring cleaning.”

תצמחמ לכא־לכ ׀יכ םכיתבב אצמי אל ראש םימי תעבש ׃ץראה חרזאבו רגב לארשי תדעמ אוהה שפנה התרכנו

Moreover,sometimespeoplespendsomuchenergy cleaningthattheycannotcelebratethePesachSeder properly. Intruth,theobligatoryPesachcleaning(cleaningonlyto removechametz)canbedonewithinacoupleofdays, dependingonthesizeofone’shouseandfamily. Thegeneralprincipleisthatonemustcheckanyroom intowhichoneoccasionallybringschametz.

ItisimportanttonotethatthelanguageoftheSagesisto check(livdok),nottoclean(lenakot).

Checkingmeanstosearchforpiecesofpotentiallyedible chametz;dust,dirt,andinediblecrumbsarenotchametz. Thatbeingsaid,ithasbecomethewidespreadcustomto doageneralcleaningbeforetheofficialchecking (bedika). Onewhowishestocleanmorethanisrequirediscertainly allowed.

Still,onemustensurethatthisdoesnotcomeatthecost ofenjoyingthePesachholiday,performingtheSeder properly,andourrelationshipwithourfamilies. Below,wewillprovidesomeoftheadviceof contemporaryposkim(halakhicdecisors)tomake Pesachpreparationalessstressfulexperiencewithout goingtoodeeplyintothesourcesorintricatehalakhic arguments.

Itshouldalsobenotedthatincasesofgreatneed,such aswiththosewhoareveryill,theremayberoomfor additionalleniencyinhowmuchcleaningisnecessary. Insuchcases,anOrthodoxrabbishouldbeconsulted.

KITCHEN & FOOD PREPARATION AREAS

SINK

Sinksmadeofceramicorporcelaincannotbekashered. Instead,onemustcleanthesinkwellwithacleaningsolution andcoveritwithaninsertorracks.

Sinksofstainlesssteelcanbekasheredasfollows:Wait twenty-fourhoursfromthelasttimehotchametzwasusedin thesink.Then,pourwaterheatedtoarollingboiloverthe entiresurface(makingsurenottoburnoneselfintheprocess).

Forfurtherdetails,see and Cleananddetachanyfiltersornozzles. Then,pourboilingwateroverthefaucet.

FAUCETS

STONE & STAINLESS STEAL COUNTERTOPS

Ifhotchametzwasindirectcontactwiththematanypoint, cleanthemwellwithacleaningsolution,waittwenty-four hoursfromthelasttimetheywereincontactwithhotchametz, andpourboilingwateroverthem.

Alternatively,theycanbefullycoveredsothatnothingkosher forPesachcomesincontactwiththecountertop.

Manyhavethecustomtobothpourboilingwaterandcover.

Formoreinformationontheseandothertypesofcountertops, see

GAS BURNERS / STOVETOP

Foragasstovetop,cleantheareawellwithacleaning solution. Turnontheburnerstothehighestflameforabout10minutes andcovertherestofthesurfaceareawithaluminumfoil.

ThestovetopgratescaneitherbereplacedforPesach, kasheredbyplacingtheminanovenat550degrees Fahrenheit(approximately280degreesCelsius)foronehour, orleftastheyareandavoideatinganythingthatcomesinto contactwiththem.

AccordingtoRavOvadiaYosef,Sephardimmaykasherby placingthegratesinboilingwater.

Foranelectricstovetop,cleanthestovetopsurfacewelland coverwithfoil.Thenturnontheburnersuntiltheyglowred.

Foraglassstovetop,cleanthesurfaceareawellanddonot usefor24hours.Placeanaluminumdiskontopofthestove, anduseallpotsforcookingontopofthedisk.

OVEN

Forself-cleanovens,removeanyvisiblefoodandrunthe completeself-cleancyclewiththeovenracksinsidetheoven (note:theycansometimesbecomediscoloredfromselfcleaning).

Forovensthatdonothaveaself-cleancycle(orifoneprefers nottousetheself-cleancycle),useovencleanertocleanall surfacesthoroughly.

Wait24hoursafterthelastchametzuse(accordingtoRav OvadiaYosef,thereisnorequirementtowait)andturnthe ovenontoitshighesttemperaturewiththeracksinsideforone hour.

SomeAshkenazimcoverglassovendoorswithaluminumfoil.

Oneshouldnotuseovenpans,astheyrequirethehighesttype ofkashering(suchasaself-cleancycle),whichwillgenerally destroythepan.SpecialpanspurchasedforPesachshouldbe usedinstead.

IfoneisnotusingtheovenonPesach,inspecttheovento ensurethereisnochametzfittingforadog’sconsumptionand closethedoorwithtape.

MICROWAVE

Cleanwellwithacleaningsolution,anddonotusefortwentyfourhours.(Theregularglasstrayshouldberemovedand replacedwithasurfacethatiskosherforPesach).

Fillacupwithwaterandmicrowaveonhighfortenminutes. Thenrepeattheprocedureinadifferentspot.Coverthe interiorglasswindow. Itisrecommendedtousesealedorcoveredcontainersover Pesach.However,theydonotneedtobeairtight.

FRIDGE / FREEZER

Removeallfooditemsandwipedownwithaspongeand cleaningsolution.Somecustomarilycovertheshelves.

Whileonemustcleanthefridge,itshouldbeamanageable amountofworkifitwasalreadyrelativelycleanbeforehand. Thefreezershouldbethawedandcleaned.

Onlyparticularlyexpensivechametz,suchascertainvaluable frozenitems,shouldbeleftinone’sfridgeorfreezerover Pesach.

Anysuchitemsmustbewrappedinseverallayers,clearly labeled“chametz,”separatedfromthePesachfoodsbya partition,andincludedinthesaleofchametz.

ELECTRIC HOTPLATE

Cleanwellwithacleaningsolution.Waittwenty-fourhours fromthelastusewithchametzandturnitonforanhour.

Coverwithaluminumfoilwhileconsideringsafetyconcerns andnotcoveringtoothickly.

SometrytopurchaseahotplatetobeusedonlyonPesach.

FOOD PANTRY/CABINETS

IfonedoesnotplantousethecabinetsonPesach,theycan becheckedforediblechametzandthenclosedoff.

IfoneintendstousethecabinetsonPesach,firstremoveall thefooditemsandthencleanthecabinetwithaspongeand cleaningsolution.

Ensurethatthecleaningsolutionpenetratesallareasofthe cabinetandcomesincontactwithallpotentialcrumbs.

Somepeoplelinetheircabinetswithcontactpaperorsimilar materialbeforeplacingtheirPesachitemsinside.

POTS, PANS, AND SILVERWEAR

AnyitemsthatwillnotbeusedonPesachshouldbestoredin aclosedareaandmarkedasnotforPesachuse.

Iftheutensilsmaycontainchametz,theyshouldbeincluded inthesaleofchametz.

Manypeoplehaveseparatesetsofdishesandsilverwarefor Pesachuse.Ifonewishestousechametzutensilsinstead,they mustbekashered.

Guidelines for kashering can be found (one may also need to consult a local orthodox rabbinic authority).

DISH TOWELS

IfonedoesnothavespecialdishtowelsforPesach,onemay laundertheregulardishtowelsandinspectthemtoensureno foodremainsonthem.

DINING AREA

TABLETOPS

Cleanwithacleaningsolutionandcoverwithatleast onelayer.

Asaprecaution,itisrecommendedtocoverwithtwo layers,oneofwhichshouldbemadeofwater-resistant material,likeplastic.

TABLECLOTHS

Strictlyspeaking,itissufficienttolaunderthembefore Pesach.

However,manyusespecialPesachtablecloths.

Onemayironthesewiththesameironusedduringthe restoftheyear.

CLEANING & MAINTENANCE

FLOORS

Sincemodernhomesdonothavedirtfloorswithdeep cracks,itisenoughtosweepandwashthemwithany kindofcleaningsolution.

Iftherearecracksintheflooring,thereisnoneedto checkthemaslongasthecleaningsolutionpenetrates thecracks.

STORAGE AREAS

CLOTHES CLOSETS

Ifthereisachanceoffindingchametz,checkforpiecesof chametz,suchascrackersorCheerios.

Ifonewillmostlikelynotfindchametz,onedoesnothave tocleanthecloset.

Thesameappliestoattics,garages,shelves,etc.

PERSONAL ITEMS

CLOTHING, BLANKETS, & BEDDING

OneshouldlaunderallbeddingbeforePesach.

PANTS & COAT POCKETS

Ifonedoesnotputchametzinone’spockets,thereisnoneed tocheckthem.

Ifchametzisoccasionallyplacedintopockets,oneshould checkeachpocketforpiecesofediblechametz.

IffoodmaybeplacedthereonPesach(particularlyrelevantto children),oneshouldlaunderthegarmentorensurethefood iscoveredsomehow.

BOOKS

Books frequently placed on the table with food, such as bentchers and siddurim, should be stored with the chametz utensils and included in the sale of chametz.

Other books that are not frequently placed on the table with food do not need to be checked, but one should not place them on the table while eating or next to food.

If the book has been checked for chametz, one may bring it to the table.

TOYS

If there may be edible chametz on or with them, they must be cleaned and the chametz removed.

If the chametz cannot be removed, one may render it inedible using a cleaning solution.

There is no need to scrape off the toys.

According to the opinion of Rav Ovadia Yosef, there is no need to clean toys for small crumbs or chametz stuck on them (if they are less than the size of a kezayit, which is approximately 26 grams).

Nevertheless, the toys should not be brought to the table on Pesach lest the crumbs fall off onto food.

CAR

Ifonesometimesbringschametzintothecar,onemust alsocleanthecar.

Itmaybeeasiesttobringittoacarwashthatwilldoa thoroughjob,butonecanalsovacuumallsurfacesthat maycontaincrumbsandwipethemwithsomeformof compatiblecleaningsolutionthatwillrenderanypieces ofchametzinedible.

DENTURES

Denturesshouldbecleanedwellsotheyarefreeofchametz.

Itisalsoadvisabletopourboilingwaterheatedinakettleor thelikeoverthem.