Calistoga, from a cleaner's point of view
Heat shapes the work here more than anything else. From June to October the valley narrows, the air stops moving, temperatures sit in the high nineties for weeks, and every window opened at night to cool the house lets in a layer of road and vineyard dust by morning. Ceiling fans run constantly, which means blade tops need doing far more often than they would in a coastal town.
The housing itself is small and old. Cottages on Berry Street and Grant Street, built for spa workers and farm families, sit on flat lots with detached sheds and gravel parking. Many still heat with a wood stove in winter, and that ash finds its way into carpet and around the hearth. Newer construction exists near Fair Way and out toward the fairgrounds, but the baseline here is a two-bedroom house under 1,200 square feet.
The building stock here
Expect one story, raised floors, and rooms that were sized before anyone owned a sectional. Kitchens are small with original cabinets and often a freestanding range. Bathrooms are single, tiled to shoulder height, and the grout there does most of the work. Flooring runs to fir, painted board or later vinyl. A meaningful share of the town rents to visitors, so some interiors are furnished to a hotel standard inside a building that is ninety years old. The dry heat means dust rather than mildew.