When to look
When do I look for Chametz?Some people have the custom to start looking for Chametz right after Purim (a month before Pesach), and others begin almost the day before Pesach. Some even begin the day after Pesach, preparing for the next year!
Obviously, the right time depends on how much you expect to find, and how much time you have each day to look, and clean. If you only have one room, you'd have to be a fanatic to make the cleaning last a month. But I once saw somebody pointing out stains on a wall and saying that he'd better clean them off, just in case. Personally, I think that he would have needed a chisel, or that he had a very hungry dog with extremely strong teeth!
The actual halachic requirement is that all Chametz be searched for at dusk on the day before Pesach, and then anything left to be found is removed, burnt, destroyed, or annulled around the middle of the following morning.
No Chametz can be seen in your possession after that time, and anything found after then must be destroyed. Just pray that no helpful friends bring you a bottle of high-quality whiskey, because you will be obliged to pour it down the drain - and don't laugh, it happened to friends of mine in London. That's what I call devotion!
Notice: Jacobs World does NOTclaim to have any Halachic Authority, so if in doubt, don't do what we say - because we really are only joking!
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