Many home maintenance activities could entail Shabbat prohibitions. Some of these are related to cleaning, while others involve the repair of damaged objects.

Sweeping a tiled or other finished floor surface on Shabbat is permitted, but it is prohibited to sweep an uncovered earthen floor. One should not wash the floor on Shabbat. However, if the floor becomes exceptionally dirty one may pour a small quantity of water on the dirt and wipe it away with a rubber squeegee, but not a mop.

It is permitted to wipe up liquids that spilled on any surface such as a table or the floor, on the condition that the action does not involve squeezing. One may place a cloth on the liquid to absorb it, without pressing or squeezing it.

It is permitted to remove dust from furniture with a dry cloth, but one may not use polishing products.

Cleaning a carpet or shaking it out on Shabbat is prohibited, but one may sweep it a little, in order to remove dirt or waste from it.

Any action that is similar to building a structure, whether outdoors or indoors, is prohibited on Shabbat. Adding to an existing structure is also prohibited. Therefore, it is prohibited to plug a small hole in the wall or to add cement or plaster to the wall.

It is also prohibited to dismantle anything one is forbidden to build. This prohibition applies by Torah law only when the destruction is of some benefit, for example, digging a hole in the ground in order to establish the foundations for future building, or drilling a hole in the wall to place a screw there.

Sticking a nail or a thumbtack to the wall, and likewise attaching a hook or rack, are prohibited on Shabbat. Nor should they be removed from their places on Shabbat.

The prohibition against building or dismantling applies to tools as well. For example, one may not fix a handle onto a hammer or attach a stick to a broom brush.

It is prohibited to disassemble objects, such as the door of a closet, and likewise one may not return them to their places if they fell off by themselves. Similarly, if a window or shutter has become detached from its place it is prohibited to return it to its normal location. One may not reaffix a door handle that has been dislodged, if the handle was connected to the door in a permanent manner. The handle itself, which has been detached from the door, is defined as muktze and may not be moved on Shabbat. Likewise, one may not oil a creaking door hinge on Shabbat.

It is permitted on Shabbat to use an item that is generally operated by screwing a piece onto another piece, such as the lid of a jar, the top of a salt shaker, and so on. One may also look through binoculars that are focused by turning dials. The common denominator of all of these actions is that this is the typical way they are used, and therefore the act of screwing or unscrewing, or tightening or loosening, does not constitute the performance of labor.