Keeping a fireplace is convenient because it can keep your house warm and cozy on colder days. Yet, there can be a lot of maintenance work involved in keeping a fireplace that burns with gas, wood, or fuel.
These fireplaces have a common problem with soot and dirt building up on the fireplace glass, making the glass black, unclean, and unappealing for the eyes. In this article, we will show you how to keep fireplace glass clean at all times.
Why Does Your Fireplace Glass Turn Black?
It is natural to notice some soot or cloudiness in your fireplace after using it for a while. Yet, your fireplace glass can turn black faster if the fire does not burn properly inside the fireplace. This can release tiny particles and soot that accumulate on the glass.
Gas and propane fireplaces
In the case of these fireplaces, the logs are placed precisely around the burner ports to ensure that the fuel burns as efficiently as possible. Yet, the burner can become blocked and clogged up after many uses; the log can also be shifted from its position over time, causing inefficiency in the burning process.
If these logs are out of place or the burner ports are clogged, an imbalance between the fuel and air may occur, resulting in soot buildup on the logs and the fireplace doors. This leads to the blackened glass problem you may want to resolve.
Wood-burning fireplace
In the case of wood-burning fireplaces, the soot problem is more common, for soot largely results from the process of burning wood. When you burn logs that have higher moisture or water content, more energy is squandered on the evaporating process rather than burning. This results in more smoke and soot deposits.
In a nutshell, if you burn wet wood or wood that is not properly seasoned for the burning purpose, chances are your fireplace glass will be easily blackened.
How To Keep Fireplace Glass Clean (Detailed Instructions)
You can keep your fireplace glass clean by preventing soot from accumulating on the fireplace glass.
Keep your gas or propane fireplace glass clean
The log position
Check that the logs inside your gas or propane fireplace are properly positioned according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Thus, ensure that the logs do not restrict the supply of air or fuel on your fireplace and prevent your fire from burning.
Do the cleaning
You should clean the soot that may have already accumulated on the logs and the burner ports. This soot can also end up on your fireplace glass after the combustion process.
The airflow
Since the ratio between air and fuel plays a vital role in how well the fire burns, ensure no obstacle prevents air from getting into your fireplace. Thus, air also has to move freely out of your fireplace for the best quality fire. To optimize the airflow, you should carefully check your air vent, air shutters, chimney, or flue.
Keep your wood-burning stove glass clean
Since a wood-burning stove is more likely to generate soot and have blackened glass, you should pay extra attention if you own a wood-burning stove.
Use dry wood
Wet wood can be difficult to burn, which can produce a lot of smoke, which leads to increased soot buildup. Firewood has to be dry enough for an efficient burning process. It should have a moisture content of roughly 20% or less. Wood that has been kiln-dried or seasoned is usually dry enough to use on a stove.
Yet, to make sure, you can always check the exact moisture level of your wood using a moisture meter.
Don’t let the fire smolder
If there is not enough air getting into the fire, the fire will not burn properly and produce soot that blackens your fireplace glass. Hence, it is critical to keep the air vents on a wood stove from being too tightly shut to prevent the fire from getting sufficient air.
Thus, make sure that the air vents on the wood stove are closed down just enough to allow the fire to burn through the wood effectively without the smoldering problem. If the vents are closed too tightly, the fire may smother and emit smoke, increasing the blackening of your glass door.
Wipe down the glass
You can use wet newspapers to wipe down the fireplace’s glass between uses. This is a helpful tip that keeps the glass clean constantly and gets rid of newly accumulated soot after each use.
Build fires towards the back of the stove
Since the depth of the woodstove is shallower than the multi-fuel stove, the soot that blackens the glass can gather more quickly. If the fire is burning too close to the glass door, the blackening process is only quickened.
Hence, you should build and maintain your fire towards the back of the firebox in your wood-burning stove. This tip can save you from the pain of constant cleaning.
Maintain a good airflow
You should ensure air flow inside the fireplace to prevent soot particles from accumulating on the glass door. If your stove comes with an air wash system, you will not have to worry about this. Otherwise, you can install a secondary air vent to provide more air down the glass.
How To Clean Fireplace Glass (After It Becomes Dirty)
If you want to handle a blackened fireplace glass, you can follow the tip below and clean it.
- Dip a slightly wet paper towel in coal ash at the bottom of the burner. The ash in the wet paper towel will help to remove soot and dirt on the glass more easily.
- Clean the glass in small circular motions across the pane.
- Allow the glass to dry completely before wiping away any remaining particles with a dry towel or a piece of newspaper.
- Scrape away with a blunt object to avoid scratching the glass.
Conclusion
By the end of this article, you must have acquired some essential tips on how to keep your fireplace glass clean. Follow our guide and remove all the blackened particles on your fireplace glass. You can thank us later!
