Fireplace Cleaning & Maintenance Made Easy

Having a nice, toasty fire lit will give your room an atmosphere like nothing else, but once your fire has gone out you are left with a lot of cleaning to do and even more maintenance on top of this. Regular cleaning and maintenance will ensure that your fireplace is in good condition and working well for many years, but these are tasks that nobody wants to do. To make your fireplace cleaning and maintenance as easy as possible, we’re going to list some of our best tips so that you needn’t spend more time than you need to keep your fireplace in check.

Fireplace Cleaning

Cleaning the ash

The best way to clean up ash is to use a wet and dry vacuum with a disposable bag as this will quickly get rid of the mess without allowing for dust to be spread around your room (and into your lungs). If you haven’t got one of these vacuums then don’t worry because you can still easily clean the ash. Once the ash is dry (you should leave it for at least two days after being lit), sprinkle it with damp tea or coffee grounds to keep the dust and stale smell from escaping and scoop the ash into a bin bag or bucket before discarding this in line with your local council’s recommendations.

Cleaning the glass doors

Removing soot from the glass door of a fireplace is one of the tasks that people most want to avoid, but it can actually be quite a simple job. Mix together a half-and-half solution of vinegar and warm water and pour into a spray bottle if you have one. Spray some of this onto a paper towel and dip this into the fireplace ashes. The ashes will make the paper towel abrasive enough to clean the glass doors easily. Once most of the ash has been cleaned off you can simply spray the glass doors with your solution and wipe over with a paper towel to finish the job.

Cleaning the rest of the fireplace

Before you start to clean the ash from the walls inside your fireplace, insert a bin bag that will catch any ash falling off. Soot and ash are very absorbent so will absorb any cleaning solution you are using quickly. To avoid this, spray the soot and ash with water before you start cleaning. Mix a solution of one part all-purpose cleaner to twenty parts water and scrub the walls using this and a brush. Once that is done, give the walls a quick rinse with water and a sponge to finish the job.

Avoid cleaning brick that is more than 50 years old with a solution as this may cause it to crumble away. Instead, lightly brush the ash away from the wall and collect it in the bin bag.

Fireplace Maintenance

Even after cleaning your fireplace, there’s still work to be done. After wood is burned, creosote is released and can build up on the inside of your chimney. Creosote is a very flammable substance and can pose a huge danger if you leave it to build up. To make sure your chimney is clean and safe, it is recommended that you have a professional chimney inspector and cleaner check out your fireplace and chimney at least once per year.

Outside hiring a chimney inspector, there is still some maintenance work that you can do yourself. This comes in the form of making sure your chimney and fireplace are working the best that they can when you use it.

Smoke shouldn’t be filling the inside of your home when you use the fire, so if this is the case then it is time to start checking your fireplace for issues. Make sure that there are no blockages in the chimney that are stopping the smoke being carried up and out of your home, check that your damper is open, and make sure that the wood you are burning is dry.

If you find that creosote is building up faster than it should, there may be a problem with the wood you are using. Wood that is high in moisture leads to more creosote being released so make sure you are using wood that has been properly dried. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to switch to a harder wood to reduce creosote and this may actually be more expensive to do.

Although fireplaces are a lot of work, they’re also a great thing to have to keep your house warm and to give your room a traditional touch. If you are looking to buy a fireplace, or upgrade your current one then look no further than us. Here at Real Flame, we can provide a whole range of fireplaces, including gas or electric wall mounted fires in London. For more information about the range of products or service that we can provide, contact us on 0207 731 5025 or visit our store.