Woodstove Glass Cleaning Tip

[JimGNR]

Not LR related but I am guessing more than a few of you will have a woodburning stove at home.

I have just bought a new one with 'cleanburn' technology and 'Airwash' to keep the glass door clean. It does a fantastic job of heating and admittedly there is very little smoke visible from the chimney when running it and the glass keeps clean when running it hot.

But, shut it down a bit and the glass gets dirty, not completey blacked out but quite black. It will burn off to a degree if you get it running really hot but I was trying different ways to clean the glass.

I have tried proper stove glass cleaner, oven cleaner, t-cut etc but nothing really works.

I searched the web and found a tip from an american forum, dip a wet rag in cold wood ash and rub the glass, it works a treat. I now make a paste out of water and woodash, apply it to the glass, put the kettle on and then wipe it off effortlessly, light the fire and have a cup of tea!! So much easier than scrubbing, not sure if it's the slight abrasiveness of the ash or some chemical reaction from the ash but it does work.

The trouble is you obviously have to have a cold stove to do it, I did used to keep the stove going 24hrs but not let it burn out over night, as letting it burn slowly contributed towards the blackened glass.

I call it glass, according to the manual it is not glass but a form of transparent ceramic!! Is that not what glass is anyway?

 

[mmgemini]

I searched the web and found a tip from an american forum, dip a wet rag in cold wood ash and rub the glass, it works a treat. I now make a paste out of water and woodash, apply it to the glass, put the kettle on and then wipe it off effortlessly, light the fire and have a cup of tea!! So much easier than scrubbing, not sure if it's the slight abrasiveness of the ash or some chemical reaction from the ash but it does work.

Makes good toothpaste as well I'm told.

Actually I'll try that on my Parkray coal burner. Coal ash of course. Well smokeless coal

 

[Watto]

another real easy way is to take a scraper like the ones used for getting paint off glass and scrape. As long as the blade is sharpe it's clean in 3 seconds flat.

 

[TBM]

brown sauce. works a treat (honestly!)

 

[BigJim]

A danger with the wood ash is that if there is any grit in it you will scratch the glass.
Our stove is 10 yrs old and the glass is as good as new. I use mr Muscle oven cleaner.
When door is cold (you can leave it open for a while to cool if you keep the fire lit all the time) wipe the glass with a wet rag, remove what comes off easily, rinse rag. Squirt a bit of MrM on he rag, and wipe again, this will remove all the softer soot. Then spray Mr M onto the thick black bits, and leave for a few mins. Wipe again, if it all hasn't come off, treat the black bits again.

I do it once or twice a week depending what we have been burning.

If the glass is really sooting up, I leave the front door just cracked open 1cm.

BTW, I burn mostly logs, if you burn sooty coal you will have to clean daily.

 

[adrianandkate]

I'm a member of the scraping club - and not very often at that. Expecially this year, we haven't lit it yet, there again I haven't acquired much wood this year either. Adrian

 

[BigJim]

I'm a member of the scraping club - and not very often at that. Expecially this year, we haven't lit it yet, there again I haven't acquired much wood this year either. Adrian

Change your ways!!
I went round to a 'scrapers' house, glass was like it was frosted, couldn't see through it, just that there was a fire, and that is not good if you can't see at a glance how well it is burning or if it needs more fuel.

 

[Watto]

what were they scraping with?

I have scraped for years and mine is crystal. I got given the tip by the owner of the shop I bought the stove from, that was after he tried to sell me the cream and at tenner a go!!

 

[adrianandkate]

Change your ways!!
I went round to a 'scrapers' house, glass was like it was frosted, couldn't see through it, just that there was a fire, and that is not good if you can't see at a glance how well it is burning or if it needs more fuel.

Great - I owe you a wee malt, Big Jim. You've inspired Adrian to go and clean the doors off just to prove to himself that they are clean and unscratched Just let's hope he doesn't insist on taking a photo before I have posted this. Kate

 

[BigJim]

Great - I owe you a wee malt, Big Jim. You've inspired Adrian to go and clean the doors off just to prove to himself that they are clean and unscratched Just let's hope he doesn't insist on taking a photo before I have posted this. Kate

Is he scraping them
Give oven cleaner a go, it is real easy, I do it first thing in the morning as i drink my first coffee.

 

[JimGNR]

I just tried brown sauce before I lit the stove, no good for me so had to revert back to the wet woodash.

I have tried oven cleaner in the past, awful stuff to use, chokes you and not very effectivge. (In my opinion!)

 

[Gripper]

I have the ultimate answer, a woodburner with no window Not quite as pretty but much easier.

It's a lovely thing but her outdoors insists on running it flat chat all the time. I can hardly keep up on the logs and it scorches the paint at the far end of the room

 

[Mike_Hammond]

If your burning well seasoned logs and it's sooting up the glass it's not running hot enough, I always leave my logs out for at least 12 months and keep it drawing enough to keep it good and hot, I haven't cleaned my glass for 5 yrs and not had to clean the chimney either.

What you really have to watch is softwoods, if you burn them too fresh and too slowly they will tar up your chimney pretty damn quickly and tar burns really well when it catches, so beware !!! always burn them as hot as you can to burn off the tar and keep your chimney clear.

Mike

 

[BigJim]

I just tried brown sauce before I lit the stove, no good for me so had to revert back to the wet woodash.

I have tried oven cleaner in the past, awful stuff to use, chokes you and not very effectivge. (In my opinion!)

I use mr Muscle, it creates a white foam, I find it easy to use, and doesn't choke me.

But see my post above, don't just spray tons of it everywhere.

 

[BigJim]

Great - I owe you a wee malt, Big Jim. You've inspired Adrian to go and clean the doors off just to prove to himself that they are clean and unscratched Just let's hope he doesn't insist on taking a photo before I have posted this. Kate

Kate, I am in suspense as to how Adrian got on cleaning the stove, seems he doesnt usually do it???

I cleaned mine this morning.

Pic 1, before
Wipe with damp rag.
Qucik (1 sec only) squirt of Mr M onto clean side of damp rag, wipe all over, result pic 2
Squirt foam onto black places, you will see that I have spread it to cover all the black, if you go on squirting to cover it all you end up with foam everywhere pic 3
Go to kitchen rinse most of the black out of the rag, come back, wipe off foam and black, rinse rag again and wioe
Pic 4 - clean.
Took just over 5 mins including taking pics.

 

[adrianandkate]

Hi Big Jim
Credit where due, he does usually do it, just not very often ie I don't do it at all

Not my department, fires seem to be such a man thing don't they??

He did take a pic last night but I'd already posted so I'll try and get round to downloading and posting pix tomorrow.

Have to say your last pic looked pretty good. But was that a special clean for our benefit????? Kate

 

[redhand]

I call it glass, according to the manual it is not glass but a form of transparent ceramic!! Is that not what glass is anyway?

In the same way that copper and titanium are metals yes. If you do a search on Wikipedia there is a very good article on ceramics there structure and uses.

 

[BigJim]

Hi Big Jim
Credit where due, he does usually do it, just not very often ie I don't do it at all

Not my department, fires seem to be such a man thing don't they??

He did take a pic last night but I'd already posted so I'll try and get round to downloading and posting pix tomorrow.

Have to say your last pic looked pretty good. But was that a special clean for our benefit????? Kate

That was my regular clean, always comes up like that. If it is very bad, sometimes the black won't come off after one soaking as in pic 3, needs another go, but you can tell if its 'done' cos you can poke it while looking at the front of the glass and see if the black moves or is still solid on the inside of the glass, so then you leave the foam on a bit longer, or move it all onto the stuck bit.

 

[redhand]

WOOD ASH IS CAUSTIC in its native state. WET OR MOISTENED ASH CAN BURN THE SKIN. IT IS ESPECIALLY CAUSTIC TO DELICATE MEMBRANES OF THE MOUTH; INNER CHEEK AREA, TONGUE AND GUMS INCLUSIVE. Any ash MUST FIRST BE WASHED MANY TIMES OVER WITH HOT WATER, in order to remove the natural occurring alkali of wood ash [Potash]. It is this ALKALINE component which renders wood ash caustic, and it is the process of washing the ash with water many times over, which renders the ash ,as safe SPENT ASH.

With the above precautions in mind, it is important to wear protective hand-gear, such as surgical gloves when handling wood ash, in case of a reaction due to sensitive skin. Getting dry or wet wood ash on the hands or other exposed skin areas can cause dermatitis for individuals with sensitive skin. So please, handle ash with due respect and with care!

I was trying to remember why using wood ash and water was ringing alarm bells. So did a web search. found this I think the problem is more if you leave the ash soaking in water. But I do know that the LYE that is produced is caustic but when mixed with animal fat produces soap.

 

[adrianandkate]

Here you go Big Jim, as promised

Not as pretty and glistening as yours, but not too bad. Yes, I know he needs to clean out the inside as well...

Trouble is when he has his coffee in the morning, he's too busy taking down the dry washing, hanging out the new washing, washing up the dishes, making coffee for me, making my breakfast, trying to look at this forum before I get in front of it and he's hot-desked out of it, opening up the chickens and feeding them, feeding the dog....I don't really want to natter about the fire too much to be honest, if you see where I'm coming from.....

Like the quarry tiles and the cat in the fireplace, brill fender. Kate
PS Did you ever meet a guy called Archie in India, used to work for Fisons, geochemist (?) from Glasgow, lived in Newcastle now for many years? Bit older than you though!

The toerag has just told me now that he has only cleaned one pane out of four, solely for the photo. I wondered why he was so fast. You need to do a bit more naming and shaming for me!