Whether it’s gas, wood-burning or wall mounted fireplace, everyone loves a warm fire in the cold months of winter. Most of these fireplaces come with glass doors instead of the gliding metal screens that are found on most old fashioned fireplaces. Glass enclosures are eye-catching and serve several purposes. They keep all the smoke, sparks and from escaping the fireplace while stopping cold air from entering the room or warm air going up the chimney.

Also Read: Installation Cost of Wall Mounted Fireplace

Tips To Clean Fireplace Glass Safely

If you have just installed a gas or wood-burning, wall mounted fireplace, be it an in-built or insert fireplace, it comes with much responsibility. To keep your fireplace functioning properly as a safety feature of your home, proper cleaning and maintenance should be prioritized.

Thorough cleaning is necessary to deal with the harmful soot and dirt that built ups on the glass doors over time. One way to minimize the soot is to make sure you have a very hot burn, which often does a great task of ‘burning off’ the residue, however as the fire cools, it can return. Your glass will naturally, get bi-product residue, like creosote, tar, and resins on it from the wood burning process.

With countless products on the market, heavily laden with chemicals choosing the right cleaning product for a glass fireplace can be quite challenging. However, there are a few basic home-made items that can be used to clean the dirt and soot on your fireplace glass. But before you commence cleaning make sure the fire has gone out. The glass will be too hot to do this while the fireplace is still burning, and of course, the risk of burns is very high

The following is a step by step guide on how to clean fireplace glass :

Step 1 :

Switch off the gas if you own a gas fireplace. Since it is possible for the gas to be on with no fire being lit, this step is very crucial for safety purposes. Remove all the clutter around the gas switch to avoid knocking it and switching it accidentally. If you own a wood burning fireplace, skip this step.

Step 2 :

Remove the glass and place it on a soft, safe surface like a drop cloth, towel, or your carpet. If the glass door is attached using hinges leave it on and clean it from there.

Step 3 :

Mix equal parts of vinegar and water inside a spray bottle to create a gentle cleaner. It is essential to read the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions in order to use the specific cleaning products for your fireplace glass, but chances are most of us don’t have that information at hand especially if you are renting the house. Making this gentle cleaner will ensure that you do not damage the glass with harsh chemicals found in commercial cleaning products.

Step 4 :

If the glass is on hinges open the fireplace as much as possible so as to give yourself as much room as possible to access behind the glass for a thorough cleaning where most of the dirt and soot is.

Step 5 :

Spray the cleaning product on the glass and wipe with a non-abrasive, non-cotton rag or paper towel. Most fireplace glass doors have some glass patterns, so make sure to pay attention to all crevices within the glass. You can use cotton swabs for these areas.

Step 6 :

Scrub off any cloudy white residue on the glass with the home-made cleaner and some hot water. The cloudy white residue is most common in gas fireplaces. This will require thorough scrubbing. You can read the manufacturer’s instructions guide for the recommended cleaning product to remove the cloudy residue much easier than hot water. It is not wise to use a cleaner without reading the instruction as many of the cleaners contain chemicals that may be left behind on the glass. This may be dangerous and potentially flammable. The vinegar and water cleaning mixture is safe and non-flammable.

Step 7 :

Then dry the glass thoroughly with a crumpled newspaper or paper towel. Do not use a cotton cloth or towel as some cotton particles may be left behind which can be flammable.

If you are using your glass fireplace on most days of the week, then you should clean the glass once a week to maintain it. If you are not using your glass fireplace much often, then you can clean it like twice a month.

And if you prefer to use commercial cleaning products for your glass fireplace, there are a variety of commercial cleaners in the market ensure it’s recommended by the manufacturer of the glass fireplace.

Additionally, any cleaning procedure you choose, ensure it’s done consistently for minimal scrubbing time. However, if you have not washed your fireplace glass in a long time, you may need to use a blunt knife or razor blade to scrape off the piled up layers of soot.