How to Clean a Woodburning Fireplace
- 1). Remove the fireplace screens and burn racks outdoors and scrub them with hot soapy water and a wire brush. If your screen contains metals such as copper or bronze, you may wish to apply a polish. For fireplace doors, clean them with hot soapy water and an abrasive sponge or balled up newspaper.
- 2). Sweep out the firebox of ash and soot with the hand broom and dustpan. Place the swept up debris into the large bucket. Dispose of outside in a trash can or on the ground. Ash is full of nutrients for the soil, so it will not hurt to just throw them on the ground.
- 3). Mix 2 cups of white vinegar for every 2 cups of hot water in a spray bottle. Spray the mixture all over the inside of the firebox. Scrub the mixture into the walls and floor of the firebox.
- 4). Allow 5 to 10 minutes for the solution to penetrate all of the soot and grime that has built up over the cold months. Scrub away all of the build up. You may need to continue spraying and rinsing the walls with the vinegar solution until you get all of the grime off of the walls and floor.
- 5). Rinse the firebox with warm water in a spray bottle. Shop vac up all of the water in the bottom of the firebox. Leave the damper open enough to dry out the firebox. Close up the damper.
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