Are you the proud owner of a wood-burning stove but are having a hard time keeping it clean? It can seem like a laborious task but it needn’t be.
That’s why our HouseFuel experts have compiled the best ways to keep your wood burner clean for an efficient fire and a good-looking stove.
The Reasons for Cleaning Your Woodburner
Every time we start and maintain a fire, there is some leftover amount of ash or residue as a result. The amount that you’ll find depends on the efficiency of the fire and the fuel you use but you’ll have burned-out logs in your wood-burning stove that need to be removed; we suggest you use kiln-dried logs for the best results.
The combustion chamber is where the fire takes place and without cleaning this area, you’ll be burning the leftover parts of the previous fire the next time you start one. This is far from ideal because it will significantly reduce the efficiency of your fire.
Your fire needs an energy-dense fuel source to burn and already-used logs don’t contain this anymore, but new logs will. Every time you forget to clean out your wood burner, an even greater amount of dirt will be stuck to the inside of your appliance.
Also, isn’t it better to have a nice-looking wood-burning appliance rather than one that hasn’t been tended to? This includes the glass part of the door as well.
How to Clean Your Woodburner
Now that you know the reasons for cleaning your woodburner, let’s look at the best ways to do this.
The most important thing to remember is to never clean your wood-burning stove while it’s still hot; this is dangerous and it needs to cool down a lot before you even consider cleaning it.
After a bit of waiting, you can begin the process. Grab a miniature spade and a metal container (the material of the container is important) then slowly pick up all the ash from the stove and gently (and accurately, ideally!) pour the ash into the container without breathing in the residual fumes.
You can now take the bucket outside and leave it away from anything flammable, like greenery, because it’s possible that it reignites.
Now that’s done, you can tend to the glass. We’d advise that you grab a glass cleaning formula and a non-abrasive cleaning pad, apply the formula to the glass, and then scrub the pad into the formula to remove all the dirt. Repeat the process if necessary then you can dry it with a clean pad.
Many people decide to hire somebody to clean the flue of their wood burner because it’s a challenging job. If you don’t feel capable of doing this, you could look into who might help you. Otherwise, you can use a brush with a long handle to clean the soot out of it; general maintenance includes burning the flue for around half an hour regularly but if your flue is at an angle, you’ll probably need professional help.
Contact the team at HouseFuel for all your wooden log needs.
