Cleaning your wood fireplaces

Many homes where people use wood fireplaces or even other types of fireplaces, they normally do so during the extremely cold seasons. This does not however mean that one cannot use a wood burning fireplace during the other seasons especially for the purpose of relaxation and keeping the home warm despite the fact that it is not extremely cold. There are people who enjoy having the fireplace as a place for relaxation and this is mostly so when it is a wood burning fireplace which gives a sweet smelling aroma from the burning wood or even the glowing embers which are good for romance especially when the lights are off. But talking of using the wood fireplaces, the fact is that they need to be cleaned as often as possible to avoid fire accidents which could occur especially due to the accumulated soot.

We are going to discuss how you can keep your wood burning fireplace clean so as to enjoy more from it and at the same time to prevent any accidents from taking place in your house. Many people would want to keep their wood fireplaces after the cold season only to use them after a long time or maybe when the next season is approaching. It is important to keep your fireplace clean therefore because it is a good practice. Well, it must be said that the cleaning process is not always that pleasant but you have to do it anyway. You can hire somebody to do it for you or you can do it yourself but according to me, there is no need for hiring someone. Why not take the adventure and enjoy doing it yourself? It is simple and not a complicated thing.

It does not take a lot of time to clean the fireplace especially the lower part of the chimney and flue. A few hours are enough to have your entire wood burning fireplace glittering clean. You should not embark on the cleaning process before the ashes and the fireplace has cooled down completely. Shovel, vacuum or sweep the ashes from the firebox. In case you go for the vacuum process, make sure that you use a specialized ash vacuum and not just any other vacuum. Remove the andirons or grates if they are available in your fireplaces and place them in a place where you can scrape the grime and the soot from them using a wire brush. You can use a specialized cleaning material if they are made of silver or brass and make sure to use one for that particular metal on each of them.

The damper can e cleaned using the brush wire to get rid of any tar and creosote that has accumulated over time. The wood fireplaces have a firebox that may require cleaning using special cleaning products such as vinegar, washing soda, tri sodium phosphate and use with warm water. You can also use water with chlorine bleach but vinegar should not be used together with ammonia or bleach as this could cause death or harm. The wood burning fireplace should be closed after the cleaning to avoid the sucking in of air out of the house. Allow everything to dry completely as well. It is that simple!