We have a fireplace in our basement that doesn't get much use. I don't think it has ever been cleaned and our house was built in 1940! It is inefficient and has become very dirty with soot over the years. Here's my attempt at cleaning up the facade.
What You Need
Materials
long cleaning gloves
dust mask
bristle scrub brush
wet coffee grounds
small scoop or fireplace shovel
paper grocery bags or trash can with lid for ashes
spray bottle with water water
Greased Lightning All Purpose Cleaner or cleaning solution of choice
2 buckets of water
rags or paper towels
Instructions
1. This is what I am up against. A 60 year old brick fireplace with a wooden mantle and a lot of soot.
2. These are the materials. Not Pictured: Lots of rags/paper towels used to keep the mess to a minimum. Now it's time to suit up. Put on some clothes you don't care about and the gloves and dust mask.
3. I wanted to clean out the inside of the fireplace so all of the water and cleaner didn't turn it into ash soup. First I gave the inside of the fireplace a once over with the bristle brush to knock off any loose soot/ash.
4. I sprinkled the wet coffee grounds on top of the ash in the fireplace so it wouldn't go everywhere when I scooped it out into the waiting paper grocery bag. Place another bag on top to keep the ash from billowing back out of the bag. Later you can add the ash to your compost pile if you have one.
5. Because the bricks on my fireplace are very old and porous, I sprayed the exterior bricks down with water so that they won't soak up the chemical cleaner too quickly
6. Then I sprayed some Greased Lightning All Purpose Cleaner on the dirty bricks. There are many other cleaners available for cleaning you fireplace. I've heard that laundry soap mixed with water and laundry stain remover work well, or go for a more natural rout and use white vinegar.
7. Scrub scrub scrub. Dunk the bristle brush in water bucket #1 to get the gunk off, dunk the brush in water bucket #2 to get it even cleaner. Scrub scrub scrub. Note: This is where things get messy. Have some rags or paper towels nearby to trap water runoff.
8. When I sprayed the cleaner on the wooden mantle there was a satisfying reveal. The soot just rolled off.
9. This is the fireplace after the first go. I repeated the process and...
10. Hooray! The outside of my fireplace is so much cleaner!
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(Images: Molly Anderson)
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Poor Cinderella...
good job
i am not the least bit envious
after living in northern calif.
for 8 years
we used the fireplace all the time
and i was in charge of cleaning it
ashes, soot and all
i will only do gas logs now
i can hear the purist screaming now
I've heard from friends that either a foaming bathroom cleanser or a foaming oven cleaner will do wonders to remove the accumulated soot on bricks (not sure how either would work on the wood)...
sorry for all your hard work, but yup, as collen said, spray on some oven cleaner and it's gone.
bepsf, thanks for the giggle.
We used dow scrubbing bubbles (scrubbles- best word ever) on our 1928 slate fireplace with much success. Especially since the "we" means the fabulous cleaning people we hired. But the scrubbled it all away and have since told us they use it at other houses!
I have heard the same thing, Colleen in DC, that toilet bowl cleaner and oven cleaner work for cleaning soot off the bricks. It would definitely have to be approached with caution but if I had this issue, I would probably try those.
I'll have to try this. I've got two small kids plus a stupid cat, so oven cleaner is out of the question for us. (and I bet it works like a charm too :/...oh well)
I tried Quick n Brite on my brick fireplace to remove the soot and absolutely loved it! I could not believe the results! I have tried various other products to remove soot and creosote that did an okay job but there was always a reside still left behind (and many of the products were so toxic I wasn't wild about having them in an area where I would be lighting a fire soon!) I was recommended Quick n Brite by a friend because it is a safe product without chemicals so I didn't have to worry about my children or pets (which I loved). I put the paste on my fireplace with a stiff brush, let it sit about 30 minutes then came back and wiped it off with a damp terry cloth towel. It was like brand new, I have not seen it that clean in 20 years and I did not have to scrub my arms off either! I have been recommending Quick n Brite to all my friends since then and everyone I have shared mine with has been very pleased as well. Great product.