The Best Way How To Clean Brick Fireplaces In Easy & Fast 7 Steps!

What a lovely atmosphere on a frosty winter evening! The fairytale feeling is strong when sitting near the magnificent fireplace! But keeping these feelings for a long time needs proper home health maintenance. Every fireplace owner must orient in rules explaining how to clean brick fireplaces.

The chimney cleaning for brick fireplaces resembles a ritual consisting of several stages:

• Foresee the necessary tools. You must prepare cleaning kits for fireplace components. Do not forget to arrange stuff to clean your hands to avoid accidental soot spots on walls or furniture;
• Plan each action in detail. For instance, your attempts should first focus on chimney cleaning. It is not rational to pay attention to accessories like fireplaces, doors, or grates;
• Think about extra activities to prolong the achieved results. Odor items, fancy decor, or mild painting tricks are acceptable for refreshing the fireplace.

Our house2keep blog teaches you rules useful for different interior or exterior elements. In particular, you can find more details to make your fireplace clean, elegant, and safe.

How to Clean Soot off Bricks: A Few Steps to Charming Fireplace

Perhaps, every fireplace owner dislikes performing such a messy procedure. Clouds of dust and soot decrease cleaning motivation. The main obstacle is poor preparation and incorrect algorithm of actions.

Typically, an annual cleaning session is enough to renovate your chimney clearance. The specialists recommend cleaning fireplace from soot and ash before the heating period. But your efforts would be more effective if you performed this procedure twice a year.

Proper fireplace maintenance benefits your expectations from this preferable element of interior design:

• Prevent emergencies in your house. A vast flaky burning remains are a trigger for an explosion inside the chimney;
• Maintain an aesthetic atmosphere inside your house. The dirty chimney and ugly fireplace box do not highlight the attractive look of the living room;
• Reduce wood or gas consumption. If your fireplace channels are full of soot, the exhaustive smoke system deteriorates. As such, you waste your wood or gas without appropriate heating outcomes.

Thus, remember the best way to clean a brick fireplace, comprising simple seven steps. This universal procedure helps to keep your hearth alliance as a just-installed one.

Step 1. Organize Suitable Space

To reduce cleaning size, think carefully about tools to soot off your fireplace and keep the remaining space cozy. Apart from a special fireplace cleaning kit, do not forget to enlist the following items:

• Plastic covering;

• Waste bins or bags;
• Working gloves and cloth;
• Dishwashing liquid;
• Warm water;
• Towels or microfiber cloth;
• Metal brushes;
• Scoop and broom;
• Vacuum cleaner;
• Vinegar;
• Spray bottle;
• Bucket.

Once you collect everything you need, let the cleaning process start. To this end, perform several preparatory activities:

• Wear the protective cloth and items to save your eyes and nose from harmful burning products;
• Remove all decorative elements far from the cleaning area;
• Place all necessary attributes near the fireplace box to take them quickly if needed;
• Take care of the first aid kit. The cleaning technique for chimney bricks on the fireplace is a safe procedure.

Step 2. Clean Fireplace Gate

All preparations are over. So, it is time to renovate your fireplace, releasing undesirable soot. Before performing the main activities, you must deal with the facing part. Gates that hold the burning timber need special attention:

• Take off the fireplace gate carefully;
• Perform all cleaning manipulations outside to soot off gates and do not provide extra dust on bricks;
• Use a metal brush and wash the gates with special solutions. Everything you need is warm water with dishwashing liquid;
• Leave the gates to dry or absorb water with towels.

Step 3. Collect Ash

The main rule for fireplace cleaning refers to a direction for your manipulations. Start on the bottom and move to the top. Thus, you need to remove ash inside the fireplace box:

• Apply broom and scoop. Also, some models of vacuum cleaners enable to collect ash;
• Do not try to leave the area entirely free from ash;
• A hard cleaning cloth would effectively reach difficult parts or far bricks on the fireplace.

Step 4. Clean Fireplace Walls

According to the structure of the walls, slightly change your cleaning tactic. Move upside-down if you do not want to make huge clouds of dust and soot inside the house. Smooth movements release soot from the inner wall. Then start arranging the side walls.

Once a good cleaning session is over, you may collect soot and dust from the fireplace. To this end, apply the techniques mentioned above. So, special vacuuming would be enough to make the wood-burning area entirely clean.

Step 5. Prepare Handmade Cleaning Solution

The dirty work is over. You may start deeper cleaning manipulations to soot off the inner bricks. Such fireplace therapy disinfects the surface.  Also, you prolong the renovated look without frequent improvements.

This trick foresees the preparation of powerful cleaning solutions to release the remaining fireplace soot:

• Stir white vinegar and warm water gently. The liquid proportions should be equal and compliant with the fireplace wall square;
• Add a few tablespoons of dishwashing detergent;
• Use a spray bottle to apply the prepared solution to the whole area.

Step 6. Spray Solutions and Wipe Carefully

The soapy acid solution should cover the fireplace surface. Due to chemical reactions, you can easily remove dirt and reach shining effects. To clean the fireplace from soot and dust, attempt to perform intense movements.

Brushes and cleaning clothes will help to wipe the inner wall bricks. After the washing session, dry the surface properly. Pay particular attention to the fireplace flooring. No liquid should be there. Such preventive measures are essential for the following burning procedures. Intense acid could be dangerous, provoking explosion or health deterioration problems.

Step 7. Clean Decoration Elements

Depending on the design concepts, fireplaces could have different accessories. Fancy doors or metal structures look better if you polish them with glass cleaning spray.

To remove soot from complicated areas, use the solutions mentioned above. The decor made from gypsum or similar materials is well-maintained with baking soda.  The prepared paste will become the best way to clean a brick fireplace. Like the other fireplace elements, remember to dry up the washed arrangements.

Summary

Keeping the fireplace clean and fresh is a sign of a lovely, cozy house. Your frosty winter evenings are preferable to sit near the well-maintained no-smoky burning place. Thanks to our recommendations, such an unpleasant procedure becomes easy and exciting. Follow us to learn how to make your house cozy.

FAQ