STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO A CLEAN STOVE
Do not spend too much time cleaning the stove clean and ready for the season. We give you our best and fastest tips for a clean fireplace that gives you a good flame image and that burns cleaner and better. Then you can instead concentrate on enjoying yourself in front of the stoves.
There is an increasing trend with large glass surfaces on fireplaces that give you a good flame image. The greatest pleasure for many is to be able to sit in front of the fire with something good in the cup and enjoy the flames. Then it is sad if the whole glass is covered with soot that destroys the visibility.
What you need for cleaning:
- Dish Gloves
- Newsprint
- Some water
- Metal Bucket
You do not need much equipment to clean the glass in your stove, so it is cheap and easy. Remember that you should wear gloves (such as dishwashing gloves) when cleaning. Soot and water together form a kind of lye that can sit hard on your hands.
But how can you avoid soot on your glasses?
The reason you get a lot of soot may be that you have used damp wood, have too little draft or that you have too little access to fresh air. Therefore, try to keep the wood dry and make sure that the draft and air are sufficient.
Soot increases the risk of chimney fire
It is not just the image of the flames that the soot can affect. If the soot is on the inside of the pipe, this increases the risk of chimney fire. In Sweden, a fire protection inspection must be performed every 6 years. For more information, contact your local chimney sweep.
To clean the glass in your fireplace:
This method is environmentally friendly, efficient and not least affordable! If you need to clean the glass in the stove and remove soot, this is the method you start with:
- Dampen some newspaper / paper towels, dip it in the ashes and rub against the glass.
- Take a new newspaper / paper towel and wipe . If the glass is still not completely clean, repeat the process or use Jif Universal on a tissue paper as step 2. You can also use a microfiber cloth.
- All Jøtul products are designed with a so-called "air flushing system" that helps keep the glass clean during firing. If soot settles on the glass, you can fire harder for a short time, so that the heat and the air purge system ensure that soot particles that have stuck to the glass are burned off.
- Another method is to use a glass cleaner that you have at your dealer . But make sure that you do not get glass cleaning on the color of the stove, as the stove can get stains.
- There are also scraper tools for glass, but you should be very careful not to scratch the glass. If you scratch the glass, dust and dirt will settle in the scratches and it will be difficult to wash off.
Many people empty their stove of ashes too often. It is actually advantageous to leave a layer of ash on the bottom of the stove. This ash insulates and protects the fireplace floor from that heat.
If you want to empty the stove of ash, you should wait a few days after the last fire. As mentioned, it is a very good insulating material, so you can often find small glowing pieces of charcoal hidden inside the box many hours or days after the fire has burned out.
Tips for emptying ash:
- The ash is emptied into a bucket with a lid, both of metal . You must leave this until you are completely sure that there are no embers left. Ash can not be composted, but can be used as a fertilizer if it comes from clean, untreated wood. Alternatively, it can be disposed of with waste.
- You can also use a box vacuum cleaner to vacuum the box. Here it is important that you do not use a regular vacuum cleaner! If it is still burning in the box, it may be flammable and destroy the vacuum cleaner.
On the outside of the fireplace, dust drying is generally sufficient, for example with a dry microfiber cloth.
If more thorough cleaning is required, think about the type of stove you have:
- If you have a painted stove , be careful what you use for cleaning agents as it can quickly scratch the painting. Do not use abrasives and do not use too much water if you have a cast iron stove . Then it can get rust stains.
- A stove with an enamelled surface , on the other hand, can withstand most things without scratches and rust. Here you can clean with a damp cloth and lukewarm water. You can clearly see if you have an enamelled wood stove because they are often very shiny.
- If you have a soapstone oven , make sure you take care of the stone's natural gray color so that it does not become stained. Wash with a damp cloth and mild soapy water. If you have harder stains, you can easily brush them with steel wool or fine sandpaper.
At least once a year, Jøtul recommends removing the vault in the roof and hotplates and checking that they are in good condition. Your local dealer can help you with this.
- Check shakers and the bottom of the fireplace for damage . Brush loose soot particles from these and other parts of the combustion chamber.
- Internal parts can be worn and sometimes need to be replaced . How often depends on how hard and how much you fire.
- Gaskets around the glass and the door should also be inspected and possibly replaced.