Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Cleaning Stove and Fireplace Door Glass

.



Cleaning Stove Glass
One of those jobs
You LOVE to do?
A Cure?


Have you had difficulty cleaning the tempered glass window in your solid fuel stove or fireplace door?  The glass quickly gathers deposits of soot and tar that really stick.

The general advice given for cleaning varies from using white vinegar, to special cleaning compounds, to removing the glass door and soaking and washing. Many people just give up and leave the glass dirty.

I have tried quite a few different approaches to cleaning stove glass, and all of them have necessitated a great deal of elbow grease - darn hard work.

Being essentially lazy by nature, I spent a good deal of time mulling over how I might find an easier way to get the sticky soot off the glass. Then I remembered how to remove sticky price labels from plates, drinking glasses etc. What works in that case is first remove the paper bit and then deal with the glue. The best way to get the glue off was to use Mr Sheen or similar furniture polish. My guess is a combination of the solvents, greases and silicone in the polish prevents the glue re-sticking and that does the trick, but I do not know the science involved.





Anyway, this train of thought gave me the idea to try Tesco furniture polish, the one in our cupboard at the time, cheaper than the brand names and better if anything, on the stove glass. It certainly helped matters but there was still a heck of a lot of hard rubbing required.

Then I got the Eureka moment. Why not try one of those plastic dish sponge/scrubs, with the rough green side, strong enough to get through the tar but not hard enough to damage the glass.  The combination of the two ideas worked just a treat and since then the cleaning of my stove and fireplace door glass has been a breeze.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This is my finding and my personal experience. I offer it in good faith for what it is worth. I have used the method several times over with great success and ease of use, and with no damage whatsoever to the glass. If it doesn't work for you, go complain to the Minister for Hardship.

Remember who told you!!!




.

2 comments:

IrishTreeMan said...

I find that if I run my Waterford Stanley stove very hot, the soot on the glass burns off.

However, I usually keep the stove door open as it lets more heat into the room, so the soot doesnt bother me.

Fran said...

If your stores are depleted you could try dipping your sponge or cloth in the ash (cooled) and use it to clean the glass door of your stove.