How to Clean Fireplace Walls

Cleaning the walls of your fireplace may seem like an inconvenience, but if you scrub it regularly, you can maintain it more easily. Removing soot can be a dirty job, but when you have the right cleaning supplies, you can make the job less of a hassle. Read on to learn how you can clean your fireplace walls using a simple step-by-step process.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plastic goggles Wire scrub brush Rubber gloves Plastic drop cloth Newspaper Small carton of TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) or phosphate-free TSP substitute Bucket Rags

How to Clean Fireplace Walls

1. Remove the andirons and grate so you can place a layer of newspaper down into the fireplace. The andirons and grate should be cleaned outside with a brush. Also, make sure you remove any hot coals.

2. Start at the top of the fireplace walls and use your brush to remove the soot. As the newspapers fill up with soot, you can wrap them up and place them in a nearby trash can.

3. Mix 6 tbsp. of TSP or TSP substitute and 1 cup of chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of warm water in a large bucket. This solution is caustic and can burn your skin, so it's best to protect your hands with gloves and your eyes with goggles. Also, placing the bucket inside of the fireplace can prevent accidental spills.

4. Dip the wire scrub brush into the solution and scrub off any excess soot and staining. Some soot stains in old fireplaces may not be able to be removed, but try two applications of the solution before giving up.

5. Use old rags and clean water to rinse off the fireplace walls so the walls don't have any residual flammable liquid on them from the TSP. After the walls have dried, you can replace the andirons and grate.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove soot at least once a month to prevent you from having to use the TSP so much.
• Use caution with TSP because it can burn your skin and also damage painted surfaces.

Resources

• Fireplace Cleaning

[Fike]

on 8/24/2009 So . . . are you a fire-fighter or a chimney sweep? :-)