How Do I Prepare My Fireplace for the Winter?

Wood-Burning Fireplace

It’s not a good idea to leave the burnt wood, ash, creosote, and acidic combustion gas residues lingering in the fireplace all summer. So, the first step is to clean the fireplace. Don’t worry; it’s not that hard to do, and it usually takes less than an hour.

Gather your cleaning supplies: Gloves, mask, goggles, firebrick cleaner, stiff brush, broom, vacuum, newspaper, paper towels or a clean lint-free cloth, and a metal container. If you need help locating cleaning supplies for your fireplace, call us, and one of our certified technicians will be happy to assist. After your fireplace cools for 24 hours, follow these ten (10) simple steps to prepare your fireplace for winter:

1. Put on your gloves, mask, and goggles to avoid breathing in irritating dust and harmful contaminants that may be present.
2. Take the grate and gridirons out of the fireplace and set them on some newspaper on the patio.
3. Sweep the ash into a metal container (reserve about a 1-inch layer for later).
4. Using a broom or vacuum, remove any remaining debris on the floor.
5. Spray the firebox walls with fireplace cleaner as directed on the label and scrub the firebox clean with a stiff brush. You may need some elbow grease to remove soot, hardened creosote, and baked-on stains covering the firebricks.
6. Give the grate and gridirons a thorough cleaning and remove soot, creosote, and residue.
7. Place a thin one-inch layer of ash on the floor of the fireplace. It will help start your next fire. You can recycle the rest in your garden.
8. When clean and dry, put the grate and gridirons back in the fireplace.
9. Use a glass cleaner to remove stains on the glass fireplace doors carefully.
10. The only thing left to do is to schedule your annual chimney inspection.

Gas Fireplace

Yes, your gas fireplace needs to be prepared for winter too! Although a gas fireplace is a cleaner burning appliance and doesn’t require the deep cleaning of a wood-burning fireplace, it still needs routine care and maintenance to prevent premature failure, prolonging its useful life.

1. Turn off the standing pilot light.
2. Turn the gas key valve inside the fireplace to the OFF position.
3. Remove the front facing to the fireplace.
4. Use a portable vacuum or damp lint-free cloth to carefully clean any soot, pet hair, dust mites, and other debris inside the fireplace, including the gas logs and other components.
5. Inspect the gas logs. Replace when there are signs of cracking or other damage.
6. Clean the burner to remove any clogged ports.
7. Schedule an annual safety inspection.

Chimney Sweeps

Did you know that summer is the best time for a chimney and fireplace inspection? So, when you need to have your chimney and fireplace inspected, cleaned, or repaired, the certified chimney sweeps at Fluesbrothers will get the job done safely and efficiently.

The post How Do I Prepare My Fireplace for the Winter? appeared first on Fluesbrothers Chimney Service.