How to clean glass in wood stove

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How do I keep, or for that matter get the glass clean on the front of this wood burning stove? Am I going to have to do it every day? And My husband put a piece of green ( very green ) wood in there the other night and boy did it make a mess inside. The black stuff is so thick and slick. That can't be good for the cateletic (?) converter; can it? Well we won't be doing that again.( I hope )

Is there something you can buy to keep it from getting so bad or maybe a razor blade? I have no experience with this sort of thing. Thanks.

-- Bonnie (josabo1@juno.com), November 07, 2000

Answers

Don't know about keeping it clean, but I just spray it with a little vinegar and use non abrasive scratcher. Comes of very easy.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), November 07, 2000.

My Quadrafire wood heater's instruction manual says to use nothing but Windex type stuff. I use it, always when the stove is cold, and rub it clean witha crumpled up piece of newspaper (not the slick colored stuff). It cleans up very easily.

I only have to do this every few weeks, or if a log is accidentally touching the glass while it burns.My heater has a feature called "air wash" which puts highly oxygenated flame onto the glass, which keeps it clean for a long time, automagically..

JOJ

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), November 07, 2000.


I usually clean the stove every morning from the night before. That includes cleaning the window. It must be cleaned regularly. The longer you wait and the more you use the stove, the more difficult it is to remove the black stuff.

I buy a commercial cleanser especially made for the glass on a wood stove. It can be bought where you buy stoves and other stove supplies.

The commerical cleanser can be bought as a spray or a plain liquid. It is very annoying to breathe in, so you have to be careful when using it.

I have never tried vinegar. I will give that a try.

-- R. (thor610@yahoo.co), November 07, 2000.


I only have to clean the glass on my wood stove about every three weeks. My stove "Sweet Home" also has the air wash and usually all the black stuff just burns off. When I do clean the glass, I use a product called "Meeco's Red Devil Glass Door Cleaner" and use crumpled up newspaper to wipe down. The back stuff comes right off. I always clean the glass when its cold to avoid it breaking. Never have tried using vinager but am going to give it a try. Anyway, the stuff I use last a very long time. I think I purchased this bottle about six years ago.

-- Bill (sticky@2sides.tape), November 07, 2000.

I can't use anything but vinegar because of chemical poisoning, Bonnie knows about allergies. I haven't found anything you can't use it on that you would use Windex or something similar on. It's a mild bleach too.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), November 07, 2000.


I just take a crumpled newspaper, dry and rub it on the window. Doesn't get it totally clean but good enough. I then use the used newspaper to start the fire.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), November 07, 2000.

Corning Cleaner & Conditioner for glass cookware (from any supermarket) CeramaBryte (from Lowe's Building Supply) Most any cleaner for Pyrex, Visions, or CorningWare will work. Follow the directions carefully, do small sections and don't smear it.

-- Rags (RaggedReb@aol.com), November 08, 2000.

I just dampen a paper towel and dip it in the ash. That scours the glass beautifully and then I wipe it dry with a clean towel.

-- Jorja Hernandez (jorja@color-country.net), November 09, 2000.

Yep! Jorja has it right! I use a paper towel, folded into a 2 inch wide strip, then folded again into about 3 inches long. Leave abaout 1/2 inch lapped over one end. Moisten with water, dip into FLUFFY ashes, and wipe off the glass. Keep unfolding to expose fresh paper towel, dip in ashes and repeat. Takes only a couple of minutes and comes out SPOTLESS. Finish with a clean paper towel with no ashes. Dry the towel on the hearth and burn it in the stove. Works GREAT!

-- john lockridge (johnl@cfw.com), December 31, 2001.

I can't believe how good the suggestion that Jorga made last month works. We just got our very first woodstove WITH GLASS. If I need to clean the glass I wait until the morning when the stove is just warm and moisten a paper towel in very warm water at the sink and then dip it in the ash and easily wash off all smoke. I then throw the paper towel in the trash can that we burn in our burn barrel. I'm not near as neat as John is about folding the paper, just turn it over and use the other sides. Perfect use for wood ash. One of the best ideas that I have gotten off the forum this year! Maybe newspaper would work but we don't subscribe to any. Happy New Years!

-- Marie (Mamafila@aol.com), December 31, 2001.


I now have a Mama Bear Fisher and don't have to fool with it but, I used to have an insert with glass doors which got really sooted at times. An old guy that worked for a stove company told me to do the same as some of you have been doing with the wet paper towel dipped in the ashes trick. It is true, it will work with newspaper too. I never tryed it with paper towels. I always used newspaper. Just catch the stove when it is warm. Saturate some newspaper in water, dip it down in the ashes and start scrubbing. It will loosen it up and come right off. Then take a damp paper towel to do the final touches. Give'er a try, Thanks

-- Blake Rimel (bjrimel@chartertn.net), January 02, 2002.

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