Steps & Items Needed To Clean Soot Off Stone Fireplace
A fireplace (hearth) is a structure commonly made from stone, bricks and also from metal designed to contain a fire in your home. Lifespan of stone fireplace is near about 150-200 years but the stone fireplace look dirty after short span of time just because of the smoke of fire so it's a good idea to clean your stone fireplace at regular intervals, to do this you just need to collect the given items and follow the steps afterwards.
Items Needed
- Gloves & Safety Goggles
- Respirator & Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) Powder
- Plain Water & Gallon-Size Bucket
- Wood Stir Sticks & Stiff-Bristle Scrub Brushes
- Clean Rags & Soft Sponges
- Hand Vacuum Or Traditional Vacuum With Hose Attachment
Steps
- First of all, wear safety equipment such as hand gloves, eye googles due to the fact that the TSP can harm your health. Once done, now simply combine a half cup of TSP and 3 quarts of hot water(not scalding) in a 1 gallon size water bucket & then stir with wood stir sticks.
- The TSP powder works as both a degreaser as well as heavy-duty cleaner and more effective than the soap alone in eliminating any stubborn smoke stains.
- Now clean your fireplace grate or andirons (rails used to support logs), remove the grate or andirons from your firebox, then you have to dunk a scrub brush in your TSP solution & gently scrub down your grate/andirons. Remember the very high volume of sooty build up will sloughed off your andrions/grate during the scrubbing.
- Use a rag dampened in water in order to remove TSP solution from the grate/andirons, simply wipe them by using a dry rag and then return indoor & set them aside on a drop cloth which you've laid down before to protect your floor.
- Now it's time to scrub your sidewalls, back wall, and also the floor of your firebox (from the top down & from back to front on your firebox floor) with the help of a dry scrub brush to loosen soot & dirt.
- You now need to use vacuum or use a vacuum hose in order to siphon any debris that has been settled onto your firebox floor during scrubbing.
- Penetrate a clean scrub brush in your TSP wash and then scour your firebox from the top down, including your sidewalls, back wall, and your floor, to get rid of creosote buildup.
- Now you need to wipe any cleaned areas of your firebox by using a water dampened rag to remove the TSP solution, you have to dry all the areas with dry rags & return the grate/andirons to your firebox.
- Now you need to dunk your clean soft sponge in the leftover TSP solution and then apply this solution to the entire fireplace surround and be sure to wet both the stone & the grout and let the TSP solution dwell for 5 minutes.
- Next, take a scrub brush to scrub down the fireplace surround from the top to bottom in order to loosen soot & dirt.
- Now you need to remove the TSP solution, by making one to two passes over the surrounding area with a rag (water- dampened) to remove TSP solution.
- If you see any stubbron stains still remains on your fireplace surround then again make a more higly concentrated TSP paste by mixing 1 ounce of TSP and 1 cup of water in a water bowl and mix it with a wooden stir stick.
- Once done now take a clean sponge to apply this TSP paste in a thin layer over the affected area, let this mixture dwell for atleast 5 minutes and then scrub it by using a scrub brush.
- Finally wipe the stained affected area with a rag(water damapened) until this TSP paste has been removed wholly. Dap your fireplace surround dry by using a fresh rag and then let your fireplace surround air-dry wholly before igniting the fire.