How to clean glass on wood burning stove

When our wood burners spend most of the winter fired up and keeping us cosy, you might not notice the glass slowly becoming blackened over time.

Cleaning your stove is a good idea at any time of year, though spring offers the perfect chance to restore your wood burner to its former glory.

Firstly, the brighter mornings and evenings often bring to light the darker areas of our homes we overlooked in winter – leaving many of us slightly surprised at just how murky our stove glass has become!

Secondly, as you probably won’t be using your wood burner as much, you can enjoy the sparkling clean glass of your stove before the autumn chill returns.

So, if you are wondering how you can best clean the glass on your wood burning stove, keep reading.

Why you might need to clean the glass on your wood burner

So, why might the glass on your wood burning stove need cleaning?

There are a few possible causes for the glass on your wood burner getting dirty. One of the main reasons is using the wrong fuel or burning your fire inefficiently. Both these things can cause excessive smoke that will inevitably dirty your stove glass much faster than if you were using the correct fuel at the optimum temperature.

The best thing you can do to keep the glass on your wood burner clean is to only burn dry seasoned wood or wood pellets.

Wet wood produces a significantly higher amount of smoke than dry wood, which creates more dirt to collect on your stove glass.

As for ensuring your fire is burning as clean as possible, we recommend you consult the stove manufacturer’s manual to ensure that you are using the controls in a way that burns the wood at the most efficient temperature. If your fire isn’t hot enough, it will be smouldering away slowly. Again, this means that your stove glass will blacken quicker as heavier fumes are created.

How to clean the glass on your wood log burner or wood burning stove heater

So, let’s get on to some tips on how to clean your wood burner glass up to a beautiful shiny finish!

Before you get started…

It seems like common sense, but just to be sure, always make sure your stove glass has cooled down sufficiently before you attempt to clean it. Some people think that slightly warm glass is easier to clean, but you should be just as fine if your glass is completely cool, too.

Using a soft brush, remove any loose bits of debris from the glass door and surrounding area.

How to clean the glass on a wood burner or a wood burning stove using the glass manufacturers’ recommended solution – the Schott-Robax “Dry Wiper”

Schott is one of the leading speciality glass and material technology companies in the world. Their Robax glass-ceramic fire-viewing panels offer a brilliant view of a crackling wood fire. With more than 110 million panels sold in over 40 years, Schott-Robax is one of the global market leaders in fire-viewing panels for indoor and outdoor use.

Schott-Robax offers the “Dry Wiper” which makes cleaning the glass quick and easy, leaving no smears or scratches.

Moisture on glass can cause damage particularly crazing when mixed with the acids from burning fuels. Because most people would in the past have cleaned their glass using a damp cloth or liquid cleaner, these issues increased.

Schott-Robax have introduced their “dry wiper”, which is not only the  product that they recommend, but is also the only one you’ll ever need. The abrasive side has a hardness below that of the glass so there is no risk of scratching, but it will effectively remove anything that is on the glass. The sponge side will then wipe away any debris or bits remaining. Washing is neither necessary nor recommended.

As one of the leading specialists in glass-ceramic fire-viewing panels, Schott has developed a quick and simple solution to sooty glass panels, allowing you to relax and enjoy the warmth of a real wood fire all over again.

Tips for keeping your wood burning stove glass clean

Remember that glass can scratch, so don’t use anything abrasive on the glass that could damage it beyond repair

Don’t leave it too long between next cleaning your wood burner glass – the more soot builds up over time, the harder it is to remove

If you notice any damage to the rope seal around the door, or cracks in the glass, be sure to get them repaired as soon as possible and don’t use your wood burner until you do

    If you want to really get some elbow grease onto the stove glass, you can remove the stove door – check your wood burner manufacturer’s instructions before you do so

As we mentioned at the start of this article, the best way to keep your wood burner glass clean is to ensure you are using your stove correctly. This way, you can be sure that your fire is producing as little smoke as possible, which in turn means your glass is as clean as possible.

Most modern wood burners have a feature called an ‘air-wash system’, which is another defence against dirty, blackened wood burner glass. These stoves use air vents around the stove glass to draw in a flow of air that keeps the smoke and fuel away from the inner window.

If you do have an airwash stove but find that your wood burner glass is still getting blackened, it might be that the vents aren’t being used properly. Even when your fire is burning, the airways vent should still be slightly open, so check you are using yours properly.

Again, making sure that you are burning dry fuels at the recommended  moisture content to achieve the most efficient temperature is also one of the best things you can do to keep the glass on your stove clean for longer.

Further Information

The Island Pellet Stoves website has a range of resources and frequently asked questions to help you get the best from your wood burning stove or wood burner. Follow the link below for more information or give us a call on – 0330 111 4747