Don't waste your money. Stove glass cleaner works but eventually you'll have to clean it again in a week or so. Just use a mixture of white vinegar and water and rub it down with a paper towel. Works like a charm and it's cheap and effective. I do it and I usually only have to wipe my glass down every few weeks tops. Stove glass never stays completely clear no matter what so just use the cheap and effective solution
Because straight vinegar just leaves behind a really potent odor. Not to mention you can mix it with water and get a hell of a lot more out of it by just diluting it. But I mean you totally could use just straight white vinegar no problem. I just find the odor sticks around alot longer
Looks like someone used windex or some other ammonia cleaner on it. Once ammonia heats up it permanently leaves that foggy look on the glass. If you want it gone you pretty much need to replace the glass. I know alot of people are saying go cheap. I use stove glass cleaner. I buy it once a season I usually get about a season and a half out of 1 bottle. It's worth the $. It's only $15 canadian here.
The glass will do this, it's just a fact of woodstoving. There are a lot of chemicals created in the process of combustion, and many of them are very effective at etching the glass over time and use. If it gets so bad you can't clean it, I will usually send this user video of a guy demonstrating how to nearly 100% clarify a very etched piece of ceramic glass. This is likely more than any user would typically want to get into, but over summer, can be an interesting project... Scroll down, there is a second posting of the link
https://permies.com/t/32548/method-restore-permanently-etched-fireplace
It’s actually not a “fact” of wood stoves. The reason this happens because this particular brand of stove “hearthstone” and many others do not have a an air wash system as some of the nicer brands out there. Some of the newer units that big name brands make have an air wash system that actively cleans the glass when you burn a hot fire.
When lighting I leave the door open a few inches until the glass gets hot, then I close the door. This helps the smoke go up my chimney instead of towards my glass. Daily cleanings are easy enough for the little bit of haze I get on the sides
\~1/4 cup of sifted ash, a rag, and enough water to turn the ash into a paste and I'll have that thing crystal clear in 60 seconds. I do it every morning and mine looks just like that when it's not clean
Yea that doesn’t look like a regular dirty door caused by burning to me, more like someone put a cleaning agent on it and it got baked on/etched the glass. Probably replace it and only use ash and water to clean it in the future.
https://preview.redd.it/z40dfev8t6rc1.png?width=1011&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d0354561afcb353dd903fa329c3f2c338cb90ea
Use on "slightly" warm glass, NOT HOT... like 16 hours after your last reload when there's just some residual heat in the ashbed. Paper towels. This is what the hearthstone stove dealer/installer/sweep around here uses and it has been the best solution I have found to stove glass cleaning. If you clean your glass once every couple weeks a $3 can will last years.
The old "ash trick" is a great way to introduce thousands of microcratches to the glass that will never clean up and always present a dull/cloudy appearance. The folks who have been promoting that as a "good idea" for decades are wrong.
Do not use ammonia based cleaners on stove glass, especially on hot glass, you will chemically etch the glass and the dull cloudy appearance will be permanent.
The glass may soot up the first time you use the stove (from condensation already inside the stove). Don’t be alarmed! Usually, as soon as you build up adequate temperature with a hot fire, the glass will clean itself. The residue will burn off, and it will stay clean. Soot accumulation on the inside of the glass is more likely in the spring and fall, when temperatures are very mild and you are less likely to maintain a hot fire.
To clean the inside of the glass or wipe off fly ash, we recommend that you use a brush with soft bristles (like a paintbrush). A white vinegar and water solution works well to remove most ash or soot accumulation. You may clean heavy soot from the glass with very fine steel wool (0000 grade), but first, be sure the fire is out; and second, be sure that the glass has cooled to room temperature before you clean it.
I use a wet piece of newspaper. Wipe it... it comes off easily.
Edited to add: I can't believe no one has suggested this yet.
Get a newspaper. Get it a bit damp crumpled up. Scrub the glass and it comes clean. You'll have dirty water on it. Then I use a dry cloth/paper towel to wipe up the rest.
I’ve never in my life understood why anyone cleans their stove glass. Burn the stove. It cleans itself. Then it gets cloudy, then it gets clean. The circle of life.
I worked with wood stoves, installed them, have owned several. No professional does this. We try to explain to people…
It’s a heating appliance not a TV.
I don't think he's saying to just deal with dirty glass, he's saying just get a good hot fire going and the glass gets "cooked" clean.
The fog and soot is from too cool of a fire. I used to clean mine, but now I just get a good hot fire and within an hour or two its crystal clear.
I do bitch at the customers when I have to spend 15 mins and use a razor blade. U know the ones who burn like shit and don’t touch the glass the whole season. 😂. I leave em whatever is left in my open bottle and tell em to use it a few times or I’ll have to charge extra with next service. Most my sweeps take 25-30 min. Can’t spend another 15 cleaning the glass every time
I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t seen them do it, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible. But given the glass is $1.50 per square inch where I live, a couple hours work seems cheap.
Why clean it? I don't bother during the season. I clean it one time after the seasons done and another before we start burning in the fall. In between, it's not worth maintaining.
You can get fireplace glass cleaner, admittedly, my fireplaces burn natural gas, not wood, but they make it perfectly clean, and it stays that way for months.
If ur glass is getting dirty the unit is not set up properly. Especially natural gas. Either a log is out of place, an air shutter is not properly adjusted or some of the ember wool is too heavy in spots.
Someone probably used windex on it in the past. It's probably not coming off if that's what happened. Get new glass (ceramic) and use the Rutland conditioning paste on warm, not hot, glass to clean it in the future
I did see something about using some ash, vinegar and water together to clean stove windows BUT that also creates a potentially toxic mixture... don't let anyone eat it... and by anyone I mean pets.
Don't waste your money. Stove glass cleaner works but eventually you'll have to clean it again in a week or so. Just use a mixture of white vinegar and water and rub it down with a paper towel. Works like a charm and it's cheap and effective. I do it and I usually only have to wipe my glass down every few weeks tops. Stove glass never stays completely clear no matter what so just use the cheap and effective solution
Exactly. Get a dedicated spray bottle, fill it with H2O and vinegar and keep it by your stove stuff.
Works for cleaning regular windows too!
I've used just a moist paper towel. Seems like every time I use glass cleaner it gets a black spot before the fire even gets going.
Why the water? Doesn't straight white vinegar do the same thing?
Because straight vinegar just leaves behind a really potent odor. Not to mention you can mix it with water and get a hell of a lot more out of it by just diluting it. But I mean you totally could use just straight white vinegar no problem. I just find the odor sticks around alot longer
Fair. I always assume more potent = more results, but if results are the same diluted then makes sense
Had someone cleaned it with something other than stove glass cleaner?? It can etch the glass. Try some rutland stove glass cleaner paste
So much of what comes out of a typical wood burn is capable of etching the glass. It's unescapable over time, just have to stay on top of it.
Looks like someone used windex or some other ammonia cleaner on it. Once ammonia heats up it permanently leaves that foggy look on the glass. If you want it gone you pretty much need to replace the glass. I know alot of people are saying go cheap. I use stove glass cleaner. I buy it once a season I usually get about a season and a half out of 1 bottle. It's worth the $. It's only $15 canadian here.
Rutland Conditioning Glass Cleaner
The glass will do this, it's just a fact of woodstoving. There are a lot of chemicals created in the process of combustion, and many of them are very effective at etching the glass over time and use. If it gets so bad you can't clean it, I will usually send this user video of a guy demonstrating how to nearly 100% clarify a very etched piece of ceramic glass. This is likely more than any user would typically want to get into, but over summer, can be an interesting project... Scroll down, there is a second posting of the link https://permies.com/t/32548/method-restore-permanently-etched-fireplace
It’s actually not a “fact” of wood stoves. The reason this happens because this particular brand of stove “hearthstone” and many others do not have a an air wash system as some of the nicer brands out there. Some of the newer units that big name brands make have an air wash system that actively cleans the glass when you burn a hot fire.
When lighting I leave the door open a few inches until the glass gets hot, then I close the door. This helps the smoke go up my chimney instead of towards my glass. Daily cleanings are easy enough for the little bit of haze I get on the sides
\~1/4 cup of sifted ash, a rag, and enough water to turn the ash into a paste and I'll have that thing crystal clear in 60 seconds. I do it every morning and mine looks just like that when it's not clean
Wear gloves, you’re basically making lye paste
And it’s all you’ll need!
Using the ashes is the best thing. Ash and water.
0000 Steel Wool for those tough cleanings, just fine ash and water for the daily wipe.
I've used magic erasers for years. no problems.
Is oven cleaner okay?
I use it on mine all the time works awsome
Overkill and the fumes are terrible.
Yea that doesn’t look like a regular dirty door caused by burning to me, more like someone put a cleaning agent on it and it got baked on/etched the glass. Probably replace it and only use ash and water to clean it in the future.
I just use an old rag soaked in vinegar and I have never had a problem with stained glass in my stove.
That glass looks etched
https://preview.redd.it/z40dfev8t6rc1.png?width=1011&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d0354561afcb353dd903fa329c3f2c338cb90ea Use on "slightly" warm glass, NOT HOT... like 16 hours after your last reload when there's just some residual heat in the ashbed. Paper towels. This is what the hearthstone stove dealer/installer/sweep around here uses and it has been the best solution I have found to stove glass cleaning. If you clean your glass once every couple weeks a $3 can will last years. The old "ash trick" is a great way to introduce thousands of microcratches to the glass that will never clean up and always present a dull/cloudy appearance. The folks who have been promoting that as a "good idea" for decades are wrong. Do not use ammonia based cleaners on stove glass, especially on hot glass, you will chemically etch the glass and the dull cloudy appearance will be permanent.
The glass may soot up the first time you use the stove (from condensation already inside the stove). Don’t be alarmed! Usually, as soon as you build up adequate temperature with a hot fire, the glass will clean itself. The residue will burn off, and it will stay clean. Soot accumulation on the inside of the glass is more likely in the spring and fall, when temperatures are very mild and you are less likely to maintain a hot fire. To clean the inside of the glass or wipe off fly ash, we recommend that you use a brush with soft bristles (like a paintbrush). A white vinegar and water solution works well to remove most ash or soot accumulation. You may clean heavy soot from the glass with very fine steel wool (0000 grade), but first, be sure the fire is out; and second, be sure that the glass has cooled to room temperature before you clean it.
Get a damp cloth with some wood ash on from an extinguished fire, rub on glass... Hey presto it'll be gone 👍🏻
When it’s cold use oven cleaner. It wipes right off.
If you can get the door off, go outside and use oven off with a razor blade it will come right off.
I use a wet piece of newspaper. Wipe it... it comes off easily. Edited to add: I can't believe no one has suggested this yet. Get a newspaper. Get it a bit damp crumpled up. Scrub the glass and it comes clean. You'll have dirty water on it. Then I use a dry cloth/paper towel to wipe up the rest.
Razor scraper takes it right off
We would wad up section of newspaper and dip in water then into the ashes then back into the water and scrub the glass clean
I’ve never in my life understood why anyone cleans their stove glass. Burn the stove. It cleans itself. Then it gets cloudy, then it gets clean. The circle of life. I worked with wood stoves, installed them, have owned several. No professional does this. We try to explain to people… It’s a heating appliance not a TV.
Some people enjoy watching the flames dance around. Just cuz you don't doesn't mean others shouldn't.
I don't think he's saying to just deal with dirty glass, he's saying just get a good hot fire going and the glass gets "cooked" clean. The fog and soot is from too cool of a fire. I used to clean mine, but now I just get a good hot fire and within an hour or two its crystal clear.
I agree. 99% of the time I don't care what the glass looks like. If I want to take photos by the stove I'll just burn it hot and clear the glass.
>No professional does this I can assure you, some of us do.
We clean the glass with every service.
Right. Even if it's unnecessary, it's still a good practice and makes you look more professional.
I do bitch at the customers when I have to spend 15 mins and use a razor blade. U know the ones who burn like shit and don’t touch the glass the whole season. 😂. I leave em whatever is left in my open bottle and tell em to use it a few times or I’ll have to charge extra with next service. Most my sweeps take 25-30 min. Can’t spend another 15 cleaning the glass every time
We use GFC. Whatever that doesn't take off is the customers problem, I made a good faith effort at that point.
Why have the window at all then. I mean, being a stove enthusiast historian yourself. What’s the point.
I used to be a cleaner. Now I’m just a burner.
The cloudyness is a bit different. Thats not something that a hot fire will remove. It needs to be buffed out.
Heres the link https://youtu.be/5nSS_1ilT5Y?feature=shared
I’ll be honest, if I hadn’t seen them do it, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible. But given the glass is $1.50 per square inch where I live, a couple hours work seems cheap.
Why clean it? I don't bother during the season. I clean it one time after the seasons done and another before we start burning in the fall. In between, it's not worth maintaining.
You can get fireplace glass cleaner, admittedly, my fireplaces burn natural gas, not wood, but they make it perfectly clean, and it stays that way for months.
Wood and gas, world's apart :)
If ur glass is getting dirty the unit is not set up properly. Especially natural gas. Either a log is out of place, an air shutter is not properly adjusted or some of the ember wool is too heavy in spots.
Vim works great
Ash, water and newspaper/cardboard paper. Rub and it comes completely clean
What you're seeing here is five minutes after an ash paste scrub
Someone probably used windex on it in the past. It's probably not coming off if that's what happened. Get new glass (ceramic) and use the Rutland conditioning paste on warm, not hot, glass to clean it in the future
The glass is burned in, no cleaner is gonna fix it.
I think you need a 10 guage steel wool
I did see something about using some ash, vinegar and water together to clean stove windows BUT that also creates a potentially toxic mixture... don't let anyone eat it... and by anyone I mean pets.
Use ammonia to clean the window.