Cleaning the Wood Stove Window
Simple Life Hack
The glowing firelight, a kettle steaming and murmuring to itself, great soup to feast on...but it ruins the effect if the glass on your CSA approved airtight wood stove is dirty.
They say in the pamphlets things like; the flames will keep the soot from building up, making this completely maintenance free! They lie.
My wood stove serves many purposes; mainly it's heat for my little house, but it also is an additional cooking surface, ideal for things like cooking rice in the pressure cooker (takes only a few minutes) and soup which can cook for hours making the house smell amazing.
I love to watch the flickering and dancing flames through a clean wood stove windowBut it's more than that. It's also hypnotic and restful to watch the flickering of the flames.
We refer to it as another TV, and find ourselves gazing into the fire.
But it ruins the effect when you can barely see them through the build up of gunk.
This is what the inside of the window looked like before I started...So get ready to discover the simplest method ever to cleaning the glass. It's tempered, which means you don't want to do anything to scratch it.
Wipe the ashes over the glass with the damp paper towel, making sure to get the edges. This is the inside of the door.This has to be done when the stove is cold - putting cold water on a hot window will crack it, catastrophically.
Take two squares of paper towel, and get it wet under the tap. Squeeze out any excess - it really only needs to be dampened.
Dab it into some of the ashes in the wood stove, then scrub in a circular motion on the glass.
The best ashes are those that are pale in color. Use a pair of disposable vinyl gloves to protect your skin from the caustic ashes - they're very alkaline.
Repeat until all the black is gone, which could take a few times. Dispose of the used paper towel in your compost bucket - it's completely biodegradable.
The final result, in a few minutes...Now your wood stove window is perfectly clean and scratch free, with no need to use harsh chemicals which could off gas when heated. Enjoy the flickering flames!
To maintain the clean glass for longer, always burn the fire hot, and use well seasoned wood. Types of firewood that will make more creosote and soot are pine and fir, if not completely dried.
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