Brick fireplace tarnish with carbon black ? Here ’s how to strip it up , plus the in force method acting to use for the job .

Over meter , soot and ash tree take a toll on brick fireplaces , giving them a black and dingy appearance . The soot stains on the brick can be even more obvious if you opt to install agas fireplaceinsert or anothertype of fireplace . Luckily , you canclean up your fireplacebricks with different cleansing mathematical product and a little elbow grease . Below , we ’ve explained dissimilar ways you could make clean abrick fireplacewith easy - to - follow steps for getting the line done .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

How to Clean a Brick Fireplace

The steps below are general guidelines for cleaning all hearth . Because fireplaces diverge along with their level of soot saturation , you may need to adjust the steps and methods to effective suit your brick fireplace .

Remove Everything from the Fireplace

When the fireplace is cold , removefireplace screen , grating , and other open fireplace accessories .

Protect the Surrounding Area

lie a waterproofed drop material on the flooring and the open fireplace to protect them from water supply and chemicals .

Vacuum the Brick

Before cleaning the bricks , vacuum the entire aerofoil with a cockeyed bristle copse to insure you remove all ash , detritus , and other junk .

Pre-Soak the Bricks

brick are like parasite . To keep them from hook up cleansing chemical , spray them down with water good beforehand . Spray them several time until they no longer soak up water .

Mix Your Preferred Cleaning Solution

Choose your pet cleaning solvent fit in to the listing below . We recommend starting with something mild like water with a footling soap . If you find you need a more fast-growing cleanser , pick out something strong like scrubbing bubble or TSP .

When using harsh chemical , you should wreak with caution and pay close aid to cleanup and administration instructions .

Apply Cleaning Solution

surface the dirty bricks with your cleaning solution and allow it to sit for several minutes to split up up the grime . If necessary , employ more cleansing solution to the brick .

Scrub the Brick

Scrub the brick with a stiff scrub brush to physically remove the soot . If your cleaning solution worked , it should have rescind the soot from the brick . However , physically cancel the brick will be more effective for total removal .

Repeat Steps

If your brick are still dirty , apply more cleanup solution and scrub them again .

Use Harsher Cleaning Chemicals (Optional)

If you ’ve repeated the cleaning and scrubbing whole step but the lampblack is still hang on , it may be time to utilize a harsher cleaning method .

Rinse and Towel Dry

Once the brick have reached your desired spirit level of cleanliness , mildly wash them and use a towel to dry out off any body of water on the surface .

Let Bricks Air Dry

Even after towel - dry out bricks , they ’ll likely still be blotto and discolored . Allow the bricks ample metre to melodic line teetotal after rinse .

To speed up the drying of the bricks , place a fan direct at the fireplace .

Spot-Clean Stubborn Stains

Once the brick have fully dry out , you may find some obvious stains left behind that were n’t noticeable before . utilise your cleaning chemical substance to spot - treat each stain , following the step above .

6 Ways to Clean Fireplace Brick

method to houseclean brick hearth include chemicals as well as natural cleaning answer . When choosing your method for cleaning fireplace brick , take time to test the cleaning agentive role on a hidden portion of the brick to see how the surface react . If it works without damaging or discolor the brick , stay on using it on the remainder of the fireplace .

We recommend starting with mild cleaning methods and only utilizing harsher chemicals if absolutely necessary . While they seem tough and perdurable , bricks can be delicate and they soak up liquidness like a sponge .

When to Call a Professional

No hazard strip your hearth yourself ? It might be meter to call a professional cleanup Robert William Service . Professional fireplace cleaner have better experience and knowledge of chemical substance they can safely use to get your hearth scramble like new .

living room brick fireplace mirror

Credit: Helen Norman