Last Updated on May 31, 2019 by Royal Stone Care
If you’re lucky enough to have a real brick fireplace in your home, you no doubt love this cosy focal point of your property.
How to clean a brick fireplace
However, you are probably rather less enamoured of the black soot which can build up around the bricks. And while you may be resigned to cleaning out the ashes after very fire, blitzing the bricks around your fireplace may be a different matter. It’s one of those jobs it’s all too easy to put off in you learn how to clean brick fireplace.
To understand how best to tackle the task, it’s worth understanding a bit about bricks and soot.
Soot
This black powder is made from the unfinished burning of coal, wood or another organic matter. Even small amounts of it can discolour ceilings and walls, and it’s not easy to shift because it stains just about everything in sight, it has small particles and so is tough to get rid of, and its base is quite oily.
Brick
Made from clay and kiln-baked, bricks are strong and durable. They are either sealed or unsealed – usually the latter in a fireplace although sealed bricks are better at resisting soot stains.
With sealed brick, soot will often come off just with soap and water. (Be careful not to strip the oil sealant if you use anything stronger.) Use less force when scrubbing, and try out your cleaning product on a test area of brick first.
Unsealed brick, which looks flat and dull, is harder to clean since dirt penetrates into its cracks.
Safety tips
Wear rubber gloves and use goggles as eye protection at all times. Read all cleaning product instructions carefully and rinse any chemicals used from the brick thoroughly. Keep the room well ventilated as you work.
Prep
It may sound an odd thing to do, but vacuum the fireplace, surround and brick wall and floor so that as much loose dirt as possible is shifted before cleaning proper begins. Use a brush attachment.
Lay a tarp down to protect the flooring surrounding your fireplace.
Stains: a colour guide
- Red, orange or brown stains are probably rust – remove with oxalic acid very carefully.
- Green or black stains could be mildew or mould. Shift with a chlorine bleach.
- White, hazy stains are often caused when water gets in the brick. You’ll need something abrasive like muriatic acid or pumice stone to remove.
Try a mild detergent, or if that doesn’t work, borax. Still not successful? Try ammonia or as a last resort Trisodium Phosphate (TSP). Work your way up in terms of abrasiveness, and try the gentler products first even if your fireplace is really dirty. Always follow instructions to the letter for all products and also ready our brick cleaning do’s and don’ts and how to clean brick posts for more tips.
Also – don’t forget the elbow grease!
Professional brick cleaning services London
If all this sounds like too much hard work, we don’t blame you. So why not consider hiring professional brick cleaning services instead?
At Royal Stone Care, we offer brick cleaning services in London and the surrounding areas to a high standard, with full insurance and environmental accreditation – we really know what we are doing!
Ask us about brick cleaning today.
