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Home > Archive > Home Cleaning > January 2007 > Cleaning of blackened stones on fireplace ?
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Cleaning of blackened stones on fireplace ?
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What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
but it has been there a long time.
What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else ?
Thanks !!
--james--
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| HeyBub 2007-01-06, 8:28 pm |
| James wrote:
> What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that
> has been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on
> the surface, but it has been there a long time.
>
> What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something
> else ?
I don't know. I can tell you this, according to the CRC Handbook of
Chemistry and Physics, the only substance in which carbon is soluable is
molten iron (that's how they make steel), so searching for a chemical
solution is probably futile.
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| Well, I am not so sure of this. I feel certain there is a common household
product that will clean smut off of a fireplace.
--james--
-------------------------------------
I don't know. I can tell you this, according to the CRC Handbook of
Chemistry and Physics, the only substance in which carbon is soluable is
molten iron (that's how they make steel), so searching for a chemical
solution is probably futile.
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| I have natural river rock around my wood stove, built by the previous owner
( I hate it! Ugly!). Anyhow, like with brick, the stuff is porous, and you
will probably never get it completely clean. Unlike brick, it river rock
tends to not be as porous, so you might get it cleaner then if it were
brick.
Your local fireplace store has cleaners that do a half decent job. Soap and
water and a good stiff scrub brush works. Oven cleaner might work, but might
not be feasible and might stain the rocks. The mortar holding the rocks in
place is probably more porous and more susceptible to staining. I would not
use a wire brush, as the wire might be hard enough to scratch the surface of
the rock. A good plastic scrubber should do the job.
"James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com> wrote in message
news:5emdncQYtNyFZALYnZ2dnUVZ_tKjnZ2d@comcast.com...
>
>
> What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
> been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the
> surface,
> but it has been there a long time.
>
> What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else
> ?
>
> Thanks !!
>
>
> --james--
>
>
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| robson@nf.sympatico.ca 2007-01-06, 8:28 pm |
|
James wrote:
> What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
> been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
> but it has been there a long time.
>
> What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else ?
>
> Thanks !!
>
>
> --james--
Mix a solution of high-alkaline cleaner and one ounce of chlorine
bleach per gallon of warm water. . Wet the surface of the fireplace
well with the solution, but don't use so much that it runs. Dirty water
running down the face may cause hard-to-remove streaks. Then scrub with
a brush. You know it's working when the suds are black. This always
worked for us but time consuming. We use thick bristle brushes and
scotch guard pads.
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| giroup01@videotron.ca 2007-01-06, 8:28 pm |
| James wrote:
> What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
> been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
> but it has been there a long time.
On page 245 of their book "Home Maintenance for Dummies" (ISBN
0-7645-5215-5) the Carey brothers recommend the Advanage cleaning
products (note the spelling) from www.advanage.com.
I have no connections and no experience whatsoever with the website or
the product, I just happened to have the book handy and saw your post.
Best,
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| Phisherman 2007-01-06, 8:28 pm |
| On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 14:31:38 -0500, "James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com>
wrote:
>
>
>What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
>been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
>but it has been there a long time.
>
>What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else ?
>
>Thanks !!
>
>
>--james--
>
Alcohol is effective for cleaning off carbon residue. I havn't tried
this on a fireplace, however. You may need a wire brush. This sounds
like a messy job.
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| Thank you all for responses !! BTW, what is a "high-alkaline cleaner" ??
--James--
Mix a solution of high-alkaline cleaner and one ounce of chlorine
bleach per gallon of warm water. . Wet the surface of the fireplace
well with the solution, but don't use so much that it runs. Dirty water
running down the face may cause hard-to-remove streaks. Then scrub with
a brush. You know it's working when the suds are black. This always
worked for us but time consuming. We use thick bristle brushes and
scotch guard pads.
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| robson@nf.sympatico.ca 2007-01-06, 8:28 pm |
|
James wrote:
> Thank you all for responses !! BTW, what is a "high-alkaline cleaner" ??
We use a product called Aquamix which we bought at Lowes. It is for
deep cleaning of stone or porous(sp) surfaces. It's a bit more user
friendly than the industrial types - ie: product used in a steam
cleaner for engine cleaning. I guess the blackened stone is from smoke
which is acidic and an alkaline cleaner lifts it. all i know that it
took off 60 years of sute off our fireplace brick.
>
>
>
> --James--
>
>
>
>
> Mix a solution of high-alkaline cleaner and one ounce of chlorine
> bleach per gallon of warm water. . Wet the surface of the fireplace
> well with the solution, but don't use so much that it runs. Dirty water
> running down the face may cause hard-to-remove streaks. Then scrub with
> a brush. You know it's working when the suds are black. This always
> worked for us but time consuming. We use thick bristle brushes and
> scotch guard pads.
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| Thanks a lot Robson !!!
--James--
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| John Reddy 2007-01-07, 9:25 am |
| In article <1168115217.590176.203260@42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com>,
robson@nf.sympatico.ca wrote:
> Wet the surface of the fireplace
> well with the solution, but don't use so much that it runs. Dirty water
> running down the face may cause hard-to-remove streaks.
Along that same line..... always work from the bottom up when cleaning a
vertical surface to prevent streak lines.
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| Michael A. Ball 2007-01-08, 9:25 am |
| On Sat, 6 Jan 2007 14:31:38 -0500, "James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com>
wrote:
>What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
>been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
>but it has been there a long time.
>
>What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else ?
The Aquamix Recommended by Robson sounds like a good product. I was
going to recommend tri sodium phosphate (TSP).
A wire brush might be a bit harsh; so, mind the mortar. Nylon bristles
are more pliable and might work better.
I can't imagine working from the bottom up, as John recommended, but you
can decide for yourself.
I'd use a spray bottle and start applying the cleaning solution at the
highest point. Let the solution do the work. Agitate the solution, and
rinse. If you want to remove the maximum soot, use a well-pressurized
garden sprayer to apply the rinse as a fine mist, and use a wet vac to
collect the rinse water as it runs off the bottom.
________________________
Percussion: a masterful mix of speed, force and finesse.
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| Deputy Dumbya Dawg 2007-01-08, 1:25 pm |
| just saw simple green has a product for stone. The
regular simple green works great on natural resins
maybe this will work on the stones.
peace
dawg.
"James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com> wrote in message
news:QoudnbuWT_KxYwLYnZ2dnUVZ_qCmnZ2d@comcast.com...
: Well, I am not so sure of this. I feel certain there
is a common household
: product that will clean smut off of a fireplace.
:
: --james--
:
: -------------------------------------
:
:
: I don't know. I can tell you this, according to the
CRC Handbook of
: Chemistry and Physics, the only substance in which
carbon is soluable is
: molten iron (that's how they make steel), so
searching for a chemical
: solution is probably futile.
:
:
:
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| B McGee 2007-01-08, 8:25 pm |
| I have had great success with the regular Simple Green product on black
residue on glass fireplace doors...I would be willing to bet if Simple
Green makes a product specifically for stone...it would probably work
great. In fact, if you try it, I would love to hear if it worked!
Deputy Dumbya Dawg wrote:
> just saw simple green has a product for stone. The
> regular simple green works great on natural resins
> maybe this will work on the stones.
>
> peace
> dawg.
>
> "James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com> wrote in message
> news:QoudnbuWT_KxYwLYnZ2dnUVZ_qCmnZ2d@comcast.com...
> : Well, I am not so sure of this. I feel certain there
> is a common household
> : product that will clean smut off of a fireplace.
> :
> : --james--
> :
> : -------------------------------------
> :
> :
> : I don't know. I can tell you this, according to the
> CRC Handbook of
> : Chemistry and Physics, the only substance in which
> carbon is soluable is
> : molten iron (that's how they make steel), so
> searching for a chemical
> : solution is probably futile.
> :
> :
> :
>
>
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| Willshak 2007-01-08, 8:25 pm |
| B McGee wrote:
> I have had great success with the regular Simple Green product on
> black residue on glass fireplace doors...I would be willing to bet if
> Simple Green makes a product specifically for stone...it would
> probably work great. In fact, if you try it, I would love to hear if
> it worked!
I recently did a chimney cleaning of my oil fired boiler using chimney
sweep brushes (first time in 22 years). I then vacuumed out the firing
chamber with a shop vac. After I emptied the shop vac, I took it outside
to clean it. I cleaned the vac on a brick walkway (the wife wasn't home,
luckily). The terra cotta stones were then an oily black. I used Simple
Green to clean out the vac and washed the stones with a stiff broom,
then washed it off with the hose. The vac and the stones were as good as
new (and the evidence was gone!)..[color=darkred]
>
> Deputy Dumbya Dawg wrote:
--
Bill
in Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, delete the double zeroes after @
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| B McGee 2007-01-09, 1:25 pm |
| Glad to hear it works on the walkway as well! It's pretty great stuff
for soot stains. Glad you got it all cleaned up before your wife got
home...sounds like something I would do!
Willshak wrote:
> B McGee wrote:
>
> I recently did a chimney cleaning of my oil fired boiler using chimney
> sweep brushes (first time in 22 years). I then vacuumed out the firing
> chamber with a shop vac. After I emptied the shop vac, I took it outside
> to clean it. I cleaned the vac on a brick walkway (the wife wasn't home,
> luckily). The terra cotta stones were then an oily black. I used Simple
> Green to clean out the vac and washed the stones with a stiff broom,
> then washed it off with the hose. The vac and the stones were as good as
> new (and the evidence was gone!)..
>
>
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| Sir Topham Hatt 2007-01-19, 1:25 pm |
| Rutland makes some good products for this ...
http://www.nextag.com/Rutland--2700...lace/brand-html
"James" <jnipperxxx@nospamfdn.com> wrote:
>
>
>What would be a good product to use to clean natural river rock that has
>been blackened from a fireplace? The smut seems to only be on the surface,
>but it has been there a long time.
>
>What would you recommend, and would you use a wire brush or something else ?
>
>Thanks !!
>
>
>--james--
>
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