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    Best Way To Clean A Fireplace

    By Stacy 80 Comments

    I always struggle at the beginning of a new year. A.) January is kind of the worst. B.) I am always exhausted after the holidays and it takes a bit to get back into the swing of things. I usually take a week to deep clean after taking down the Christmas decor. After I tackled my house, I headed over to my mom's. I had noticed her fireplace was pretty sooty so I decided to sneak over while she was gone one day and freshened it up! It is not a very fun job, but I found a way to make it less crappy. Here is the best way to clean a fireplace!

    This post is sponsored by HomeRight, but all opinions and ideas are 100% my own. This post contains an affiliate link.

     

    The Best Way To Clean A Fireplace

    #1 -Vacuum

    I used my shop vac to clean out all of the ashes. I also went over the bricks to get as much loose soot as possible. The more you can vacuum out, the less scrubbing you'll have to do and the less rags you will go through.

     

     

    #2-Steam

    I love using my SteamMachine Elite to deep clean. Using a steamer is the best way to clean a fireplace! I used a plastic brush attachment at first. Most of the soot was easily steamed off. It literally ran down as I was steaming.

     

     

    I went over the stone with the plastic brush and then used the wire brush to get the deeper stains. Be careful not to scrub too hard with the wire brush so that it doesn't damage the stone or brick.

     

    The best way to clean a fireplace!

     

    #3-Wipe

    Make sure you have plenty of rags handy. I grabbed a stack of my shop rags so that I could wipe the soot as it ran down. Most of the rags were used for the inside. It was so black! In fact, I went straight for the wire brush.

     

     

     

    Now it is all clean and ready for the next fire!

     

     

    GIVEAWAY!

    HomeRight is offering one lucky reader a SteamMachine Elite! Enter to win using the widget below :)

    SteamMachine Elite

    You must be at least 18 years old to enter. You must be a resident of the USA to enter. The giveaway will go from January 19, 2021 until January 26, 2021. A winner will be chosen by random.org and will be notified by email. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner will be chosen. The shipping of the prize is the responsibility of the company, in this case, HomeRight.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    For more ideas on how you can use your SteamMachine, I wrote a post with all the things I use mine for!

     

     

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    Filed Under: Cleaning 80 Comments

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rust

      January 19, 2021 at 5:06 am

      WOW! That is one of the more impressive before/afters I've seen! Very nice!

      Reply
    2. Carol Clark

      January 19, 2021 at 5:07 am

      well my fridge and wax on carpet i hate cause i cant get it out any suggestions and i have cleaning in the cracks of the car i found fries money and all kinds of things and i hate cleaning my steps o darn i hate cleaning mold and behind the toilet ok I'm done ahah

      Reply
    3. Anna Chan

      January 19, 2021 at 5:12 am

      You did a great job, we have fireplace and I leave it for as long as possible before sweeping it out

      Reply
    4. Anne Marie

      January 19, 2021 at 5:14 am

      I hate cleaning tile grout but it has to be done!!

      Reply
    5. Anna Chan

      January 19, 2021 at 5:14 am

      I hate taking down curtains and washing them and putting them back up, it's so much work and the cushion covers on the couch and the bathroom and the greasy stove top. I just wish there was a button I could press and poof! the whole house is sparkling clean

      Reply
    6. lyn

      January 19, 2021 at 5:52 am

      Beautiful job! I need to clean mine too. Thanks for the good idea and the giveaway.

      Reply
    7. Justine Ferreira

      January 19, 2021 at 6:26 am

      WOW that is quite the transformation! I truly hate cleaning grout...now I see the steam machine would make it easier work.

      Reply
    8. Kathy Persons

      January 19, 2021 at 6:32 am

      THe refridgerator

      Reply
    9. Tracy

      January 19, 2021 at 6:35 am

      Fireplaces are the literal worst to clean so I just don’t! Maybe if I win a steam cleaner I would enjoy it more!

      Reply
    10. Samantha

      January 19, 2021 at 6:47 am

      Wow, that actually really got off all the soot and just from steam! I'm amazed. I hate cleaning grout in the bathroom.

      Reply
    11. Starla

      January 19, 2021 at 6:48 am

      That seems like such an awesome product, I love that you included the before/ after! I really hate cleaning out the refrigerator and the freezer.

      Reply
    12. Janina

      January 19, 2021 at 6:57 am

      I really hate scrubbing the shower

      Reply
    13. Jennifer Van Der Heide

      January 19, 2021 at 7:05 am

      I would love to clean my windows with a steamer.

      Reply
    14. Colleen

      January 19, 2021 at 7:11 am

      I have a fireplace that looks like your "before" picture. The steam cleaner would be great for cleaning it!

      Reply
    15. Lisa Smith

      January 19, 2021 at 7:26 am

      One place I don't enjoy cleaning is along the baseboards and the trim on cabinet doors.

      Reply
    16. sheila ressel

      January 19, 2021 at 7:54 am

      I absolutely HATE cleaning the bath tub!

      Reply
    17. hillary

      January 19, 2021 at 8:08 am

      What a difference! I can think of so many places this would come in handy around the house.

      Reply
    18. LM Alden

      January 19, 2021 at 8:13 am

      I hate steam cleaning my couches.

      Reply
    19. Sarah VanMater

      January 19, 2021 at 8:17 am

      I hate cleaning the bathroom.

      Reply
    20. Ashleigh Hall

      January 19, 2021 at 8:18 am

      The thing I most hate cleaning is toilets in my boy's bathrooms!

      Reply
    21. Latonya Ramsey

      January 19, 2021 at 9:37 am

      I hate cleaning the shower!

      Reply
    22. Renee

      January 19, 2021 at 10:23 am

      I hate cleaning my bathroom tile grout.

      Reply
    23. Liz

      January 19, 2021 at 11:29 am

      This steam cleaner would be amazing to have and use!

      Reply
    24. Abigail

      January 19, 2021 at 11:34 am

      Bathrooms! They are the worst!

      Reply
    25. Karen

      January 19, 2021 at 11:40 am

      By far the worst thing to clean is a toilet. This steamer would make it easier and probably cleaner in the end.

      Reply
    26. Jennifer S

      January 19, 2021 at 1:25 pm

      Definitely the fridge! Our fireplaces are on my need-to-be cleaned list too right now.

      Reply
    27. Julie Waldron

      January 19, 2021 at 1:55 pm

      I hate cleaning the shower!

      Reply
    28. Martha Swogger

      January 19, 2021 at 2:05 pm

      No fireplace but lots of things that could use a good steam cleaning. Thanks for the opportunity to enter the giveaway!

      Reply
    29. Karen Anderson

      January 19, 2021 at 3:11 pm

      My least favorite thing to clean is my OLD gas oven. It's 50 years old and only has 1 burner knob plus the oven knob. The other 3 broke off and I can't find replacements. The oven knob has been cleaned so many times, the numbers from 325 and up are gone. Plus the oven light is burned out, which is a good thing because I can't really see how ugly it is in there. Maybe one of these would help get that gunk out of there!

      Reply
    30. Vickie V

      January 19, 2021 at 3:17 pm

      OH my Gosh. I just did this last week with a fireplace that had sit over 15 years.
      What a mess it was. This steam cleaner would have been awesome.
      One thing I hate is the green moss on all our decks under the trees. It takes several days. Just to prep.

      Reply
    31. Stephanie Ann

      January 19, 2021 at 3:49 pm

      I hate cleaning my kitchen floors! They always get so dirty so quickly, sometimes I have to mop multiple times a day!

      Reply
    32. Melissa Storms

      January 19, 2021 at 4:00 pm

      I hate cleaning out my refrigerator. It is just so messy.

      Reply
    33. MaryAnn Smith

      January 19, 2021 at 4:29 pm

      I hate cleaning floors! My husband was always in charge of them. He's been gone for 23 years now and I still haven't learned to like cleaning the floors.

      Reply
    34. Peggy

      January 19, 2021 at 5:08 pm

      What a wonderful Daughter you are! Can't believe how clean you got it. I bet your Mother was so happy.

      Reply
    35. Verna

      January 19, 2021 at 6:01 pm

      I hate cleaning the refrigerator and bathrooms!

      Reply
    36. grace

      January 19, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      I hate cleaning period!! 😄 Thank you for the chance -- this is such a great tool to clean many things, maybe even the deck?

      Reply
    37. Karen

      January 19, 2021 at 6:41 pm

      I hate cleaning the shower so much!

      Reply
    38. Laura Harrie

      January 19, 2021 at 7:08 pm

      Your fireplace looks amazing! I can think of a thousands things I could use that SteamMachine at my house!

      Reply
    39. Dawn S

      January 19, 2021 at 7:32 pm

      I never thought a steamer could clean a fireplace like that! I need one now. I can never get the brick clean.

      Reply
    40. Mary Payton

      January 19, 2021 at 8:38 pm

      I hate to clean grout, bathrooms or kitchen, doesn't matter.

      Reply
    41. kesha

      January 20, 2021 at 4:32 am

      Wow! That is an amazing difference. I always dread cleaning baseboards!

      Reply
    42. Carla Erickson

      January 20, 2021 at 4:34 am

      Your fireplace looks amazing! What a transformation!

      Reply
    43. Whitney

      January 20, 2021 at 7:16 am

      My husband and I were just trying to figure out the best way to clean the soot off our fireplace!

      Reply
    44. Jamie

      January 20, 2021 at 8:10 am

      I hate cleaning my shower walls. I bet this would make it better!

      Reply
    45. Michelle J.

      January 20, 2021 at 9:59 am

      I hate cleaning toilets!

      Reply
    46. KRYSTA

      January 20, 2021 at 1:17 pm

      Looks great. I painted the inside of my fireplace with heat safe paint so I could at least fake that it was clean!

      Reply
    47. Sharon Wyant

      January 20, 2021 at 3:11 pm

      Never thought to clean my fireplace with a steam machine! Definitely going to try it. Thanks for this post

      Reply
    48. Lane

      January 20, 2021 at 5:17 pm

      You did a nice job! I hate cleaning my refrigerator most.

      Reply
    49. beverly e

      January 20, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      That looks amazing! I have a 50 yr old shower with 1" tiles on the floor and it's a pain to clean!

      Reply
    50. Danielle Eaton Hart

      January 20, 2021 at 9:46 pm

      I hate cleaning my toilets. And unfortunately my 11 month old thinks that they are toys I should let him play with! Most of all I hate cleaning mold (I don't seem to be very good at it and I'm quite allergic.) Thanks for sharing this timely tip about fireplaces as we get ready to relocate rental homes. Now I can hopefully leave this fireplace better than we found it!

      Reply
    51. Laura L

      January 21, 2021 at 9:43 am

      I hate cleaning the tub! Thank you for the giveaway!

      Reply
    52. Elizabeth H

      January 21, 2021 at 1:38 pm

      My fireplace needs a good cleaning. Your fireplace is very nice. Love it.

      Reply
    53. Rebecca B

      January 21, 2021 at 11:36 pm

      My kitchen and bathrooms all have tile counters. I feel like they are gross no matter what I do.

      Reply
    54. Alina

      January 22, 2021 at 7:16 am

      The fireplace turned out amazing! I truly dislike cleaning the bathroom grout. It's so tedious and difficult.

      Reply
    55. Brix

      January 22, 2021 at 7:28 am

      I love to cook but I dislike cleaning kitchen countertops and second toilets.

      Reply
    56. Stafford

      January 22, 2021 at 8:02 am

      Fireplaces are quite difficult to keep clean so I'm truly amazed at how it turned out. My most hated thing to clean are the shower doors and tile/grout in our house.

      Reply
    57. Jeremy McLaughlin

      January 22, 2021 at 2:18 pm

      Hate cleaning the bathrooms.

      Reply
    58. Sean

      January 23, 2021 at 6:34 am

      The fireplace turned out gorgeous. I love how different it looks. I detest cleaning the bathroom (tub, tile and grout together).

      Reply
    59. Christy H

      January 23, 2021 at 3:58 pm

      That’s impressive! I think of lots of ways I could use this in my home!

      Reply
    60. Sandy Stevens

      January 23, 2021 at 4:19 pm

      Ohhh the things I would to clean around my house! I have some brick around my fireplace that could use cleaning, bathrooms, a sofa. It might even make cleaning fun!

      Reply
    61. Dorothea

      January 23, 2021 at 4:36 pm

      I hate cleaning the mess in the kitchen (especially the grease!) after a big meal!

      Reply
    62. elle

      January 23, 2021 at 6:40 pm

      What a difference! This is really good to know. I would love to try steam cleaning.

      Reply
    63. Teri

      January 23, 2021 at 7:17 pm

      I hate cleaning faucets and shower heads. Too much hard water, I guess! Thanks for the giveaway.

      Reply
    64. Tammie

      January 23, 2021 at 9:06 pm

      I hate cleaning my bathroom tile floors. The grout still looks dirty even after it's cleaned. I bet a steam cleaner would make a big difference!

      Reply
    65. Hope

      January 23, 2021 at 9:21 pm

      What a difference! You did a great job. I cleaned a fireplace last year that was pretty bad. UCK!! I wish I would have had this post then. I will be saving the post for future use.

      Reply
    66. Jenny Young

      January 24, 2021 at 6:54 am

      I hate cleaning the bathtub most but I've noticed the older I get the less I hate cleaning.

      Reply
    67. Janet

      January 24, 2021 at 8:11 am

      I hate cleaning bathrooms but especially old tile with old grout!

      Reply
    68. Annette

      January 24, 2021 at 10:53 am

      I hate cleaning the countertop oven.

      Reply
    69. Carol P.

      January 24, 2021 at 2:18 pm

      Impressive before and after! We have two large dogs so a steam cleaner would be very helpful on my kitchen floors.

      Reply
    70. Rust

      January 24, 2021 at 2:53 pm

      I hate cleaning the oven.

      Reply
    71. Kelly

      January 24, 2021 at 4:34 pm

      I dislike cleaning my bathroom, the tile is old and grout never seems to come clean for long.

      Reply
    72. Teri Schultz

      January 24, 2021 at 9:40 pm

      The one thing I hate to clean? The bathroom floors!

      Reply
    73. Margaret

      January 25, 2021 at 8:03 am

      The oven and/or toaster oven.

      Reply
    74. Heather G

      January 25, 2021 at 8:27 am

      all of it. I hate ALL of the cleaning.

      Reply
    75. Christine

      January 25, 2021 at 5:43 pm

      Great job on the fireplace, it looks beautiful! My least favorite cleaning job is the grill and grout.

      Reply
    76. athena graeme

      January 26, 2021 at 6:37 am

      I hate cleaning our garage. We have outdoor parties a lot and like to put the food and things in the garage in case of rain (we live in Forks, as in Twilight ...'nough said about the rain!) I HATE cleaning out all the oil and dirt and grime from the floor ....

      Reply
    77. Michelle

      January 26, 2021 at 7:51 am

      When our kids were younger, we splurged on a before the park opened breakfast with the characters at Disneyland. When I took my daughter to the restroom, a crew was finishing up before opening, and I watched as two women used powerful steam cleaners throughout the space...walls, ceiling and fixtures. It was such an eye opener!
      I’m happy to see commercial steam cleaning technology scaled to residential. A much better, and healthier way to clean!
      Thanks for the opportunity!

      Reply
    78. Amanda Whitley

      January 26, 2021 at 10:12 am

      i hate cleaning my stove, it always take a LOT of elbow grease.

      Reply
    79. Brandy Cardenas

      January 26, 2021 at 3:35 pm

      I hate cleaning tile floors!

      Reply
    80. Cassandra D

      January 26, 2021 at 9:29 pm

      Cleaning the tile in between the floors.

      Reply

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