Have you noticed soot stains on your fireplace’s glass screen? Glass screens are common with residential fireplaces. Whether you have a wood-burning fireplace or a gas fireplace, it may feature a glass screen in front of it.
This glass screen serves several purposes. First, it protects your living room carpet or flooring from burning embers. Secondly, it prevents indoor heat from escaping out of your living room and into the chimney. For gas fireplaces, a glass screen also ensures that no gas vapors enter your living room. Glass screens, however, can develop soot stains. Fortunately, you can keep them clean by taking a few precautions.
Build Smaller Fires
Building smaller fires can protect your fireplace’s glass screen from soot stains. If you have a wood fireplace, consider using less wood. If you have a gas fireplace, try turning down the pilot light. Your fireplace won’t generate as much heat, but it can prevent soot from reaching the glass screen.
Move the Glass Screen
Assuming it’s not stationary and built into your fireplace, you may be able to move the glass screen. Moving the glass screen farther away from your fireplace will protect it from soot stains. If the glass screen is directly against the fire, it will inevitably develop soot stains. Smoke will pillow over the interior surface of the glass screen, resulting in soot stains. A simple solution is to move the glass screen a few extra inches away from your fireplace.
Check the Damper
If you’re struggling to keep your fireplace’s glass screen clean, check the damper. The damper should be completely open when using your fireplace. Even if it’s just partially closed, some of the smoke may accumulate inside of the chimney. And as the smoke builds up inside of the chimney, it may reach your fireplace’s glass screen where it causes soot stains.
Reposition Ceramic Logs
You may need to reposition your fireplace’s ceramic logs. Gas fireplaces don’t use wood logs. Rather, they use ceramic logs. These ceramic logs must be positioned correctly so that the flame is able to travel up and through them. If the ceramic logs cover the burners, the flame may travel up the front of them, which can cause soot stains on the glass screen.
How should you position the ceramic logs exactly? Rather than doing it yourself, you should leave this task to a professional. A heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) technician can position the ceramic logs correctly to maximize heat and minimize soot.
