We recently installed a new woodstove that has a glass front, and already we have it smoked up. The booklet suggests buying a commercial product from the company, but I was pretty sure that there must be someone out there who has another alternative. Can anyone suggest something besides an expensive purchase that is probably not necessary?

-- Karen Braun (jbraun@one.net), October 12, 2001

Answers

Warm water, soft cloth and elbow grease. Ours came with instructions to only use this on the glass. It's been 5 years now and this works for us.

-- Rose Marie Wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), October 12, 2001.

I'd heard that you use the ash on a wet cloth to clean the window. Anyone really know?

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), October 12, 2001.

How about a paste of baking soda & water ?

Seems to clean just about anything with scratching.

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), October 12, 2001.

I just dip a wet paper towel in some ash and rub the glass, then polish with a clean towel. Works great and cost nothing.

-- Jorja Hernandez (jorja@color-country.net), October 12, 2001.

When we bought our woodstove we were told to clean the glass by making a paste out of wood ashes & water, smear it on the glass with a rag or paper towel & then rub it off with a clean paper towel. Works beautifully every time & we have had out wood stove for over 8 years.

-- Jan Sears (jcsears@magma.ca), October 12, 2001.

Karen--The stuff in the can contains lye, so mixing the wood ashes with water makes sense.-Vicki

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), October 12, 2001.

Formula 409 Professional Strength and newspaper as the cloth. Very fast. I use the same combo for the gunk on the toaster oven glass door.

-- Mark Sykes (mark@marksykes.net), October 13, 2001.

I recently replaced my old woodstove with a newer used one that has a glass door. After trying unsuccessfully to clean the glass with a regular window glass cleaner, I figured it would be necessary to buy the manufacturer's recommended special cleaner.

Thanks to those of you who suggested wood ashes and water! The glass is clean and didn't even require "elbow grease"! Thank you, Countrysiders!

-- bluetick (coonhound@mindspring.com), October 13, 2001.

I have used baking soda on a damp cloth, and was told the wood ash can scratch the glass over time, as it is really ceramic not true glass, I was also told to use a single edge razor blade on thick deposits and that the commercial stuff is well worth the cost. Check out the site at www.woodheat.com Thumper

-- Thumper (slrldr@yahoo.com), October 14, 2001.

When our glass window in the woodstove got really dirty, I would just take a single edge razor blade and it would virtually peel off the film that developed. I used to worry about getting the glass wet when it was warm but I can see I didn't have to. Learn something new every day.

-- Chris in PA (CLMngs@aol.com), October 15, 2001.

Its easier than all that. I've owned several, glass-front stoves, and have learned that if you take very wet paper towels and clean the glass, gently, just as it is heating-up, the resin in the smoke/ash loosens right up and wipes off like steam. Been using this trick for years. On the real heavy spots, I just wipe it over severval days. The temperature of the glass is right, when the soot comes loose. By the way, the "real heavy spots" are caused when a log leans or falls too close to the glass door. Just keep the wood load back from the glass, as best you can.

T.

-- Tony Granados (tony_granados@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001.

oooops, the address for woodheat is www.woodheat.org (sorry for the .com part)

-- Thumper (slrldr@yahoo.com), October 17, 2001.

I've been using oven cleaner for about 7 years on my pellet stove, just make sure you have good ventilation and wear rubber gloves.

-- Daryl Vallad (midaryl@excite.com), December 13, 2001.

First, when buying a wood heater, get one which has an "air wash". This cleans the soot off all by itself. It should only be necessary to clean the glass by hand every couple or three weeks, in my experience.

For cleaning, I've had good success using windex (actually a generic form of Windex) and crumpled up newspapers. Just like I use for windows, actually.

I don't know if it's because the stove cleans its own glass so well, or what, but it only takes about thirty seconds to clean the glass with this method.

By the way, the glass in new stoves isn't even really glass. It's a clear ceramic. That's why you can't break it by overheating it.

-- joj (jump@off.c), December 13, 2001.