Natural Ways to Keep Soot From Building Up on the Inside of a Fireplace Window

Soot

• Soot is a product of combustion. When firewood burns, it produces smoke and soot. The soot, a fine black dust, settles on fireplace windows, flues and fireboxes. When it builds up into a crusty layer, it becomes creosote, a highly flammable layer of wood residue. Soot is dark and coats fireplace windows or screens. It blocks heat transfer by absorbing the fireplace heat. This soot forms films and deposits that, like coal dust, stain clothing or skin on contact. When carried on fireplace drafts, the gritty soot is an irritant to eyes and lungs.

Prevention

• Reduce soot buildup naturally by preparing a fast-starting and efficient fire. Use newspaper and dry kindling as a foundation. These materials ignite quickly without smoldering. Open the fireplace damper and light the newspaper and kindling. If smoke does not quickly rise through the chimney, twist a newspaper and light a match to it. Hold the newspaper torch at the chimney mouth so that it heats the rising air. When the chimney air warms, it carries smoke and soot upward and away from the fireplace window. Stack seasoned wood on the kindling as seasoned wood burns cleaner and more completely than green wood. Green wood, full of moisture, burns colder and slower, resulting in more soot and smoke.

Cleaning

• When fireplace windows are dirty with soot, clean them promptly so that soot does not build up. Light or fresh soot deposits come off more easily than heavy or caked deposits. Chemical cleaners may remove the soot, but usually are irritating to lungs and skin. For a fast cleaning, dampen a paper towel with warm water, dip it in the fireplace ashes and rub the sooty window. Change the paper towel as needed so that you remove the soot instead of smearing it. Wipe clean with a newspaper or towel. Another natural cleaner is white vinegar. Mix equal parts white vinegar and warm water in a spray bottle and spray the dirty window. Wipe with paper towels, repeating as needed until the window is clean. This minimizes soot buildup as soot sticks more easily to existing soot layers than to clean windows.

Considerations

• Clean the fireplace chimney regularly so that air flows freely up the flue and carries sooty smoke out of the fireplace. Some products advertised as soot removers contain table salt or sodium chloride that burn during the fire. They produce a weak acid that helps dissolve creosote, but they do not remove soot from fireplace windows. Avoid burning resinous woods such as cedar or poplar as they spark easily, throwing soot and wood particles against the window.