# Cleaning Glass on a wood stove



## Thor

Whats the best way to clean glass on a wood stove? Manual says to use normal glass cleaners. Do they mean like windex or a glass product  specifically for wood stoves? It  also  states to not clean glass with materials that will scratch glass. Looking for examples of what not to use. Is it OK to use a razor blade?


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## binko

I have been using Windex for years with no issues.
One thing I find is applying the Windex when the glass is still really warm ( If you can't touch it-it's too hot.) helps loosen the film and removes much easier.


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## Shmudda

Use wet newspaper it removes the dirt and grime better than Windex ever will. For really dark and burnt on stains dab it in ash powder and rub, removes the toughest grime

Craig


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## BrowningBAR

damp paper towel + ash


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## tfdchief

damp paper towel and ash works better than anything I have ever used.  Most of the time a dry paper towel gets what little I have.  The old smoke dragon needs paper towel and ash more than the new EPA stove.


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## HotCoals

I have a BKK...they should come with a 1000 razor blades.


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## Woody Stover

No Windex. Contains ammonia and is not recommended. Stove glass cleaner or vinegar and water solution.


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## chris2879

Just a wet paper towel.  I clean it once a day to get the whitish film off the glass. I figured if I keep up on it I will be better off in the long run.  I bet some of it would burn off when reloading in the morning but I really like seeing the fire clearly!


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## chris5150

Do any of you clean your glass when it is warm?  I am afraid of cracking it.


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## HotCoals

chris5150 said:


> Do any of you clean your glass when it is warm? I am afraid of cracking it.


I do with the blade..not sure I would with water..dunno.


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## flyingpig

Quite a while back, in desperation to find a wet towel, I grab a Clorox wipe near by and found that it works very well. Also dip it in the ash for really tough spot and never found any situation it doesn't work. Never look back.


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## ArsenalDon

chris5150 said:


> Do any of you clean your glass when it is warm? I am afraid of cracking it.


Cannot crack the glass when hot by using water....why? It is not glass, it is ceramic and I have used a wet paper towel when it was so hot it still almost lit the towel on fire...so no worries there


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## ArsenalDon

If it gets really bad and nothing works...use soft scrub...it will not scratch but gives a bit more abrasive power...make sure you do it when the window is cooler...you will be there a while when the creosote is caked on...I am a clean glass fanatic...I give it a quick wipe down with a dry paper towel every time a see a bit of haze on it and it stays clean. When I need to clean it I do use the wet newspaper or paper towel and a bit of ashes as an abrasive.
I used to use soft scrub daily...but I think it still left a residue that attracted particles...it is much better these days.


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## madison

Rutland Stove Glass Cleaner/Polish,  leaves a "RainX" like slickness and cleans the class quickly without etching.

Wet paper and a little ash does work, but I would only caution that if you have dirty wood, ( your ash contains clinkers etc during cleanouts), the silicates can be abrasive.


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## Jon1270

Don Williams said:


> Cannot crack the glass when hot by using water....


 
Ceramic glass is vulnerable to thermal shock just like standard silica glass, but the amount of water in a damp paper towel is unlikely to be enough to cause a problem. Don't try splashing water on it, or even spraying it with a spritzer bottle. Failure due to thermal shock is explicitly excluded from my stove's glass warranty.

For removing ash, just a wet paper towel (stove cool) has worked for me. The stickier brownish deposits, of which I get few now that I'm running my stove hotter, come off easily with the water+ash trick. It helps to wipe on some damp ash and let it sit a minute or two to soften the brown deposits before wiping it all off with more water.


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## Wood Duck

If I get sooty glass I find it help a lot to burn nice and hot for a while to turn the soot to ash. The ash then wipes off much more easily. I use a damp cloth. If I need a little extra power I dip the cloth in ash and use it like you'd use ajax cleanser.

I avoid cleaning the glass when the glass is hot. I have wiped warm glass with a damp cloth with no ill effects on the glass.


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## firebroad

The ash method works for me.  As long as I am burning dry wood, I don't get much soot, and a good hot fire will usually eliminate any haze; but when I had to burn less-than-ideal, I used either ashes or CeramaBryte that is made for ceramic cooktops.  Cheaper and less messy that the rutland, and works the same.


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## raprude

Rutland glass cleaner.. a bottle lasts for a few years. It seems to leave the glass easier to clean next time.


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## rijim

For me, wet paper towel on cold glass once every couple of weeks is all it takes.


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## tbuff

As said in some of the prior posts, wet rag and ash is the best cleaner. I have the Rutland stuff, but only use it when I close the stove up and open for the season.


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## firefighterjake

Wet newspaper 98% of the time does the trick . . . burning with well seasoned wood and burning at the right temps typically means there is only some fly ash and smoky haze on the "glass." If need be I use a bit of fine ash with the newspaper.

I often clean the "glass" while it is still quite warm . . .


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## wingsfan

I use the wet paper towel and ash,,,Cleans so good it is hard to tell there is glass in it at all.


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## savageactor7

Because our well has hard water a poster here advised readers to use bottled water with a paper towel. We were told the hard water would over time leave the glass cloudy.

While I have cleaned it when the fire was roaring once or twice. The other times were in the morning before reloading we just wipe it down with a wet paper towel.


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## jdp1152

Usually just a quick wipe with a wet paper towel and follow that up with a dry one.  Glass is still pretty warm, though not steaming off the water too bad. 

I've used a wet paper towel on the outside during full fire/heat when I burned some fleece from my shirt sleeve on it.  Those microfibers weren't budging, so I got the fire going even stronger and used a metal spatula to get most of it off.  The rest just burned off in an hour or two.  That wet paper towel didn't stay wet very long though.  I kept dipping or swapping it out.


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## 120inna55

As others have suggested, for a light film, nothing beats ash. Instead of using wet paper towels, though, I use a soaked sponge that I dip in ashes. Then, just rub it all over the glass. I do it while the glass is hot or warm, so the result is a white ash film when your done with the first step. Then I rinse the sponge and just wipe that white ash film off with the sponge. I follow this up with a dry clean terry cloth towel. Of course the only time I have to do this is when I've let the fire go out. The slow smolder is what deposits the film. Otherwise, using seasoned wood with proper placement of the wood to allow for good air flow ensures the glass stays perfectly clean during operation.

Before I knew any better, my glass would get very dark/black because I was using green/wet wood. That rookie year for my stove was a learning experience. I _did_ learn that plain old *Easy Off* oven cleaner worked great on that black glass. Just spray it on the hot glass, wait about 5 minutes, then wipe it off with a wet sponge.


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## Huntindog1

This year started using the ash idea everyone talks about, works great, I spray a paper towel to make it wet and dip it in ash. I also lightly mist the window with water seems to make it work better. Keep using newly wet towels with new ash on them to eat thru really tough stuff.


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## Thistle

If its really bad I use oven cleaner,spray on for a few seconds then razor blade scraper followed by clean paper towels for the remainder.Rinse/wipe clean with more paper towels,wet then dry.Normally dry paper towel or newspaper is enough for weekly or bimonthly cleanings.


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## bag of hammers

+1 on ash trick.  Weekend burner right now so it gets a quick wipe at the cold startup.  Takes @ 2 minutes to get 3 panes spotless.


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## relicdigger

I tried the white vinegar, not a deep clean. Tried Windex, it did not do much. After reading about using damp news paper and ashes here, I can't believe how well it works. I don't know if it is the news paper or the ashes but my glass is perfectly clean.


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## 120inna55

relicdigger said:


> I tried the white vinegar, not a deep clean. Tried Windex, it did not do much. After reading about using damp news paper and ashes here, I can't believe how well it works. I don't know if it is the news paper or the ashes but my glass is perfectly clean.


I think it's the mild abrasive nature of the ash.  Toothpaste would probably do the same thing.


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## ChadD

I've been using ceramabryte the same stuff I use on my glass cook top. Seems to do the job.


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## Tpotter

Thor said:


> Whats the best way to clean glass on a wood stove? Manual says to use normal glass cleaners. Do they mean like windex or a glass product  specifically for wood stoves? It  also  states to not clean glass with materials that will scratch glass. Looking for examples of what not to use. Is it OK to use a razor blade?


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## Mark N MO

Thor said:


> Whats the best way to clean glass on a wood stove? Manual says to use normal glass cleaners. Do they mean like windex or a glass product  specifically for wood stoves? It  also  states to not clean glass with materials that will scratch glass. Looking for examples of what not to use. Is it OK to use a razor blade?



My Buck 91 manual says;

"Cleaning Glass.
The glass inside will become
colored during use from creosote
buildup. The best way to clean
glass, COLD STOVE, is to let
creosote buildup harden. Then
use razor blade to scrape off
buildup of creosote. Wash glass
using soapy water or glass
cleaner."

Works for me.  Hope this helps.


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## savageactor7

On a cool/warm stove I use bottled water and a few paper towels. 

Mostly we only clean it for expected company as it pretty much stays clean and fully viewable.

Some well waters are not good for the glass so use caution.


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## WayneN

With mine either I build a hot fire and the air wash removes most of it, or a damp paper towel dipped  in some Ash does the trick. 

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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