Keeping clean

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Nope, still new at this, so i'm still trashing half the living room with ash and wood fiber.
I'm real good with the vacuum, though.

Trying not to trash the 6 month old bamboo flooring with the piles on either side of the stove.........

I'm trying not to trash the 80 year old pine floor next to our stove as well. So I put the high density fiberboard that the stove was crated in, down on the floor and the wood goes on that. Nice and smooth for cleaning as well.

 

[EbS-P]

We use a wood bag and cordless hand vac. Since Christmas we have added a robotic vacuum, not the name brand. We have a raised hearth so I do that bit by hand but I wake up every morning to a clean floor. We have a lot of stairs otherwise I would have a rolling wood box. I did move the air purifier into the stove room but can’t say whether or not it has helped with dust.

Evan

 

[Das Jugghead]

Finally got around to building the wood box on wheels. Assembled using Titebond and 3" deck screws. I still have to get stain on the outside and polyurethane on the inside. Also need to decide if I am going to install handles or not. Box measures 36" long by 18" wide by 12" deep. The strap hinges are partly for decoration but also serve to hold the upper corners of the walls together.

Stove in background completely dampered down and running on secondary burn - huge achievement considering wet wood only made possible by my 12 year old son who has discovered the joy of splitting wood into small splits.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

I just slapped a little wood box with side rails together down in the shop from scrap lumber and stained it. A few nails to hold dust pan, fire starter. It works good, holds a days worth of wood and after the season i stick it in the basement. I don't think you ever get rid of the mess tho, some how i end up with wood dribblings all over the carpet still and ash dust is a nightmare no matter what i do. Part of life when you burn the wood i guess.

 

[maverick06]

i carry in wood as-needed. I run a HEPA filter immediatly next to the stove. I do not believe that much soot/ash is inside (nothing really builds up, and I have a PM 2.5 meter which doesnt show changes with the stove open or closed). BUT I still run it as it isnt doing any harm, removes all the other dust in the house, and helps mix hot/cold air. Remember, wood ash is super fine, most vacuums will really just blow it around, need a special filter for that.

 

[Ashful]

Like maverick, I mostly only carry in what I’m loading into the stove. If there’s an odd split left over, it goes in the copper boiler kettle next to each stove, and usually used on the next load. I used to vacuum around and in front of each stove every weekend, but I’ve pretty much given up on that. Each stove is located in a fireplace, so the debris just tends to collect on the hearth immediately in front of the stove, until I vacuum it.

The bigger issue I see for most is dust, generated during reloads or stove cleanings. The wood debris, unless you’re sloppy carrying your wood thru the house, mostly stays localized to the few inches in front of my stoves.

 

[Gunfixr]

I'm only stacking wood in the house temporarily, as it's unseasoned, and sitting on the floor a week or two does make it burn better. I have a small stack just outside the door, on the little back deck, with a roof over it, also temporary. When I replace the deck, there will be a bench along the side with the seats hinged, and another set of doors outside, so I can load it from the ground, and just step out the door and get it.

 

[Ashful]

I'm only stacking wood in the house temporarily, as it's unseasoned, and sitting on the floor a week or two does make it burn better. I have a small stack just outside the door, on the little back deck, with a roof over it, also temporary. When I replace the deck, there will be a bench along the side with the seats hinged, and another set of doors outside, so I can load it from the ground, and just step out the door and get it.

Unseasoned = maximum likelihood for bugs. Best to play dumb, when your wife finds her sweaters and dresses full of moth holes.

This year, I have brought in two giant African hornet queens, a half dozen stink bugs, and a few moths. In all cases, it was on a stick I brought in and failed to put immediately into the stove. Thankfully, both hornets were found when they were still cold and sluggish, and all of the moths (to my knowledge) have been caught right at that copper kettle I mentioned in my last post. A few stink bugs have been found in adjacent rooms, and I’m just assuming they came from the wood, since I find them in my stacks all the time.

 

[PaulOinMA]

I also only bring in wood that is going in the stove. Rest is staged in the garage. It's a short trip to the insert that is right in the den from the garage. I used to store wood in the storage area that is part of the fireplace brickwork, but don't do that anymore. Kindling was in the two trashcans by the wood hoop. I'm down to just the trashcan on the tires now.

Sawset … cute cat.

 

[Das Jugghead]

Got the wood box stained on the outside, clear polyurethane on the inside, strap latches reinstalled, and loaded with wood. This holds about two days' worth of wood. Hopefully next year the wood will be better seasoned and I will be a better stove operator so this amount of wood will be closer to three days' supply.

On a separate note I think another set of strap latches are in order to make the box look a little better.

UPDATE: I replaced the wheels with taller wheels to make it roll across the carpet easier and installed another set of strap hinges.

 

[Gunfixr]

Unseasoned = maximum likelihood for bugs. Best to play dumb, when your wife finds her sweaters and dresses full of moth holes.

This year, I have brought in two giant African hornet queens, a half dozen stink bugs, and a few moths. In all cases, it was on a stick I brought in and failed to put immediately into the stove. Thankfully, both hornets were found when they were still cold and sluggish, and all of the moths (to my knowledge) have been caught right at that copper kettle I mentioned in my last post. A few stink bugs have been found in adjacent rooms, and I’m just assuming they came from the wood, since I find them in my stacks all the time.

Oh, great. I needed another example of making a choice between two difficult options.

 

[charger4406]

This year, I have brought in two giant African hornet queens, a half dozen stink bugs, and a few moths

Some years back I must have brought in a couple of european (house)centipedes 'cause we now have a house full, I don't bother to kill them unless
a giant surprises my wife because they eat every other 6 and eight legged critter in here, and don't believe what you read, I've caught a couple that
were nearly 3 inches long from head to rear not including legs or entennae.
They also can't climb smooth glassy surfaces so they get trapped in the iron sink or glass bowls at night.
the only really creepy thing is they blend in with my stone walls and will crawl on and over you if you are in the way

 

[Simonkenton]

I have a self cleaning wood stove hearth.
Every day, I see my girlfriend headed that way with a little broom and a bucket, and next thing I know, the hearth is all clean.

 

[Woody5506]

Wood gets messy. My stove is in a room with laminate floors which makes it easy to clean rather than carpets. I've been using plastic totes lately to keep more wood inside and find it's definitely a neater way of doing it since they catch all the crap off the wood. Also have a Filson log carrier I got as a gift. More importantly than all of that crap though is that I run a shop vac around usually once a week.

 

[Ashful]

Some years back I must have brought in a couple of european (house)centipedes 'cause we now have a house full, I don't bother to kill them unless
a giant surprises my wife...

Those things give me the heebie jeebies, and I’m the guy known for eating an egg salad sandwich next to a severed finger in the ER. Not many bugs bother me, but those things must die, every time I spot one. We live in a 250 year old stone house, so yes... we have them occasionally coming out the damp walls on a hunt for water, during heat waves. <shivers>

 

[PAbowhunter]

Wow, glad I started this thread. Lots of good ideas in here and I appreciate all the feedback. Im gonna work on this in the off season because I just got a black lab puppy and my current project is keeping her from moving the air back and forth. Didnt foresee this haha

 

[TheIndian]

C’mon bro...the mess is the best part!