How to clean gas fireplace glass – it’s so easy you’ll kick yourself you didn’t do it sooner (I did lol)
Did you know you could (easily) clean the inside of the glass on your gas fireplace?
Neither did I!
We built our house in 2005 and the gas fireplace glass has never been cleaned.
Not once.
It was to the point that I even considered calling the gas company to see if there was a service for it. lol
Look at that silt on the sides!
My fireplace glass was quite literally filthy!
YouTube to the rescue!
In case you are like me, and prefer photos to videos that you have to stop and start – I put together this post for you.
How to clean gas fireplace glass
Step 1. The top grate above your fireplace glass is hooked in place. To remove it, simply lift the grate upwards and it will slide out of it’s bracket so you can take it off.
You can see the little notch in the photo below where the hook was dropped in.
Step 2 Pull the bottom grate towards you and you will find that it tips forward. Don’t remove it, just tip it forward so you can access underneath your fireplace.
Step 3 Turn off the pilot light on your gas fireplace. You’ll see a knob and the gas line that are very obvious. Switch to “Off”.
Step 4 You’ll see a latch underneath the fireplace glass – in my case it is the silver oval shape.
Behind it, you’ll find the release to the latch. Pull it forward and unhook the oval from your fireplace glass. Repeat on the other side (bottom).
Step 5 Your glass will be warm to the touch, but shouldn’t be too hot; you can grab the sides of the frame and lift the glass off of its hooks.
Because I didn’t turn off my pilot light (very dangerous, don’t follow my shitty example), I didn’t clean inside the fireplace box itself.
If your gas fireplace is cool and the pilot flame is off, you can remove the different decorative components and clean them.
Step 6 I used ENJO marble paste and an ENJO cloth to thoroughly scrub the silt off of my fireplace glass. Alternatively, a clean, damp cloth with some Bar Keepers Friend (Amazon affiliate link) will also scrub thoroughly without scratching up your glass.
Sixteen years of smoke and silt had accumulated because I didn’t know how to clean gas fireplace glass – and IT’S SO EASY!
Step 7. Once your glass is clean and dry, lift it back into place and hook the top rail over the fireplace box.
Step 8 Bring forward your oval clamps, hook the bottom edge of the fireplace glass, and then push the latch mechanisms back into place – the opposite of Step 4
Step 9. Turn the gas back on, set the pilot light to the on position and press the button to re-ignite the flame.
Step 10 Flip the bottom grate back up into place and press until you hear a light click.
Step 11 Take the top grate and lower it back over the upper hooks on your fireplace box. (Step 1 in reverse)
That’s it – and unless your glass is considerably dirtier than mine – you will be done in less than 30 minutes!
There was a bit of moisture still on my fireplace glass after I reinstalled it, but I turned the fireplace on and it was gone in a matter of minutes.
I had no idea just how dirty my gas fireplace was until I saw it clean.
It’s really fantastic!
This is the time of year when fireplaces (finally) get put to use – so taking a few minutes this weekend (last weekend for me) really sets you up for a cozy and pretty winter room.
I hope this “how to clean gas fireplace glass” helps someone as much as the YouTube video did me.
Have a great one!