How To Clean Smoke Damage Off Bricks

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A fireplace can be a cozy add-on to any home, but 1 of the inevitable byproducts is soot on the surrounding bricks. Soot can exit lasting stains on the material it comes in contact with, and so it's of import to clean this buildup at least once a year. To clean soot from your brick, stick with using baking soda or white vinegar for a natural solution, or use a chemical cleaner similar TSP to make your bricks make clean once again.

1. ane

   Let your fireplace cool for at to the lowest degree 12 hours before you start. Hot bricks should not be cleaned. Later your fire, permit everything cool down overnight or for at to the lowest degree 12 hours earlier you start whatever cleaning methods. This will protect your hands and make sure no chemicals get warmed up as you use them.^[ane]

   • If you use your fireplace for heat, consider cleaning it during the summer months when y'all won't need to use it as much.

2. two

   Remove the ashes and loose soot. Use a brush and dustpan to clean your fireplace out before you start scrubbing it. Throw away whatsoever ashes or big pieces of charred wood that may be in the fireplace. This will brand your cleaning procedure much easier.^[2]

   • You can set aside wood that has not been burned to utilise later on.

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3. 3

   Lay a drop fabric or towels downwards to protect your floors. Every bit yous clean, yous may drip water or chemicals on the floor around your fireplace. Lay down a protective covering on your floors surrounding your fireplace to make sure y'all don't damage your carpeting or hardwood.^[iii]

   Warning: Practice not use newspapers, every bit the ink can transfer onto your floors if it gets wet.

4. 4

   Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands. As you scrub your fireplace, you may stop up getting chemicals on your easily. Put on safety kitchen gloves to protect your skin and avoid irritation. If you are using TSP cleaner, put on safety goggles also.^[four]

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1. i

   Make a paste of a 1:1 ratio of water and baking soda. Combine 4 tbsp (56 g) of baking soda with four tablespoons (59 mL) of warm water. Stir the ingredients together until they form a thick paste. If your mixture is too runny, add more baking soda.^[5]

2. 2

   Rub the mixture into the bricks with your hands. Scoop big amounts of your blistering soda paste and spread it onto your fireplace. Piece of work from the meridian down to create a thin layer all over the brick face. Spread extra paste on the inside of the fireplace, since that is where the soot will be the thickest. Pay special attention to the crevices and grooves in betwixt bricks. Focus on any areas of the fireplace are peculiarly muddied.^[six]

   • Put on rubber kitchen gloves to protect your hands, or use a clean rag to spread the paste instead.

3. iii

   Allow the paste sit down for 10 minutes. The baking soda volition work to break downwardly grease and grime on your bricks. Let the paste to sit down for virtually ten minutes to loosen upwards the soot. Do not let the paste dry or harden all the way, or it could damage your bricks.^[7]

   • If your paste does get also dry, spray it with water to loosen it up again.

4. 4

   Scrub the mixture away with an annoying scrub castor. Use a scrub castor with hard beard to scrub away the mixture. Dip your brush in water occasionally to wash away the baking soda residue. The mildly abrasive baking soda will work with your castor to scrub away tough soot.^[viii]

   • Practice not castor so hard that yous damage the bricks themselves.

5. 5

   Wipe downwards your bricks with warm water and remove the driblet cloths. Use a soft sponge dipped in warm water to completely remove any baking soda left on your bricks. Allow the fireplace dry out completely before y'all utilise it over again. Remove any drop cloths or towels you put downwards to grab spills.^[9]

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1. 1

   Combine a i:1 ratio of white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Combine 1 loving cup (240 mL) of white vinegar with 1 cup (240 mL) of warm water in a spray canteen. Shake the bottle to make sure they are mixed well. Use a make clean spray bottle that has not ever had any harsh chemicals in it.^[10]

   • Y'all can buy empty spray bottles at nigh home goods and hardware stores.

   Alarm: If your bricks are more than xx years old, vinegar may be too harsh on them.^[11] Utilise a non-acidic cleaner like blistering soda instead.

2. ii

   Spray the inside and outside of the fireplace with the vinegar solution. Working from the superlative downwardly, spray your vinegar solution all over the bricks. Pay special attention to areas that have a lot of soot, which could exist right around the opening of the fireplace. Brand sure you have a drop cloth downwardly to grab whatever drips.^[12]

   • If you accept leftover vinegar solution, you lot can use it equally a natural cleaner for bathrooms and countertops.

3. iii

   Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. Vinegar is mildly acidic, so information technology will work to pause down the soot and grime stuck onto your bricks. Permit the vinegar and water sit down on your bricks, only practise non let it dry. Don't let information technology sit for longer than 10 minutes, or the acerbity could offset to damage your bricks.^[13]

4. four

   Scrub the bricks from the top downwards with a scrub brush. Dip your scrub brush in warm h2o and scrub your bricks. Pay special attention to the grooves in between bricks and any areas that have a lot of soot. Scrub at the bricks until the vinegar smell is no longer there.^[xiv]

   • You can sprinkle baking soda over your bricks to remove the vinegar faster. Notwithstanding, this will cause a foaming reaction on your bricks and could create a mess.

5. five

   Clean your bricks with warm h2o and remove the drop cloths. Apply a soft sponge to rapidly spread warm water over all your bricks. Take away any drib cloths or towels you used on the floor effectually your fireplace. Permit your fireplace dry out completely earlier yous burn annihilation in it again.^[15]

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1. ane

   Put on gloves to protect your hands. TSP, or trisodium phosphate, tin damage your skin if y'all get it on y'all directly. Put on rubber kitchen gloves to protect your hands. Avert touching TSP with your blank hands equally much as you tin can.^[16]

   • You tin can detect rubber gloves at most home appurtenances stores.

   Warning: TSP can as well harm your eyes. Clothing safety goggles if you are concerned about splashing.

2. 2

   Mix trisodium phosphate and warm water in a bucket. Combine 8 tbsp (112 k) of TSP and one gallon (3,800 mL) of warm water. Use a plastic bucket that will non come into contact with food later. Stir the mixture until information technology forms a thin, watery paste.^[17]

   • Yous tin purchase TSP at virtually hardware stores.

3. 3

   Use a hard-bristled brush to scrub the mixture into the bricks. Scrub the paste into your bricks on the exterior and inside of your fireplace using your castor. Work from the meridian down, and apply actress paste to areas with more soot. Scrub at the areas to remove the soot. Exist careful not to damage the bricks themselves equally you scrub, especially if your fireplace is one-time.^[eighteen]

4. 4

   Rinse the bricks with warm water using a sponge. Employ a soft sponge to apply warm water all over your bricks. Gently sponge away whatever TSP residue that is left on your bricks. Rinse your bucket and brushes thoroughly one time you are done using them.^[nineteen]

   • If in that location is notwithstanding soot left on your bricks, use more TSP paste and scrub them once more.
   • When y'all're washed, remove the dropcloths.

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Add New Question

• Question

  Is it piece of cake to clean soot off of brick?

  

  Chris Willatt is the owner and founder of Alpine Maids, a cleaning bureau in Denver, Colorado started in 2015. Alpine Maids has received Angie'southward List Super Service Laurels for three years in a row since 2016 and has been awarded Colorado'southward "Meridian Rated Local House Cleaning" Award in 2018.

  

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  Expert Answer

  

  Back up wikiHow by unlocking this expert respond.

  It can exist, yes. You can get the soot off with regular cleaning tools similar soap, water, and all-purpose cleaner. Fifty-fifty when y'all get the soot off though, in that location's e'er that smoky odor left. The only way to go that out is to use an enzyme treatment.

• Question

  What if some of the soot got on the drywall?

  

  Alicia Sokolowski is a Green Cleaning Specialist and the President and co-CEO of AspenClean, a green cleaning company in Vancouver, British Columbia. With over 17 years of experience, Alicia specializes in creating a healthier, green alternative to chemical-based cleaning products and services. AspenClean develops and manufactures its ain line of 100% Natural, EcoCert® certified, and EWG verified™ cleaning products. AspenClean'southward drinking glass cleaner was voted Parent's Greenish Pick 2020 by readers of the Parents' magazine. Alicia holds a CPA designation and a Available'south caste in Commerce and Finance from the University of Toronto.

  

  Green Cleaning Specialist

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  Support wikiHow by unlocking this expert respond.

  For drywall, hook your vacuum hose upward with an upholstery zipper and suck upward any big chunks of soot. Then, wipe the area with a dry microfiber cloth. For the remaining stains, soak a cloth in whatever all-purpose cleaner and scrub the stubborn soot stains away before drying it off by hand.

• Question

  Tin I paint over fireplace brick that has been stained?

  

  You could. Just be warned the paint may or may not peel off.

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• Only burn dry, clean wood to keep your fireplace clean for longer.

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• Never use abrasive chemicals when y'all clean soot from brick. Many will exit a flammable moving-picture show which could be unsafe the next time you use your fireplace.

• Only clean the fireplace when y'all are certain all ashes are entirely cold. Heat can remain trapped in the ashes for several days after a fire and yous could inadvertently burn yourself.

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Things You'll Need

• Blistering soda
• Drop cloth or towels
• Gloves or rag
• Annoying brush

• White vinegar
• Spray canteen
• Abrasive castor

• Trisodium phosphate
• Saucepan
• Gloves
• Safety goggles (optional)
• Abrasive brush
• Sponge

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Article Summary X

Ane easy manner to clean soot from brick is with a baking soda scrub. If you're cleaning a fireplace, let it cool downwards for 12 hours before you outset. Sweep away any loose ashes and soot and lay down a driblet cloth to protect the floor. Put on a pair of rubber piece of work gloves to protect your hands. Mix upwardly equal parts water and baking soda to create a paste, then scoop up the mixture in your hands and smear it over the bricks, working from top to bottom. Permit the paste sit for 10 minutes, then scrub it away with a difficult-bristle scrub brush. Dip your brush in water occasionally to rinse it as you lot work. When you're done, wipe the bricks down with a clammy sponge to completely clean away any remaining soot and baking soda. Allow the bricks air dry completely before lighting some other burn down. To larn how to remove tougher soot stains with TSP, read on!

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