How To Clean Propane Gas Logs

If you compare a propane fireplace to other types of fireplaces, you will find that they are much easier to clean and maintain. Propane burns very cleanly and leaves few messy waste products behind, resulting in fireplaces that use it requiring much less cleaning. However, propane fireplaces still require cleaning from time to time. In particular, it is important to keep the pilot assembly on a propane fireplace clear and clean. A dirty pilot assembly on a propane fireplace will lead to many problems, including reduced efficiency and reliability. Luckily, it is possible to clean your own propane fireplace. The following should give you everything you need to know in order to do it.

Step 1 - Setup

Before cleaning your propane fireplace, it is important to turn off the supply of gas. Turn off your pilot light if it is not off already. Next, turn off the supply of gas at the main supply valve.

Before continuing, wait for all of the parts in your propane fireplace to cool down completely.

Step 2 - Clean the Pilot Tube

Once everything has cooled down, you can begin cleaning the pilot tube. Locating the pilot tube should be fairly straightforward, as it is the place where you pilot light comes out when it is turned on. Once you have located your pilot tube, take out your can of compressed air and use it directly down the pilot tube. This will help clear out dirt, dust, and soot that may accumulate inside, making your pilot light unreliable.

Step 3 - Clean the Flue

You can remove most of the soot and dirt that accumulates in your flue fairly easily. Get out your broom and put it up your flue. You should be able to remove a great deal of soot by moving your broom around.

Step 4 - Clean the Fireplace

After cleaning the flue, you should remove any buildup of soot from the inside of your fireplace.

You can clean the grates and other exposed metal with your putty knife. Use it to scrape off any hard buildups of soot that you can find. This should apply to most surfaces in the interior of your fireplace. However, you should pay extra attention to the corners, as well as the grates and any other metal parts.

Once you have done this, you can remove all of the loose soot with a vacuum cleaner attachment. Go over the entire interior of your fireplace. When you are done, the soot from your flue and from buildups on the interior of your fireplace should be gone, leaving any problems that remain visible and obvious.

Go over the entire fireplace with a damp sponge to remove any soot that was too strongly attached to be removed by vacuuming. This will also remove propane residue.

Step 5 - Finish Up

Once you are done removing soot and residue with your sponge, dry off the interior of your propane fireplace with your clean towel. This will remove anything your sponge left behind, and also make it very obvious if you have missed any spots. If you have, you can repeat the previous steps to get them cleaner. This is a good time to repair any cracks or other damage as well.