Cleaning the INSIDE of Gas Fireplace Glass

September 09, 2020

How to access and clean the inside of your fireplace glass. 


It’s about that time of year to turn on the fireplaces -- in fact we’ve already had the family room going at night a couple times. Gas fireplaces are wonderful -- we’ve had a wood burning one before (in an apartment if you can believe it!) and it was great but the convenience of gas can’t be beat.

Our current fireplace doesn't have glass, just the chain link and I LOVE that:
Tall gas fireplace family room

But in the past we've had the gas insert with glass on the front. After a few years I noticed how filthy the inside of the glass would get, but didn't think I could do anything about it. I learned how to clean the inside of the fireplace glass years ago and it comes in SO handy, especially this time of year. I always clean the glass in early fall before we light the fireplaces for the season.

It’s not hard to do at all and just takes a few steps. (These photos are from our last house with the gas insert):
how to clean inside glass on gas fireplace

I don’t know how the inside gets so yucky, but every year it needs to be cleaned:
cleaning inside gas fireplace

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The first step is to make sure the pilot light is off! I don’t think it’s a big deal to open it up with it on but since you’ll be cleaning the glass and all, I recommend you just have it off.

To start you’ll tilt down the bottom grate like so:
how to clean inside of gas fireplace glass

This one I can’t remove unless I unscrew it, but it does give me access to the back side so I can clean the grates easier.

Inside and underneath on both sides of the firebox are two clamps. You’ll need to bend down and find them and then you just release the clamp:
how to clean inside of gas fireplace

Do this on both sides. This releases the glass front of the fireplace. It will tilt out from the bottom:
how to clean inside of gas fireplace

And then you can pull up on the whole piece of glass and just pull it off. The whole thing has a cleat at the top that sits under the upper grates:
How to remove glass on gas fireplace

So if you just pull up on the glass it should come off very easily. Be careful, it’s heavier than you think it will be but totally manageable.

You can also unhook the top grate if you want too:
how to clean inside of gas fireplace

You can do that with or without the glass installed -- it makes it easy to clean in the sink or with the hose outside.

You’ll want to lay the glass front side down so you can clean it. I try to use something without a ton of chemicals – I’m sure anything would probably be OK but I just worry about the chemicals with the gas/fire. You know, explosions and stuff. No biggie:
cleaning fireplace glass

cleaning gas fireplace glass 

While I’m at it with everything opened up I’ll clean out underneath the fireplace a little and then replace the embers inside. Those are the fluffy stuff at the bottom -- you can see that after time they get kind of brown and yucky: 
replacing embers in gas fireplace

I bought this bag of embers years ago and it’s lasted me a long time. You can also find them here. I don’t replace all of them, just the ones on top:
embers for gas fireplace

It makes a big difference when lit -- lots of glow:
replacing embers in fireplace

If you want a more modern look you can use glass isntead! They come in all different colors -- I love the clear glass option and this dark blue.

When you’re done cleaning the glass just hook the glass back on the top cleat on to the firebox, then you’ll need to clamp everything back in:
how to clean inside of gas fireplace

You’ll have to push hard to them secured but again, it’s not too bad.

When you’re done you’ll have a clean, sparkling fireplace!:
cleaning gas fireplace glass

Ours was a mess -- the glass, the grates, everything was dirty from all the dust we’ve had around here. It’s nice to have it all finished up and looking good now!:
herringbone marble tile

If you missed how I installed that herringbone tile you can catch up here.

If you have a gas fireplace did you know how to clean this glass? I had no idea till a friend showed us how to do it. It’s SUPER easy to do and it will take you about 10-15 minutes start to finish. I don’t know if these steps will work for every gas fireplace, but I’m betting they are all fairly similar.

I’ll show you a couple other quick tips to get your fireplace looking brand new again next week! (See how to use high heat paint on your fireplace here.)

Here's an image to pin if you'd like to try this project later!
How to clean gas fireplace glass

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Comments

  1. Though we have a woodstove instead of a gas fireplace, the woodstove has a large glass window. We clean ours (very easy to access since it's in the door) before every fire. We just use a cleaner that we picked up at our local woodstove shop. The stove glass is still clear and looks brand now after years of use.

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  2. Can you also share how to restart the pilot light? That freaks me out for some reason!

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  3. Hi Sarah
    You may want to refer your readers to their owner's manuals because ours says never to use the windex type spray. It says to use the cleaner used on glass cooktops.

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    Replies
    1. Good idea! I don't have our manuals anymore but I've always used a mild cleaner and they've done OK. I wouldn't recommend anything heavily concentrated or an aerosol cleaner though.

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    2. The installer that put our fireplace in a couple years ago warned us not to use anything but the cleaner for glass cooktops. I think it had something to do with the glass. Apparently, the glass used for fireplaces is not just regular glass, it has to be able to handle the intense heat of the fire.

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  4. I didn't know you could replace the embers. Ours are all nasty looking. I will have to go get a bag!

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  5. My husband and I just moved into our first home and we have a gas fireplace. I will have to use your tips to clean it out before our housewarming! Thanks for sharing!

    http://creativeandcurly.blogspot.com/

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  6. I had no idea!

    I want to Pin this, but none of the pictures are showing up. Just wanted to let you know in case it's something on your end - may just be a fluke and I'll try again in a bit.

    Thanks so much for the helpful info!

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    Replies
    1. Gah. I don't know why it's doing that! If you hover over the photo and click the pin it button that is working. Thanks for the heads up!

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  7. Woohoo! Great post! I'm glad you love your Shaklee!

    Bonnie :)

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  8. What brand is this fireplace? We will be buying our first ever gas log fireplace soon so this is a very handy trick to learn. Thanks.

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  9. That cleaning really made a difference. Sometimes, I do not clean things as I should because of fear - if I take it apart, will I be able to put it back together. Thanks for the directions.

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  10. Hi! Love your blog. We also have a gas fireplace and we just took the glass off. Love the look of this and no cleaning :-)


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    Replies
    1. Is that safe? I'm wondering about fumes that previously eent up the chimney.

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  11. I just use the micro fibre cloth without any cleaner at all. One damp to clean, one dry to polish and that's it! I've always heard that you shouldn't use cleaners on the glass. Of course, I've never had to deal with construction dust!
    Constance

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  12. Goodness, aren't you the courageous one to not only turn your pilot light off, but then back on! And then while you're "livin' on the edge", you lay the glass panel right directly on your area rug, and spray/wipe away!! The end results do look much better, and I'm sure the construction dust was unbelievable. You are a braver woman than I.

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  13. I had no idea you could replace the embers! Mine really needs to be replaced. I think that's a job for my husband. I'll add that to his jobs of taking out the trash, garage cleaning, and bug picking up. ;) I wish we had glass on our fireplace. We just have a fireplace grate and it's definitely no match for three boys running around it.

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  14. Great tutorial! I'm moving into a newly constructed home in less than a month and will have my first gas fireplace. This was helpful. I didn't know you could replace the embers! thanks for that tip. I wondered if you could provide a small tutorial on how to do that. It may seem obvious? I'm not sure. Thanks so much! It looks so nice cleaned up. (it truly is amazing it got that dirty INSIDE).
    Cheryl

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  15. Thank you thank you thank you! My fireplace has been dirty for years and I had no idea how to open it. I used a glass stove top cleaner to clean it today and cleaned all the dust out. It looks like a brand new fireplace! I'm so excited. Thanks for the tutorial.

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  16. We have this SAME fireplace and I had NO IDEA that the glass came off....guess I should have read the paperwork we received from the builder during our final walk-thru....it's been almost 10 YEARS...hangs shaking head in shame.

    Thanks for sharing! Pinning now!

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  17. I am so glad I found this post! Ours was BLACK when we moved in. We might have to replace the entire glass (it's that bad), but until we actually do that I can try to make it a little better. Thank you!!!

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  18. A few years ago we noticed that there was a black film on our walls. We discovered that the logs in our gas fireplace had caused it because the soot needed to be cleaned from them. Consequently, we had to have the entire downstairs of our home painted. It is important to clean the logs also to prevent soot build-up on them. You can have it done professionally (it's pricey), or you can do it yourself. There are several tutorials on Youtube. We have since moved to a new place with new logs in our two fireplaces, and we make sure they are cleaned before we turn them on in the fall.

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  19. I am planning on putting a fire place in, and have the same vaulted ceiling as you -even in the same direction!! I love the dark grey paint behind the tv. Can you tell me who makes it and what color it is...I NEED it!!!

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THANKS so much for reading!