[Closed] Easiest way to clean sooty bricks in a newly opened up fireplace?

rotating wire brush in angle grinder.

Children

Think you're relatively local - If you're passing near Bradford/Leeds, you're welcome to take a chunk of this stuff which I've got to do the same job (but is currently way down the priority list 🙂 )

It's pretty lethal by all accounts.

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About as lethal as something not that lethal bear so you should be OK.

Scouring pad or cloth and fairy liquid and keep changing the water. I was surprised how easy it came off

Traditionally one dropped a live chicken down the chimney. However the liner would prevent this. If it were my problem I'd try sugar soap, escalating to washing soda if that didn't work. But I'm an amateur.

PS you'd need to rinse it lots, don't want salts crystallising behind new plaster or whatever.

I wonder if Cementone is the brick cleaner my sister used, she says it still took ages, altho quite a bit bigger fireplace than mine

Hand wire brush and plenty handraulics

If your fire boarding / lining, then may I ask why?

I used a wire brush attachment for a power drill.

Initially tried a hand wire brush but was taking ages, then tried a wire attachment for my dremel but the gauge of the wire wasn't heavy enough.

The drill attachment did a great job.

Wear a dust mask though.

slackalice - Member
If your fire boarding / lining, then may I ask why?

Basically because I suffer from indecision, can't decide what I want, rough bare brick inside or nicely finished. Thought I'd like to clean up the brick, see how it looks, decide from there whether I kept it or covered it. So, fire board / lining is not a certain as yet.

Having tried doing this before with the above mentioned, extremely acidic brick and mortar cleaner (we are talking vapours coming off when it touches the brick).

It still took ages. Luckily it wasnt my house. I was helping out. I decided it was a rubbish job and they could do the rest 😀

Id definitely go more mechanical and as above, angle grinder with wire brush. take off a layer of brick.

OP, may I give you a wee spot of advice? Cut that plaster further back if you can so that the new plaster on the chimney breast is homogeneous and doesn't have a join. If there's a join between old and new, the different rates of thermal expansion will produce a crack at the join. Guess how I know this?

Fair enough OP 🙂

Mind the edge of your liner, 'tis very very sharp, maybe tape the end to avoid any possible lacerations.

globalti - Member
OP, may I give you a wee spot of advice?