If you own a pellet stove, you must clean it so that you can keep it in great condition. It is ideal to clean the stove every two weeks. However, if you use this all the time, you can clean it within 3-4 days. The guide below will show you the basic and thorough steps on how to clean a pellet stove.
Basic Steps in Cleaning
- Start by dusting off the ash in the pellet stove’s burn pot. Usually, the dust would gather in the front part of the burn pot, so you can start here. You can either use a feather duster or a vacuum cleaner.
- If you’ve bought a pellet stove, there should be a cleaning tool that comes with it. Use it to remove any carbon deposits. Scrape the burn pot when needed. If you don’t have the cleaning tool anymore, you can use any wire or hard brush or even a knife to remove any hard debris sticking on the stove’s surface.
- Once the burn pot is clean, remove the carbon deposits from the exchanger tube. You can do this by pushing and pulling the lever located at the front or top part of the pellet stove. If the carbon deposits remain, repeat this process a few times. Don’t stop until all of the dust and debris come off.
- When you think that the dust inside the burn pot and exchanger tube is gone, check the pellet stove overall. Vacuum or brush off any remaining dust in and out of the surface. Chances are, you can still see dust in the corners of the stove, so keep an eye.
- If you’re certain that all the dirt is gone, you can now finally proceed to the last step. Wipe the glass windows of the pellet stove. You can utilize any unused rags for this. Just wet one rag to wipe off the glass first, then use a dry one to dry and finish the cleaning.
Thorough Steps in Cleaning
If you want a thorough cleaning, follow all of the steps above and do these extra steps:
- For more detailed cleaning, including the fly ash located in the stovepipe is necessary. For pellet stoves that have a T-connection, open the clean-out door to remove the ashes inside. You just need this extra step to keep the pellet stove cleaner, and it’s not that hard to do.
- Next, you’re going to clean the blower motor and the fan. If the ash is too thick, you can wipe the surface with a damp cloth. Wait for it to dry or wipe it with a dry cloth. Once done, brush it off or apply air pressure from a vacuum. If the ash is thin, it’s fine to brush or vacuum the surface right away. Do this until all of the dust comes off.
- Lastly, see if the gaskets need cleaning. If so, remove the dirt in the area and replace any damaged parts when needed. You can use the chimney liner to remove the ashes too.
- Once done, assemble everything and turn it on to see if your pellet stove is still working.
Even the best pellet stove can’t stand a chance withstanding dust and grime that accumulate through time. So, make it a habit to clean it once in a while. Depending on how often you use your pellet stove, clean it accordingly. You can opt to clean it thoroughly or not. What’s important is that you maintain the cleanliness to prevent any dirt accumulation that will eventually be hard to remove.
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