Windex and Cleaning glass?

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Tonyray

Minister of Fire
how do you guys feel about the no no of using windex or Ammonia based glass cleaners.
read some posts about it on a different web site.. example:

I killed my first glass seal with windex on my old Quad. The windex seemed to work at the seal fibers and I had a bunch of strings hanging from it.

I would assume from the product dripping down to the fiber from inside spraying.
don't think spraying a rag or paper towel instead of the glass would do any harm..
I use wet paper towel with some ash but wife forgets and hits it with windex once in a while.
 
I use Cinch. Works excellent and it's ammonia free. With that said, my glass, while it can get dirty, the blacklist/ brown haze is never hard to remove.
 
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My understanding is that the ammonia over time can attack and cause the ceramic glass to become hazy. Don't know if this is true as I use ceramic stove top cleaner to clean mine.
 
:confused:

I always used water and a paper towel. Never ever had a problem or had to scrub anything.
 
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I use Windex and 0000 steel wool on my wood stove. No problems after 5 years.
 
I use Windex and 0000 steel wool on my wood stove. No problems after 5 years.
Back when I used to use Ammonia free windex I always made sure it didn't drip or run down to the Fiber seal around the door..
Don't know if it degrades the fibers but have read it does[ or will]...
either way I stopped using it..
other good tips here to have a clean glass..
 
When it's cool I use a damp paper towel dipped in ash to scrub. Them wipe it clean with the clean side of the paper towle
When it's hot I use a scraper.
 
Are the gaskets any different on a pellet vs. a wood stove? I've found that a glass cleaner little goes a long way with the wood stove. I really only have to remove a slight haze on the sides of the glass; and that's mostly during shoulder season. Once you're burning regularly in the 500-600F range, the glass stays pretty darn clean on it's own.
 
Windex and paper towel. Always spray the paper, not the glass. Balled newspaper for the stubborn stuff. I do a quick routine clean every 3-4 days depending on ash accumulation, and my glass wipes clean easily every time. Never any black to speak of, usually just a golden brown dusting in weird, pointed patterns like a backgammon board! I take this to mean that I must have a pretty clean burn going most of the time.:)
 
The only reason I use the Cinch and not just water is because the Cinch requires less rubbing to be streak free.
 
I've been using windex on my wood and pellet stove glass for many years and never had a problem with it. Having said that, I recently started using the Rutland conditioning glass cleaner and it's fantastic. It takes care of those nasty dark brown stains very easily. A simple wet paper towel with ash on it works wonders as well.
 
I have been using Windex on my Quads for years with no issues. Key is to not spray the gasket.
 
I use vinegar based windex or just plain water. Always use a paper towel. For the stubborn stuff on the glass I'll take a slightly damp paper towel and dab it into the ash tray and wipe the glass. No issues to report and no mess I couldn't clean up with this method.

Always spray the cleaner onto the cleaning cloth, rather than the stove directly. You'll avoid running and over spray onto other components.
 
I use wet paper towel with some ash but wife forgets and hits it with windex once in a while.

I made a deal with my wife - She don't clean the stove and I don't clean the terlit ................
 
how do you guys feel about the no no of using windex or Ammonia based glass cleaners.
read some posts about it on a different web site.. example:

I killed my first glass seal with windex on my old Quad. The windex seemed to work at the seal fibers and I had a bunch of strings hanging from it.

I would assume from the product dripping down to the fiber from inside spraying.
don't think spraying a rag or paper towel instead of the glass would do any harm..
I use wet paper towel with some ash but wife forgets and hits it with windex once in a while.
Wow Tony we even have the same wife, lol !!

Today I just took an old pair of underwear to the glass. Dry, it worked fine for the film that was on the stove glass. Often I use plain water soaked paper towels and dry ones to dry off the glass.
 
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After growing up with a mother who has a solution for every type of cleaning issue that you may have, she had recommended trying oven cleaner. After using multiple methods I have read about online I decided to try the oven cleaner. I sprayed it on the glass and let it sit for 2 minutes and it wiped away heavy soil that was so dark you could barely see the flames. After the soil was wiped off I then went over the glass with windex and came out like new. After I did this all my friends and family now use the oven cleaner on there stove glass. The advantage to the oven cleaner is that it doesn't really run unless you completely saturate the glass. Best part is that there is no scrubbing of wasting time. I load my stove while the oven cleaner does its magic and once the stove is all ready, I just wipe away and start burning.
 
All great information....but what about when you royally spoke the thing out and you have this great big, thick, dark brown stain right in the middle of the glass that barely even comes scraping it with your thumb nail. I tried the normal method of windex on a paper towel this morning and it hardly even touched it. I had always heard that you never use abrasives of any kind on the ceramic stove glass, is there any truth to that? I see one of you talking about 0000 steel wool, won't that damage or shorten the life of the glass? Darn power outages! I guess my next purchase is a UPS.
Thanks,
Adam.
 
All great information....but what about when you royally spoke the thing out and you have this great big, thick, dark brown stain right in the middle of the glass that barely even comes scraping it with your thumb nail. I tried the normal method of windex on a paper towel this morning and it hardly even touched it. I had always heard that you never use abrasives of any kind on the ceramic stove glass, is there any truth to that? I see one of you talking about 0000 steel wool, won't that damage or shorten the life of the glass? Darn power outages! I guess my next purchase is a UPS.
Thanks,
Adam.
I had my glass really smoked out and have tried even using a razor blade even though it is a no no and still had trouble removing the stains. Applied the oven cleaner twice and came out good as new. As far as 0000 steel wool, it shouldn't scratch the glass. Auto detailers have been using it on car windows for years to remove hard water stains and other debris that is difficult to get off.
 
My stove is approximately 12 years old and im sure the previous owners did not take very good of the glass which may be the reason windex wont allow me to clean the glass with ease.
 
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