Any advice on how to get rid of burning dust smell

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Jfk4th

Jfk4th

Minister of Fire
Feb 8, 2007
683
NY
I have an Air Purifier, Humidifier, and I have thoroughly cleaned the stove and blower 2 weeks ago.

The blower for my Avalon Olympic had a hell of a lot of dust in it until I blasted it with my Stihl blower and a can of "computer dust remover". I also used the can and blower and sprayed inside the sides and top of the stove (where the air comes out from the blower). I also cleaned and blew inside the top of the stove (taking the double wall pipes off) removing/ clearing out and ash dust from the top.

I thought after 2 weeks this would have taken care of the burning dust smell but no luck. This is very frustrating as I cannot heat the stove and higher than 450F with blower on/off as the smell will be back. I have curred this stove many times well above 900F for many hours.

I know it was dusty in and around the stove but damn what else can I do :shut:
 
Can the back panel be removed so that area can be thoroughly vacuumed? Then, if you can get a thin brush into the convection ports that go over the stove top that should get most of the trapped dust.
 
Back panel can't be removed :shut: , a brush to go in the convection ports is worth a try. I figured after blasting the ports for a couple of minutes with my blower that would get rid of any dust but a brush is worth a try. Maybe I can rig something up with an old toothbrush
 
Hi JFK......
A neighbor of mine had a real stinky stove and it got worse in the summer time when she had the house all closed up and the air conditioning on. She called in a Chimney Sweep and he said that happens when creosote deposits get in the chimney. He cleaned it out real good and told her there were products that she could sit inside her wood burner when it was not burning to help too, but he said if she wanted to just try placing a tray of baking soda in there that it might do just as good as any commercial product. It really worked nicely and she was so happy.
I don't know if that has anything to do with your problem, but I thought I would mention it.
 
My chimney is very clean, once a month it is cleaned, so I would say that is not the problem. I don't think baking soda will help as the stove only smells because of the burning dust above 450F, anything under that temp the stove does not smell. No smell when it is not burning

Quite the problem I have
Thanks for the efforts anyway :)
 
Well it sure doesn't sound like you would have any of those same type of problems that she did then with all of your maintenance.
hmmm, would it possibly have anything to do with your draft or possibly negative air pressure in your house? Have you tried cracking a window in the wood burner room?
 
Try calling a furnace duct cleaner. They have a spray in product that uses ozone as a sanitizer and it worked wonders in our ducting system that always had a slight smell of dust when the furnace started to blow. Of course they blew out the ducts first and then used the sanitizing agent. After having this done you could smell the ozone each time the furnace kicked in and the smell is clean and not at all toxic, smells like the air after a lighting storm. One treatment lasted more than a year.
 
The burning dust smell comes from the different types of carpet cloth and other dust making items in the house , not to mention the regular house hold dust every one gets . 900o is really hot and will give you the dust smell . The fan unites sucks the dust in to the stove causeing it to burn . With out the fan running the dust stays on the floor . I have all stone and wood floors so there is very little dust here. Do you clean your carpet regular. What about the basement could you be drawing dust from a unfinished part of the house . ?john
 
wellbuilt home said:
The burning dust smell comes from the different types of carpet cloth and other dust making items in the house , not to mention the regular house hold dust every one gets . 900o is really hot and will give you the dust smell . The fan unites sucks the dust in to the stove causeing it to burn . With out the fan running the dust stays on the floor . I have all stone and wood floors so there is very little dust here. Do you clean your carpet regular. What about the basement could you be drawing dust from a unfinished part of the house . ?john
Click to expand...

I actually get the smell around 450F, I was saying 900F to let everybody know it is curred at a high temperature. No basement, plus we have a HEPA vaccuum, however around the stove, back of the stove especially I could have done a better job. I think one problem was/is the room was so dry (creating more dust?). I have had a humidifier for 2 months now, a 2400 sq ft SEARS one that really makes the room more refreshing. I think though the damage was done with the dust the last year starting in April' 08. I just thought after cleaning it well it would help, sadly it has not
 
2jotultom said:
Try calling a furnace duct cleaner. They have a spray in product that uses ozone as a sanitizer and it worked wonders in our ducting system that always had a slight smell of dust when the furnace started to blow. Of course they blew out the ducts first and then used the sanitizing agent. After having this done you could smell the ozone each time the furnace kicked in and the smell is clean and not at all toxic, smells like the air after a lighting storm. One treatment lasted more than a year.
Click to expand...


Would this be OK woodstoves? It sounds like a great idea, thanks
 
I think you will just have to burn hot for a while to burn off the dust and open a few windows to air out the place. In the future, try to do the dust removal is such a way that you don't push the dust forward into unreachable places but rather pull it backward.

Furnace duct cleaners have an air hose with a whip end on it that flails around to knock the dust free. If you have an air compressor with decent output you might try shoving a flexible tube into spaces you cannot reach and have it flail around as you pull it back out.

On my fireplace I chose not to use the optional built-in fan but rather went with a 650 cfm inline centrifugal blower. I also reversed how the fan works, opting to blow cold air into the stove rather than suck hot air out. This allowed me to put 16x25 furnace filters inline to keep the dust out. I get a small amount of dust collect in the stove over the summer months but it burns off quick enough.
 
LLigetfa said:
I think you will just have to burn hot for a while to burn off the dust and open a few windows to air out the place. In the future, try to do the dust removal is such a way that you don't push the dust forward into unreachable places but rather pull it backward.

Furnace duct cleaners have an air hose with a whip end on it that flails around to knock the dust free. If you have an air compressor with decent output you might try shoving a flexible tube into spaces you cannot reach and have it flail around as you pull it back out.

On my fireplace I chose not to use the optional built-in fan but rather went with a 650 cfm inline centrifugal blower. I also reversed how the fan works, opting to blow cold air into the stove rather than suck hot air out. This allowed me to put 16x25 furnace filters inline to keep the dust out. I get a small amount of dust collect in the stove over the summer months but it burns off quick enough.
Click to expand...


I guess I will go and burn really hot again for a while, this has not helped but I have not burned 700-800F since I have blasted the stove and cleaned the blower. Maybe this will help, I will also try getting a small brush in the convection ports on top I think there is still dust there
 
Hum, I've had problems with a stinky chimney, especially when I ran a "slammer" in my fireplace for about 20 years. My airtight Quad insert now has no smell (yet), but I figured I'd read this post anyway.

Now I am totally lost, what does "dust" smell like?

I never run my insert over about 600 degrees, as measured by a magnetic attached thermostat on the face, just above the double doors. I have no idea how hot it is inside the insert or directly on the top where the blower forces air through.

If anyone has a good description of what burning dust smells like, I'll keep a 'Nose" out for it, next fire. We're about done with fires here in north central NJ.
 
I really think burning hot again may be good. That is why I was asking about your draft and negative pressure issues. If I remember right, DUST is a part of the wood combustion process and if it's not getting enough air, I would think that is when you could smell it.
 
I'll burn it hot again, my draft is fine, 19 feet of total pipe, straight shot. I can get the stove to 450F in about 15-20 minutes easy.

Thanks for the help guys ;-) . I am planning on Thursday burning it really hot again, no blower on, to 800-900F and try to keep it there for about 4-5 hours, shouldn't be a problem. Gosh I hope that helps.... :smirk:
 
You might also try a slightly dampened rag wrapped around a flat stick like a paint stirrer to get at the area in the slots.
 
BeGreen said:
You might also try a slightly dampened rag wrapped around a flat stick like a paint stirrer to get at the area in the slots.
Click to expand...

sweet, thanks
 
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