Homemade Glass Cleaner

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I have been using ammonia diluted with water in a spray bottle to clean the glass. Works pretty well. Any risk of damaging the woodstove glass? I never bought a commercial creosote cleaner, so I have no idea what chemicals are in that. Ammonia cuts right through any buildup on the door quickly.
 
Dollar store Awsome Orange cleaner $1 a half gallon refill bottle works really good. Hasnt hurt my glass but I had a post a while back about how do I clean the glass and not let the crud run down the glass and soak into my door gasket at the bottom. As after a season of burning the gasket gets pretty cruddy.
 
I believe some stove companies say to avoid ammonia cleaners on stove glass. The simplest cleaner is to just dampen a paper towel, then dip it into the stove ash and then scrub.
 
I believe some stove companies say to avoid ammonia cleaners on stove glass. The simplest cleaner is to just dampen a paper towel, then dip it into the stove ash and then scrub.

How does that work? Does that leave the glass cleaner or streaky with ash? It's hard to imagine there is no ash residue from that method. Not that it matters that much. On any re-fire, the glass gets somewhat soiled quickly
 
Dollar store Awsome Orange cleaner $1 a half gallon refill bottle works really good. Hasnt hurt my glass but I had a post a while back about how do I clean the glass and not let the crud run down the glass and soak into my door gasket at the bottom. As after a season of burning the gasket gets pretty cruddy.

I have some of that orange cleaner stuff that I bought at Aldis. It's probably a similar product.
 
How does that work? Does that leave the glass cleaner or streaky with ash? It's hard to imagine there is no ash residue from that method. Not that it matters that much. On any re-fire, the glass gets somewhat soiled quickly
First wipe down is with ash then a once over with just a damp paper towel. Clean as a whistle no matter how dark the glass gets. I did it all the time with the stove sitting in your office!
 
First wipe down is with ash then a once over with just a damp paper towel. Clean as a whistle no matter how dark the glass gets. I did it all the time with the stove sitting in your office!

So the method is?

Paper towel wetted and dipped in ash
Wipe glass
Then repeat with wet clean paper towel
 
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Yes, and then a last wipe with a clean dry paper towel.
 
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Newspaper works much better than paper towels. Newsprint doesn't have additives like paper towels can that can streak the glass. And, if you take a newspaper at home... there's no extra cost. We use newspapers to wash all windows in the house.
I keep newspapers near (not next to) the stove to tie into knots for my top down burn starts. So, it's very easy to grab some, dampen it with my spray bottle, dip it into the ashes, and clean the glass.
 
Be carefull not to get a very hot window wet as you might crack it.
 
Cleaners like awsome orange and simple green are alkaline cleaners having a high ph. Wood ash is very high PH and I suspect works like a high PH alkaline cleaner, ashes maybe more alkaline than the cleaners and putting them on a wet paper towel turns it into a very good cleaner. Maybe why wood ashes were used to make soap.
 
So the method is?

Paper towel wetted and dipped in ash
Wipe glass
Then repeat with wet clean paper towel
Trust me, I was dubious about this, now I am a believer!! I use a spray bottle with water and alcohol to polish off any streaks, but usually water is enough. One of these days I might experiment with using the ashes on the ceran range top to see if it works for that, too.
 
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Random thoughts . . .

I've used commercial stuff in the past . . . now I pretty much just use a damp newspaper . . . give it a few swipes and then follow up with a semi-damp to dry crumpled up piece of newspaper to dry it. Rarely have to dip into the ash . . . usually only when there is some stubborn build up.

Not all newspaper is the same . . . some seem to be a little more "smooth" which I suspect may mean it has more clay filler. I prefer the newsprint that feels more like the old newsprint . . . seems to work better.

I wouldn't wipe things down when really hot . . . but you can clean the glass when it is warm . . . just you have to be quick as the water evaporates quickly . . . and you have to be careful to not burn yourself. The neoceram is pretty tough stuff . . . that said I wouldn't recommend using ice cold water on a very hot piece of it to clean it off.
 
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How does that work? Does that leave the glass cleaner or streaky with ash? It's hard to imagine there is no ash residue from that method. Not that it matters that much. On any re-fire, the glass gets somewhat soiled quickly


Remember, you do not want the paper soggy. Just dampen it. Then when you touch the ash you'll barely get any ash on the paper but it will work.
 
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