I am moving my stove insert from the Den to the fireplace in the living room. My wife complained it was very dirty in the den. So I am looking for some suggestions to cut down on the dust and such as we move it to the living room. Also, what would you recommend putting on the carpet so it doesn't get too dirty with ash or burn? I saw the flame resistant large rugs. My wife wasn't too keen on one of those. I was looking for other ideas. I was thinking of running plastic runners around the hearth and then placing a rug over that. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Keeping the House Clean
- Thread starter cards66
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Letting the fire go out first might be good.
Cleaning the stove out before moving it and not rolling it like a log to the new location should help the move be a bit less messy.
Could you convince her that you were born a slob and she can do a better job ?
Cleaning the stove out before moving it and not rolling it like a log to the new location should help the move be a bit less messy.
Could you convince her that you were born a slob and she can do a better job ?
Yeah...vacuum the inside and outside of the stove first. And I would put one of those stone like hearth pads for the stove to sit on. Stoves are by their nature dirtier than oil or gas but they're less expensive to heat the house with and are prettier to watch as well. Next time you take the wife out say this is on the money saved not burning fuel oil...sometimes that makes the dirt more acceptable.
cards, are you asking about keeping things while moving the stove or about keeping the area clean while running the stove once it's installed in its new location?
I am asking about keeping it clean once I move it. I vacumed it out and replaced the gaskets yesterday. Now I have to get some help to move it to the living room. My wife just saw how messy it was in the den. So I wanted to see the best way to keep it clean around. I am going to buy a small shop vac to help with the clean up. Just looking for suggestions on keeping carpet clean and the dust down and such.
cards66 said:
The small shop vac is a good plan, that's what I use. Put a bag filter designed for sheetrock dust in it. That will greatly reduce dust and will extend the vac's life. We have a container for kindling with a lid, so that stays neat and tidy. We sweep up the bark debris around the wood holder at least once a day. Ours is a wrought-iron cradle. It would be neater if the wood stack had a container as well. You might also keep a small hand vac nearby the stove for quick pickups. Cleanup is much easier now that we have hardwood floors instead of wall to wall carpet.
When cleaning the stove I try to do it when there is a good natural draft so that dust is pulled up the flue. Move slowly so as not to spill. I don't dump ash too frequently and when I do I have all the implements of mass cleaning nearby to minimize impact.
Amen, I only shovel ashes. I never vacuum up anything but the spills and ashlip unless the stove is stone cold and ashes have been shoveled out. This only happens in summer.
Also, never put stove ashes in anything besides a metal container. Embers can stay hot a long time buried in ash.
Also, never put stove ashes in anything besides a metal container. Embers can stay hot a long time buried in ash.
Thanks for the suggestions. i believe I am going to build a wood storage box with a lid also. Anyone had experience creating once of these? i was just using a plastic tub before . The wife doesn't think it will go with the decor in the living room.
We use a very old copper tub...perhaps once a washing tub or some such. From my wife's family. fairly good capacity, sits nicely on the hearth, looks OK, and keeps a lot of the mess contained. No lid. I load the splits in it on end, so a lid wouldn't close anyway, since the thing's maybe 13" high on the sides, and the splits are 16"-17" long. Seems to me a lid would be more of a hassle than anything. There's no way I know of to have a woodstove in your living space without having some dust and debris to deal with...just comes with the territory. Gotta find a routine that works for you. Rick
Another one that goes without saying. When you take wood off of the pile to bring it in pick up two at a time and smack'em together. Leave as much of the crap outside as you can.
Speaking of stacking wood. i am moving my stacking place from inside the garage which was close to the den. Now I am going to be stacking outside under the eve of the house, next to the front door. We have a brick house so i didn't there would be any issues. Just don't know if there would be a reason not to stack it there. if not I will have to drag it through 2 rooms to get it to the family room.
Well, brick is one thing, and brick fascia is another. Scratch around at the exterior base of your wall and determine whether or not it's solid masonry/mortar from the stem wall up, or if there's any way any of them teensy dreaded woodeating critters (termites, carpenter ants) could get from your firewood up into the interior of your wall. I have wood stacked under eaves, where my walls are brick fascia and I've determined the bottom edge is tight to the stem wall. In any case, I'd think getting that firewood out of your garage is a pretty good idea. Always a good idea to make sure there's room in the garage for the wife's car, at least! Rick
The wall is solid. In front of the wall was I guess some sort of flower bed kind of. The previous owners had like a 3 foot stonewall in front of it of the house wall about 18 inches. So I knocked that down. So the wood will be sitting on a concrete slab about 18 inches wide. I figured that was good to keep it off the ground. As for the wife and parking in the garage, our garage only fits one car in it. I will tell you that mine hasn't seen the inside in over a year. poor car.
Wood should be OK there, sounds like. I'd suggest keeping it a couple of inches away from the house just to allow for some airflow and to give you a peek at any sort of trouble that could develop back in there. I hear ya about the car. Rick
Something I do to help keep the cleanup to a minimum is I remove the bark prior to stacking. I burn mostly red oak (not fresh cut so it comes off rather easily) so at least i'm not dropping bark and cooties in the house when I bring it in.
- Jul 19, 2006
- 306
cards66 said:
Borrow a mechanic’s floor jack, a heavy weight dolly, a couple 2x10”, some bricks & you should be good to go.
And if money is tight consider adding a stove that is “pre-owned”.
$350 with a glass view not far from you. Since the lady's vac is still going to play bumper tag with that hearth pad, you might get the pad if you picked up the stove.
(broken link removed to http://stlouis.craigslist.org/hsh/677521606.html)
~~~~~~~~~
$275 stove with glass view in Gladstone, just north of K.C.
(broken link removed to http://kansascity.craigslist.org/hsh/675336691.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$650 for supposedly a brand New Century Hearth Wood Stove - Springfield
(broken link removed to http://springfield.craigslist.org/hsh/693288634.html)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
$600 This has a glass view & supposedly cost $2,700 when new - Poplar Bluff
(broken link removed to http://semo.craigslist.org/hsh/699443261.html)
Good luck with it.
So do you think with two guys and a dolly I can move it fairly easy? I got it out of the fireplace this weeknd to test the weight and it wasn't that bad. i figured if I can get my brother to help we could lift it out onto the folly. Also, should I remove the panels on the side and top before moving?
We used to keep a shop vac in the living room during burning season. Not a pretty sight, but we used it a lot. Also kept the broom and dustpan right by the hearth. Still keep the broom and dustpan around, but last winter we bought a Roomba robot that vacuums the floor. Hubby runs it around the living room almost every morning during burning season, to get the inevitable ash dust and wood bits on the floor. I was resistant to buying it (the sweeping was easy enough) but I didn't realize the Roomba came with hubby cleaning the floors all the time with it. 
So now I love Robbie (what we named it, after the robot in I Robot.)
So now I love Robbie (what we named it, after the robot in I Robot.)
Well, here in the cave, we run the show a lil differently.
I get. cut/if needed, and split the firewood, put the shed together, load it up.
The OL helps load occasionally, pulls the lever on the splitter once in a while, and usually brings a load of splits in for the night and stack on the hearth.
I load it 3x a day, and maintain & clean the Summit.
She gets the vac out and vacuums the minor mess up every weekend. I also use a hand broom to sweep the mess off the hearth almost every time I load, and shovel the wood mess in while loading.
So give your woman a good vacuum, and tell her to have at it. It beats paying for oil
I get. cut/if needed, and split the firewood, put the shed together, load it up.
The OL helps load occasionally, pulls the lever on the splitter once in a while, and usually brings a load of splits in for the night and stack on the hearth.
I load it 3x a day, and maintain & clean the Summit.
She gets the vac out and vacuums the minor mess up every weekend. I also use a hand broom to sweep the mess off the hearth almost every time I load, and shovel the wood mess in while loading.
So give your woman a good vacuum, and tell her to have at it. It beats paying for oil
Cards we moved our quada-fire 4300...which is about 500lbs with those straps you see advertised on TV. I have a bad back, torn wrist ligament, and torn rotator cuff in the shoulder. We moved it a good 40 ft when the carpet was replaced and those wide straps that help you lift with your legs really do work. You can get them at the U-Haul dealer for $19.
Hogwildz said:Well, here in the cave, we run the show a lil differently.
I get. cut/if needed, and split the firewood, put the shed together, load it up.
The OL helps load occasionally, pulls the lever on the splitter once in a while, and usually brings a load of splits in for the night and stack on the hearth.
I load it 3x a day, and maintain & clean the Summit.
She gets the vac out and vacuums the minor mess up every weekend. I also use a hand broom to sweep the mess off the hearth almost every time I load, and shovel the wood mess in while loading.
So give your woman a good vacuum, and tell her to have at it. It beats paying for oil
Sounds pretty much like the routine at our house.
- Status
Similar threads
