Tips for Surviving Indoor Wood Stove Clean-up, Including Ash Removal

Wood stoves are lovely to have in the winter, keeping the house toasty-warm, making good use of downed trees, and cutting electricity costs and consumption dramatically.

However, as anyone who has ever dealt with an indoor wood stove knows, keeping up with the cleaning is truly a pain in the pa-toot. Wood chips on the floor tracking there way into every recess of the home, major ash removal and cleanup, and the occasional scratch to the cast iron stove.

Don't fret. After years of contending with cleanup, I can attest that you can survive indoor wood stove clean-up and not lose too much sanity in the process. Here are a few tips to follow for easy clean-up, recycling, and other handy practices:

Indoor Wood Stacks: The biggest contributor to wood chips and dirt on the floor is having an indoor wood stack. You could avoid this by keeping it outside and carrying in only what you need, but in 10 degree weather, that's a real pain.

One of the best solutions to containing the wood chips and dirt is to purchase a large boot tray and to place it under your metal/iron/wood log holder. Instead of the dirt and chips getting on your floor, they are directly contained by the boot tray.

When the holder is empty, simply dump the wood chips into a box. Keep this box handy, when you fire need an extra kick or if you need to start a fire, the wood chips are terrific aids.

Save them for summer camping trips or bonfires, too.

Bugs. You would think in the dead of winter that you wouldn't have to deal with any bugs in your wood pile, but you would be wrong. While our free-range chickens do a decent job of keeping anything that crawls around the pile, or near the barn, at bay, they can't get to the interior of the wood.

A simple enough solution is to check each piece of wood for signs of insect infestation such as holes, rotted spots on the wood, and cracks in the wood that were not made from splitting it. These pieces should be loaded directly into the stove. If you place them on your indoor wood stack, you are inviting the bugs to warm up and join your home.

Ashes. Perhaps the peskiest of problems can be contending with ash removal and cleanup.

For removal, It's wise to invest in two metal buckets (such as the 2 gallon metal water bucket pictured.) Don't go for fancy, you don't want painted metal or coating of any kind because sometimes your ash will contain embers which can set fire to coating and paints.

Some people prefer smaller (aka fancier) ash cans, but as they contain less, you'll have to dump them more often.

I suggest two metal buckets because you can fill up to four gallons of ash and carry them both for disposal, making this an easier chore that has to be done less frequently (aka less time you have to spend in the cold.)

We spread all our ashes in the garden and on our fields and highly recommend this practice of recycling. Ash is a fertilizer that adds nutrients to your soil. Be certain to spread the ash around, though, and to not spread twice in the same place as too much ash can increase the alkalinity of the soil.

It's also best not to spread the ash on top of snow. Find a clear snow-free patch, or store the ash (once completely cooled) in large containers until the snow melts, then spread.

For indoor ash cleanup, you can use a hand-vac or vacuum, but sometimes the fine ash can really clog the filters or leave an unpleasant residue on your filter-less vacuum.

My simple solution? Take a hand-held whisk broom and dustpan, gently sweep the ashes into the dustpan and then transfer to your metal ash bucket.

Use a damp cloth to wipe any remaining ash from the floor. Rinse the bristles of the hand-held whisk broom to clean any ash residue.

Viola- easy, quick, efficient ash removal!

Cast Iron Stove Scratches. If you have a cast iron stove, you'll inevitably have scratches over time or the stove may lose some luster.

To remedy (when the stove is cool,)lay down a tarp or towel to catch loose graphite or dust, then use a soft towel to rub powdered graphite into the affect area.

Other stoves can be touched up according to manufacturer directions and if rust is your issue, there are plenty of products and solutions available for each type of stove. Contact your manufacturer or visit their website for suggestions.