Cleaning a Stone Fireplace

In this video, you will see the steps I took to clean this very dirty stone fireplace in preparation for a lime wash (or staining). This was in a mid century lake home and the stone hadn’t been cleaned in decades. The owner wants the stone brightened up, so I will be toning the fireplace in a couple weeks but first it needed to be cleaned.
These are the tools and materials I used …
- power drill
- wire wheel attachment
- Dawn dish soap
- grout brush
- scraper/putty knife
- scrub brush
- bucket
- 2 garden pump type sprayers
- rubber gloves
- safety glasses
- plastic sheeting
- masking tape
- drop cloths
- lots of old towels
- vacuum cleaner
I started out by cleaning out the firebox , scraping the loose bits inside and on the hearth, then vacuuming everything well. Then we tented the area with plastic using zip poles as this is a very messy job . It helps to have an extra set of hands!
Then I filled the two sprayers, one with clear warm water and one with warm water mixed with a slam amount of Dawn soap. Starting at the top of the fireplace, I soaked about a three foot area with the soap mixture, then started scrubbing the grout. Next , using the wire shell drill attachment, I cleaned the face of the stone. Depending on the hardness of your stone, and how dirty it is, you may want to clean it instead with a scrub brush, as pitting can occur with too much vigorous pressure. After cleaning with must be rinsed with with the clear water sprayer. Let gravity work for you, the water that descends will help loosen debris and dirt in the areas below you. Wear safety glasses and have old towels at hand.
The most challenging area to clean was the hearth which had deeply embedded creosote stains. (which may require a more aggressive cleaning solution.)
I will return in two weeks after the fireplace had throughly dried, to tone the overall look using a lime wash on the mortar and some concrete stains as needed. Check back for that video as well!
- Mindy
#fireplace
#limewash
#diy