As with any other appliance in your home, it’s necessary to clean and maintain your wood burner. Some jobs (such as hoovering) need to be done almost daily, but you only need to do a full clean every few weeks or so.
Below, we’ll look at how you can use WD40 to clean a wood burner, along with some tips for doing it safely.
Can I Use WD-40 on My Wood Burning Stove?
You can use WD40 on your wood burning stove, provided you take a few precautions. It’ll probably come as no surprise, but WD40 is highly flammable. Its main ingredients are oil and aerosol propellant, meaning it’s flammable both as a spray and as a liquid.
However, it’s also highly evaporative and, once it’s settled, leaves very little residue. You can avoid any issues by simply waiting 30 minutes or so before lighting a fire in your wood burner.
If you’re really concerned, leave it overnight.
Another tip is to make sure you use it as sparingly as possible. Most WD40 cans come with a small straw to direct the aerosol, so be sure to use this during application because it prevents you from spraying WD40 everywhere.
Why Does WD40 Work?
WD40 is useful for cleaning and lubrication because it’s oil dissolved in a solvent. As mentioned above, it’s also highly evaporative, making it ideal for quick use on things like hinges where you don’t want any lubricant hanging around.
WD40 is seen by many as a universal lubricant for all kinds of jobs, hence why most of us have a can lying around!
What Can I Use WD40 for on My Wood Burner?
The most obvious use of WD40 is as a lubricant. Therefore, you could use it on:
· Door hinges
· Fan blades
· Ash pan
· Seized joints or bolts
But because WD40 is a lubricant dissolved in a solvent, it can also be used as a degreaser. Of course, it’ll mean replacing grease with oil, but it’s useful if it’s all you’ve got to hand.
Cleaning Wood Burner Glass with WD40
You can use it for cutting through the soot build-up on your stove’s glass. We will go through how to use WD40 for your wood burner glass shortly.
Finally, WD40 can also be used to polish cast iron stoves, at least to a certain extent. Unsurprisingly, this is because it’s oil, which will leave a light sheen on the iron.
It’ll work on other metal stoves, too, but be careful if your stove has some kind of coating. The solvent in the WD40 could cause damage to enamel or paint, for example.
It’s worth noting, though, that there are better products for pretty much all these jobs. Even WD40’s main job – lubrication – is more effectively done by graphite powder.
This is because it doesn’t degrade or evaporate at high temperatures, meaning it’ll provide greater long-term benefits than an oil-based lubricant. Note that graphite powder is combustible when in the air but not as a bulk product.
How to Use WD40 to Clean a Wood Burner
The process of cleaning a wood burner using WD40 is pretty simple. Here are the steps:
1. Make sure your wood burner is cold to the touch.
2. Remove the ash pan and empty it. Leave it out of the stove for now.
3. Clean inside the stove using an ash vacuum cleaner.
4. If you plan to use WD40 as a degreaser, spray some on the glass to work while you continue cleaning.
5. Spray WD40 on the door hinges and ash pan door. If your stove has a fan, spray a bit on the spindle if you can reach it.
6. Clean the glass with a cloth and some warm soapy water, rinsing it between wipes to help remove soot. If it’s really stuck on there, use a glass scraper or box cutter blade.
7. Wipe down the outside of the stove with a damp cloth to remove any grime.
8. If you’re using WD40 to restore shine, spray a small amount on a cloth and wipe it over the stove’s surface.
9. Leave the stove for at least 30 minutes.
10. Finally, put everything back together.
How regularly you clean your stove depends on how often you use it. During the winter, you should do this at least once a week if you’re using it daily.
Cleaning Wood Burner with WD40
Although WD40 isn’t the most effective product for cleaning, it’s something many of us have to hand because of its flexibility.
So, if you don’t want to go shopping for specialist products, WD40 will certainly do the job. Just make sure you’re leaving it to evaporate before lighting a fire.
