A Few Tips On Maintaining Your Fire Pit

Fire pits have become increasingly popular for homes, colleges, businesses, or portable pits for camping and other outdoor activities. For the home, fire pits become a welcome addition to a patio or outside area used for entertaining. One can experience that glow, touch of warmth, and beauty on cool evenings. Fire pits are a great way to improve your backyard or patio area and can add value to your home. Experiencing these with family and friends; sharing conversation, drinks, food, and the popular toasted marshmallows can become a regular tradition.

Here are a few suggestions on keeping your fire pit well maintained. Keeping it presentable during daylight hours and working its best.

Routine Maintenance:

Be cognizant of the hardware parts, and check them before using your fire pit each season and at least monthly. Tighten the hardware as needed and check your gas/propane connections.

Cleaning:

Be sure to use the manufacturer's recommended products when cleaning your fire pit. These may vary depending on the type of metal, ceramic, etc. We have added a few widely used cleaning solutions below.

For your protection, be sure to wear eye protection (nothing quite like ashes in the eye. ughhh) Use gloves and a dust filter-type mask while cleaning, as well.

Metal Surfaces In General:

Use a dry scrub brush to remove any loose debris from the interior and exterior parts of your fire pit.

In general, a good cleaning solution consists of 1/4 cup of washing soda dissolved in 1 (one) gallon of hot water. Remember to clean the grates and screen as well. Then rinse the fire pit thoroughly with fresh water.

Stone & Masonry Surfaces:

One of the best cleaning agents for stone and masonry (unless contraindicated) is a mixture of 1/2 cup grease-fighting dishwashing liquid mixed in 2 gallons of hot water. This solution can be used with a scrub brush to clean the stone or masonry. Rinse with a water hose, and fit with a jet stream nozzle for best results.

Extra care is required for wood burning fire pits:

Never, ever use accelerants. Not only can this be a safety hazard for you and others, but the extreme fire created by these accelerants can also damage your fire pit.

It is important to remember to regularly remove any build-up of creosote. Creosote is a by-product of burning wood and is highly flammable. Scrub it off with a stiff bristled brush dipped in the same washing soda solution used to clean metal surfaces.

Never use water to extinguish a fire in your fire pit! The drastic temperature change could warp or crack it.

AND ash can smolder for days after a fire dies down. So it is not recommended to leave it unattended. As soon as the cinder and ash have cooled enough to handle, use heavy, heat-resistant work gloves and a trowel to scoop up the debris into a metal can with a lid.

Preventative Measures:

Keep all plastic-type materials well away from the fire pit or hot surfaces. Melting plastic can produce toxic fumes and it creates a sticky, gooey mess that is very difficult to remove!

Store your fire pit in a dry, sheltered location and invest in a fire pit cover to protect it from inclement weather. Covers can also help reduce the amount of cleaning necessary.

***If you do not have room for a fire pit, we also offer a wide array of patio heaters.