Glass fireplaces are an architectural accessory that gives your home the elegance that was missing before.
As well as being a state-of-the-art design that keeps your fireplace safer to use, creating a cozy environment around your home for your family and any friends that may visit, glass fireplaces also keep the fumes from entering your home, hence keeping your habitat clean, as well as warm and homey.
However, as beautiful and classic it may be, there are some downsides to installing a glass fireplace within your home, mainly on cleaning, maintaining, and removing the glass from your fireplace.
Since it’s not similar to the traditional fireplace design, it’ll be difficult for new home builders to adjust to the change in living style.
As such, you must have a lot of queries regarding glass fireplaces. Fret not, we’re here to answer any questions you may have.
First things first, let’s look at the elephant in the room; the glass panel. Now, of course, the panel is there for your safety, and it does keep the house clean, but the real question is, how does one remove and clean the glass panel?
While it is possible to remove the glass panel temporarily from your gas fireplace, you shouldn’t do it.
What is the Purpose of Glass Doors on a Fireplace?
The glass doors help the fire burn more efficiently. The primary purpose of glass doors or panels on a fireplace is to keep away the fumes and reduce heat loss.
So, the glass doors for a fireplace aren’t a necessity, but they do give it a classic look and make it safer and efficient to use. The matter of whether or not you need them is entirely up to your preferences.
Can I Use my Gas Fireplace without the Glass?
If your fireplace design, structure, and model came with a glass panel, then no, you cannot use your glass fireplace without installing the glass panel as it would be a great safety hazard.
It’s usually not recommended to skip installing the glass into the unit because that would cause a structural imbalance for your fireplace.
How do you Remove the Glass from a Fireplace?
After you’ve been using your glass-paneled fireplace for a while, you must’ve noticed a white film clouding the glass panels or doors of your fireplace. Now you must be wondering, what exactly is the white film-like sheet?
The white soot-like powdery structure that amasses on the side of your glass panel can be because of two reasons:
- You haven’t dried off the inside of your glass panel after turning off your fireplace. The reason why you must dry off the glass panels with a cloth or towel after you turn off the fireplace is that during the time the fireplace is burning and emitting heat, a lot of moisture and residual gasses collect themselves on the pane of the glass, gases like propane and natural gas. Once left there to dry, those gases form the thin white powdery sheet that you, later on, see on your glass panel.
- Another underlying reason for your glass panels becoming unbearably dirty with the white film is the soot that the fireplace omits when burning. Naturally, when your fireplace glass protects your home from the fumes and soot plus ash that the fireplace omits, it’s also collecting those residual waste onto itself.
Now that you know the causes of your fireplace glass becoming dirty and cloudy let’s move on to how exactly you can remove and clean off the white residue from the fireplace glass.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on just how to remove the glass panel from your gas fireplace:
- Step 1:The first thing you need to do to remove the glass panels is to look for the top and bottom metal grates. The grates are held in place by screws, between which the glass screen that protects the glass panel is hooked onto. So, to remove it, all you need to do is to lift on the grill from both sides to release it from its mounting screws.
- Step 2:After you’re done with the top grate, do the same procedure to the bottom grate. Lift it from the grill and pivot it forward; make sure to put your hands on either side and put it on the ground or anywhere you see fit.
- Step 3:With both of the metal grates opened, now we can get back to removing the screen. To remove the screen, lift it slightly and evenly from the top, and then from the space made in the bottom, lift and pull the bottom away from your fireplace. Slide the screen out very gently from the side screw mountings.
- Step 4:Now that the screen is out of the picture, we can get back to removing the glass panel. Upon observation, you’ll notice that this glass panel is held in place by spring-loaded retaining clips that can easily be disconnected by pulling and pivoting upwards. Apply this method to release the clips.
- Step 5: After the top clips are released, be sure to keep some force on the top of the glass so that it doesn’t pivot outwards. After doing so, move onto the bottom clips and repeat the same procedure as done in step 5.
- Step 6:After everything is released, it should be easier to pivot the glass out from the fireplace. If you feel some resistance while doing this process, then gently separate the fiberglass gasket from the fireplace while pulling outward on the glass to avoid damaging the gasket. If the gasket is still stuck at the bottom of the glass, pull it away with your fingers gently.
- Step 7:With the glass now free from the firebox; now you need to maneuver it around the screws and remove it from the fireplace. Place the glass onto wherever you intend to clean it.
- Step 8:To wash off and clean all the soot and grime; you need to buy a glass cleaning spray. Before using it, first, take any normal cleaning cloth, wet it, and clean off some of the soot on the glass. This should take off most of the soot, and afterward, to clean it off even better, you can use the glass cleaning spray.
- Step 9:After you’re done with the cleaning, reinstall the glass, place the bottom part of the glass inside first, pivot the top screen slider clips out of the way, and push the glass back into its place. Now secure the glass to the fireplace with the clips you pivoted before, closing them in downwards.
- Step 10:Next, reinstall the screen by putting the top of the screen into the alignment brackets, pushing the screen up and towards the fireplace, and sliding it down into its position. Next, reinstall the metal grills by pivoting the bottom piece up into its position. Similarly, mount the top piece onto its mounting screws, and voila! Done!
Now all you need to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the ambiance your glass-paneled fireplace provides. Make sure to follow all the steps we’ve listed above in their entirety, and do check out the rest of the related articles on our site for any information you may require.