How To Clean a Brick Fireplace with Scrubbing Bubbles? [Is It Effective?]

We know how much warmth and comfort your brick fireplace provides in your home during the chilly winter days. Asides from the heat, coziness and relaxing ambiance you get, most brick fireplaces use natural gas or wood, which may be more cost-effective than electrical models over time.

But where it starts to get less interesting is when it’s time to clean your fireplace. Of all the methods and materials out there for cleaning a brick fireplace, scrubbing bubbles are perhaps the most intriguing.

We already know how effective they are for cleaning bathtubs and bathroom floors, but can they also do wonders with our fireplace bricks?

Well, experience has shown that scrubbing bubbles have successfully been deployed to cut through soots and residue by many homeowners.

If you’re wondering if you can use it to remove those stubborn stains on your fireplace brick, you’ve come to the right page. Sit back and relax as we walk you through it.

How Effective Is Scrubbing Bubbles in Cleaning A Brick Fireplace?

Scrubbing bubbles have proven to be quite effective at cleaning brick fireplaces of all kinds and continue to be a go-to solution to remove ash and smoke stains, as well as soot and residue.

Once applied, scrubbing bubbles foam, making it easy to cut through tough residue in a very short time. This helps to save time and effort that’d have been spent scrubbing tirelessly when you use just soap and water.

The active combination of water, heida, isobutane, butoxydiglycol; ammonium chlorides, and quaternary aid soap scum removal; as well ad ethoxylated alcohol which is effective for dirt and deposit removal.

The product also contains citric acid which helps to adjust pH for product stability. It comes in a spray bottle which makes it easy to apply and use, saving you a lot of time and work.

How To Clean a Brick Fireplace with Scrubbing Bubbles?

Scrubbing bubbles are available in different variants for different purposes and uses. The first step would be to identify the product that is best for brick fireplaces.

Thankfully, most of the variants are great for brick cleaning and would do a good job at it. Here’s a step-by-step guide to show you how to clean a brick fireplace with scrubbing bubbles.

Required Materials

1. The Scrubbing Bubbles

Get as many bottles as needed. Whether it’s the Scrubbing Bubbles Mega Shower Foamer or Scrubbing Bubbles 39572 Dow Bathroom Cleaner, you’ll surely get good results if properly used.

2. Towels

These will be very useful when you need to pre-clean the surface of the bricks as well as after scrubbing. Towels are also needed to spread on the floor in order to prevent sediments and substances from dropping on the floor when cleaning begins.

3. Hot Water

You should dip a towel in hot water to clean inside and outside the fireplace for the removal of loose soot. This will make it easier to clean afterwards.

4. Scrub brush

If you’re only going to clean a small spot on your brick fireplace, a toothbrush will do as it can get into mortar joints easily. For large areas, use a regular floor brush, especially one with a long handle.

5. Hand Gloves

Like for most cleaning tasks, hand gloves are extremely important, especially because of possible skin reactions.

Step by Step Process

Step 1:

Place a towel in your fireplace, just under the spot you intend to clean. This will help to protect your floors from absorbing soot or solution that may drop during cleaning.

Step 2:

Scrub the fireplace bricks with a towel moistened with hot water. This will help to ease the cleaning process by removing loose soot and residue hanging on bricks.

Step 3:

Spray scrubbing bubbles on fireplace bricks and coat them generously with thick films of the bubbles. Leave to sit for five minutes.

Step 4:

Use the toothbrush or floor brush to scrub the solution on the bricks. Ensure they get into crevices and mortar joints, using the brush. Repeat the process until you’ve cleaned the entire area.

Step 5:

Dip a towel in warm water and wipe off the solution from the brick fireplace. This will ensure all remaining scrubbing bubbles on the brick and all left-over residue are removed.

Step 6:

You can repeat the process, it necessary until you achieve the desired results.

Precautions

Although scrubbing bubbles is a household product with some variants even having a sweet lavender smell, you should still take precautions when you decide to clean your brick fireplace with it.

• Scrubbing bubbles may not be good on some type of flooring, so it’s best you spread a wet towel over the floor, just under the area you’d be cleaning.

• Wear a glove to prevent irritation.

• Your eyes may also react badly if it comes in contact with the solution.

• Do not swallow. Some ingredients in scrubbing bubbles are not to be ingested.

How Much Does It Cost to Clean Brick Fireplace with Scrubbing Bubbles?

This is pretty straightforward. It is also not that expensive to clean a brick fireplace with scrubbing bubbles. Chances are that you already have most of the materials you need in your store. If you don’t, you should be able to get all the materials for less than $100.

The game-changer would be hiring a professional fireplace cleaner to take care of it. You may need to part with as much as $200, depending on the number of hours spent and the city.

In cities where such skills are scarce, you could pay higher than that. In some other cities, that price just about does it.

Final Comments:

Cleaning a brick fireplace is a priority for any homeowner that has one. You certainly want your brick fireplace looking clean and new all the time. As a trusted cleaning agent, scrubbing bubbles are very effective against residue, plaque and stubborn stains caused by Ash, smoke and buildup.

Whether you decide to call in a professional or clean your brick fireplace yourself, scrubbing bubbles will show just how effective it is as a cleaning agent.