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Fireplace Cleaning in Seattle, Tacoma & Everett
Wood or gas: firebox, glass, hearth and surround cleaned properly, and an honest answer on whether you also need a sweep or inspection. Free quote.
- Free 2nd-opinion quotes
- Price match + 10–25% discount
- Same-day service often available
Request a Free Fireplace Cleaning Quote
Tell us what's going on — we'll confirm a time by phone or text.
Fireplace cleaning is the general service for the part of the fireplace you can see, whichever fuel it burns. On a wood-burning fireplace that means the firebox, ash, grate, glass doors, hearth and the soot on the surround. On a gas fireplace it means the glass, the firebox interior, the logs and embers, the hearth and the surround, with the burner, pilot and valve left strictly to our qualified technician. This page covers both, because most people searching for it do not yet know which service they need.
Cleaning and sweeping are different things. A cleaning restores the fireplace; a chimney sweep clears the flue above it; a chimney inspection tells you whether the system is safe. Part of the job is telling you which of those you actually need. A fireplace that just looks dirty needs a cleaning; one that smokes, smells of creosote or has not been serviced in years needs a sweep; one that was flagged on a home inspection needs an inspection. If you know you have a wood unit and want the full detail, see wood fireplace cleaning; for the gas unit itself, see gas fireplace cleaning.
Free quote, free second-opinion quote, price match plus 10–25% off. Call 206-453-2045.
Symptoms
Signs you need fireplace cleaning
- Black or white haze on the glass that wipes off and comes right back
- Soot on the surround, mantel or ceiling above the opening
- Ash, debris or dust covering the firebox floor and logs
- A smoky or musty smell from the fireplace when it is not in use
- Gas logs that look gray and dusty instead of lit
- Cobwebs, pet hair or dust in a fireplace that sat unused all summer
- You are hosting, listing or photographing the house and the fireplace looks tired
Common causes
- Soot from wood smoke settling on every surface above and around the opening
- Dust and pet hair drawn into a gas firebox by the convection airflow and baked onto the logs and glass
- Ash left in a wood firebox through a damp spring and summer
- Combustion byproducts on gas fireplace glass that household cleaners smear rather than remove
- A fireplace that was never cleaned by the previous owner
How It Works
Our fireplace cleaning process
Every cleaning includes a quick check of what the cleaning reveals. On a wood fireplace that is the firebox joints and firebrick, the damper and the smoke shelf, and a look up the flue for creosote. On a gas fireplace it is the glass gasket, the log placement, the vent and the general condition of the burner area, looked at but not adjusted during a cleaning. If what we see says the flue needs a sweep or the system needs an inspection, we tell you and quote it; we do not upsell a sweep on a fireplace that does not need one, and we do not skip it on one that does.
Identify the unit
Wood or gas, masonry or factory-built, open or with doors. The cleaning method and the safety steps depend on it, so we confirm this before we start.
Protect the room
Drop cloths across the hearth and floor, the opening contained, and a HEPA vacuum running for the whole job.
Clean the firebox
Wood: ash and debris removed, walls and floor scraped and vacuumed. Gas: our technician removes the logs and embers, vacuums the firebox, and resets them to the manufacturer's layout.
Clean the glass
Doors and fixed glass are cleaned with the right product for the residue, inside and out, and gaskets are checked.
Clean the hearth and surround
Soot is lifted from brick, stone or tile without driving it deeper, and the mantel and hearth are wiped down.
Report and recommend
We tell you what we saw and whether a sweep, a gas service or an inspection is the right next step, with a free quote if it is.
Options
Repair and service options
The cleaning you need depends on the fuel and on how the fireplace is used:
- Wood fireplace cleaning: ash, firebox, grate, glass doors, smoke shelf, hearth and surround. The full breakdown is on the wood fireplace cleaning page.
- Gas fireplace cleaning: glass, firebox interior, logs and embers, hearth and surround, with the burner and pilot area inspected by our qualified technician; annual burner and pilot service is its own job under gas fireplace cleaning.
- Cleaning plus sweep: for wood fireplaces, the fireplace cleaning combined with a flue sweep and inspection; the sweep-and-inspection portion starts at $299.
- Cleaning plus gas vent check: for gas fireplaces, the cleaning combined with a look at the vent and termination cap; see gas fireplace chimney cleaning.
- Pre-sale or pre-event cleaning: a one-visit cleanup of the fireplace, glass and surround before photos, guests or a listing.
Every cleaning is quoted before we start, and we price match a written quote and take 10–25% off.
Pricing
What affects the price
- Wood or gas unit, and whether logs and embers have to be removed and reset
- Amount of ash, soot or dust to remove and how long it has been there
- Condition of the glass and whether the haze is baked on
- Surround material and how deeply soot has penetrated brick or stone
- Whether a flue sweep or gas vent check is added on the same visit
- Size of the fireplace and access around it
Every chimney is different, so you get a written quote after we look at the system. Ask about our price match and free second-opinion quote.
Safety & Seattle Conditions
Safety considerations
On a wood fireplace, ash can hold live embers for days, so we remove it with a HEPA unit rated for ash and carry it out in a sealed metal container, never a household vacuum or a plastic bin. On a gas fireplace, the cleaning is done by our qualified technician with the gas off at the appliance; we handle the logs, embers, burner area and pilot, and we reset the logs exactly to the manufacturer's layout because a log moved an inch can cause sooting or a flame that touches the glass. We do not ask homeowners to take any of those steps themselves.
If you ever smell gas, leave the house and call your gas utility or 911. NFPA 211 recommends an annual inspection of any fireplace and chimney in use, wood or gas.
Seattle & Puget Sound conditions
Fireplaces get heavy use around Puget Sound because the cool season is long: winter lows at Sea-Tac average 37.1°F in December and 37.7°F in January and February, and the wet season from October through March delivers about 29.65 inches of the year's 40.34 inches of precipitation. More fires means more soot on the glass and surround by spring.
The off season is when the dirt sets. Summer brings only about 3.0 inches of rain from June through August, the house warms up, and a wood fireplace left full of damp ash starts to smell, while a gas fireplace that sat unused collects the dust and cobwebs that bake onto the logs at the first fall lighting.
Our Work
Fireplace Cleaning in action
Wood or gas, a fireplace that looks ready to light
Free quote, same-day service often available, price match plus 10–25% off. If you're not happy, we're not done. Call 206-453-2045.
☎ 206-453-2045 Request a QuoteQuestions
Fireplace Cleaning FAQ
Do I need a fireplace cleaning or a chimney sweep?
If the fireplace looks dirty but burns fine, a cleaning handles the firebox, glass, hearth and surround. If it smokes, smells of creosote, burns poorly or has not been serviced in a year or more, the flue needs a chimney sweep, and we can do both on one visit. We tell you which on the free quote, not after.
Do you clean gas fireplaces?
Yes. Our qualified technician turns the gas off at the appliance, removes and cleans the logs and embers, vacuums the firebox, cleans the glass and resets everything to the manufacturer's layout. Burner ports, pilot assembly and blower service are covered under gas fireplace cleaning. If you smell gas at any time, leave the house and call your gas utility or 911.
Why is there a white film on my gas fireplace glass?
It is a normal byproduct of gas combustion that builds up over a season and household glass cleaner tends to smear. It comes off with a cleaner made for fireplace glass, applied after the glass has cooled and been removed by our technician. If it returns unusually fast, or the glass shows black soot instead of white haze, the logs or burner need attention and we will say so.
Can you get soot off the brick or stone above my fireplace?
Usually, yes. Soot on the surround comes off with the right cleaner and a method that lifts it rather than driving it into the pores. Porous brick and light stone that have been stained for years may keep a faint shadow, and we tell you that before we start. Soot that keeps coming back means smoke is rolling out of the opening, which is a draft issue for fireplace repair.
How often should a fireplace be cleaned?
A wood fireplace should have the ash cleared regularly during the season and the firebox, glass and surround cleaned fully at the end of it, with a sweep and inspection once a year. A gas fireplace does well with a yearly cleaning and service before the first fire of fall. NFPA 211 recommends an annual inspection for both.
Will fireplace cleaning make a mess in the room?
No. We lay drop cloths over the hearth and floor, contain the opening and run a HEPA vacuum for the whole job, so soot and ash stay in the fireplace and in our equipment. Ash leaves in a sealed metal container. The fireplace and the room around it should look better when we leave, not worse.
Do you clean fireplaces in Tacoma and Everett?
Yes. We clean wood and gas fireplaces in Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and the road-accessible Puget Sound from our Renton office. Same-day service is often available, the quote is free, and we price match any written quote and take 10–25% off. Call 206-453-2045 and tell us whether the unit is wood or gas.
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