How do you keep your hearth tidy?

[lotus.blossom]

This is our third year of wood heating. We have a lovely small woodstove and a slate pad under it. I am reaaaaly tired of sweeping it, and the woodpile next to it several times a day. I have been doing some online shopping for a good handheld vacuum that will suck up all the ash and wood pieces. Anyone have any recommendations? Or am I just going to have to resign myself to sweeping?

[nathansmum]

I just vacuum it every day or 2 when I'm doing the rest of the house. Yes, it still bugs me if I don't have the vacuum cleaner out, but I'm not too fazed by it.

I wipe the hearth with a wet cloth every couple of weeks - I would like it like that all the time, but can't really be bothered tbh.

[Denvergirlie]

We sweep up the ash and wood chips maybe once to twice a week. I am not willing to fight that battle on a daily basis to keep it pristine clean.
I've personally just accepted the fact, that it is what it is, in order to get the wood heat and not pay the propane bill.

You mention wood pile, is your wood not contained inside the house? Or is it in a rack or the like? last year we used an old steamer trunk as our inside wood box, so most of the wood bits fall to the bottom inside the trunk. Over the summer I got a few used metal feed/ water tanks like horses and cattle use, for free. We now have that as our wood box. A few bits of bark might fall off between the wood box and the firebox, but most of what I deal with is ash.

As for a mini sweeper, I would think the internal filters would get clogged faster than "normal" use due to the ash. So if you do go that route, make sure the filter can be cleaned easily.
best of luck

[tinuviel_k]

How about a small Shop-Vac? Easy, cheap, practical. I have a three-gallon model that can hang right on the wall. I used to use it to clean out my rat cage. It would work great for a hearth. They also make them in smaller 1.5 gallon models.

[lotus.blossom]

Yeah, you're probably right about the filter getting clogged on a handheld. I have seen these ash vacuums online but they are really pricey. A small shopvac is a good idea!

Our inside wood is stacked in this dedicated area against the wall in the corner. Has a slate floor and a mini wall to hold the wood. Hard to explain but anyway the wood chips and all just spill out. I like the idea of a containment system though.

I like to have my hearth pretty clean since the stove is right between the dining and living room. I don't want my toddler eating it, and trust me he will. Everything still goes into his mouth!!! I guess for now I will keep sweeping and hopefully I can get some kind of shopvac to stay in the wood corner.

[wombatclay]

our wood stove is smack dab in the middle of the open living space so I hear you on wanting it to be neat/tidy (and my toddler will happily chew on whatever he finds so that is a concern here too). Last year we used a small shop vac... probably the one mentioned above since it was a "wall mounted" vac. I cleaned it out maybe twice a month? This year I've been using our regular vacuum (dyson w/ washable hepa filter) and it's been fine. But I'll probably pull out the shop vac once we're really into "stove season" because washing/changing filters would get annoying.

[hibana]

Another shop vac user here. I also use a carpet sweeper when I don't want to bring out the "heavy machinery". It sits in the corner and doesn't require a plug. (our house has very few outlets, so it's a big production to vacuum)

[Katie T]

Originally Posted by tinuviel_k

How about a small Shop-Vac? Easy, cheap, practical. I have a three-gallon model that can hang right on the wall. I used to use it to clean out my rat cage. It would work great for a hearth. They also make them in smaller 1.5 gallon models.

Out wood stove is in the basement but we have a shop vac to clean it out at the end of the season. It works great!

[wombatclay]

Oh... just for full disclosure... there was a finger shaking editorial letter recently (maybe in Mother Earth News?) that reminded readers that a hot ember+the fine dust in a vacuum canister (could)= explosion/fire.

It's not something I worry much about (obviously, since I use a shop vac ) but it's something to be aware of.

[lotus.blossom]

good point about the embers. We use a metal dustpan to sweep those up...

Do you gals have the Ridgid Store n Go? I'm not sure my hubby would like a wall mounted machine. Kind of unsightly.....

[nathansmum]

Yep, a friend had her vacuum cleaner catch on fire by sucking up an ember. I'm not concerned since I only do it a couple of times a week and tend to sweep up the large chunks and tip them into the fire first (and the fire is well gone out at that point, since it's usually the morning when I would vacuum and the fire doesn't usually get lit till mid-morning on the colder mornings and lunchtime on not so cold ones and it doesn't damp down overnight, just goes out - even though the embers inside will still be hot even if not lit for another 24hrs or so).