How To Clean Your Cast Iron Fireplace

With traditional Cast Iron Inserts and fireplace surrounds still incredibly popular and many purchased with the aim of keeping you warn in the winter, we take you through a few a few of the basics to make sure your polished areas stay as bright as gold.


Always check manufacturer's instructions first. Always try a test patch first. If you are unsure as to whether the item you are cleaning is suitable for our instructions, take professional cleaning advice first.

What to use

Before you start it is a very good idea to prepare everything you need so your not having to run off to find something in the middle of cleaning.
For this guide I will be polishing a new Cast Iron Insert but old cast iron is not much different.

• Metal Polish (you can also use WD40 or 3 in 1)
• 0000 Grade Wire Wool
• Hoover
• Lint Free Duster
• Gloves

Step 1

Once you have your equipment you are ready to bring your cast iron to a beautiful shine.
Firstly you need to ensure you wear your gloves when using the wire wool and polish. Take your metal polish and apply a small amount to the your wire wool. With this start to rub the polish into the metal using a firm hand covering a good sized area. Repeat until you have covered all polished areas.

If you have an old cast iron there may be rust on the polished areas if you do the rust will take some extra elbow grease but the majority if not all should come off.

Stubborn dirt can be tackled with methylated spirits - apply on soft cloths, changing them as you go until they come away clean, and keeping away from any tiles as meths may damage them.

Step 2

When you have completely polished the cast iron using the wire wool and polish take another piece of wire wool and work the surface of the polished area to achieve a good level of shine you are happy with.

Step 3

Using a small amount of metal polish on a new piece of wire wool work the polish in again to build a protective coating onto the polished areas to keep the shine looking new.

Step 4

Admire your handy work!