How To Clean A Gas Fireplace

Gas fireplaces are beautiful, but a dirty one can smell very bad and that's no good.

They require just a bit of maintenance to keep them running well. Here's how we cleaned ours out and got rid of that odor.


No one will ever accuse me of loving winter. However. I'm not a total hater. There are a lot of things to enjoy about the season.

And one of my favorites is fire.

Candlelight and fireglow. They make the house look magical.

They light everything in just the right way.

Including my middle aged face. 😉

There's also nothing better than cuddling up in front of my large stone hearth on a chilly night.


Enjoying the view and the warmth.

Especially since ours is a gas fireplace.

We just turn it on and the flames appear. No wood to chop, buy or stack. No kindling to stoke, nothing to wait for if we need to leave the house or want to go to bed.

We simply turn it off and it's out.

No worries at all.

However. Several months ago, things weren't so lovely. Every time we turned on the gas there was a terrible smell. Enough to make me want to turn it off immediately and open a window.

I knew it wasn't the gas leaking, that smell is very specific.

No, this smell was different, very pungent and without being able to describe it in a better way, it felt heavy.

Concerned about the odor and about our safety, I hit Google and went down the rabbit hole of "gas fireplace smells bad".

What came up was a lot of information about how sometimes the logs smell a bit until their factory coating wore off.

But that wasn't my problem, our logs were more than 10 years old. The off gassing period was over long ago.

Then there were other articles about possible emissions issues, but again, our gas wasn't leaking.

Finally, I abandoned the computer and called the fireplace shop.

Sometimes, you really just need to consult the pros.

Why Does My Gas Fireplace Smell Bad?

Sounds like it's dirty. When's the last time you replaced the glowing embers, lava rocks and sand?

Um...never.


We would occasionally take the logs outside and use a broom to dust them off, but other than that, we only changed the batteries twice a season.

And we'd updated the mantel. Does that count? No?

Clearly we had some work to do.

Ok, so first things first. This is my screaming disclaimer.

My husband is a very experienced and very knowledgeable DIYer. He's worked on constructions sites, built houses, done plumbing, electrical and masonry.

This was not his first rodeo.

Otherwise we would've called a service tech to do this for us.


And I highly recommend that since you may have to turn the gas off, then back on and light the pilot for this project.

We were told it wasn't necessary to do that, so we didn't, but either way, that part alone qualifies it as a job for the pros.

It's a little more involved than your average DIY.

So rather than give you the full detailed tutorial, I'm just going to explain the steps we took, so you can get an idea of what's involved.

A Clean Fireplace Is Important, But So Is A Pretty One:

• Wooden Leaf Banner For Your Mantel
• Fireplace Screen Makeover
• Summer Electric Fireplace Update

I also really wanted to share, because like I said, I searched for hours trying to find out what that smell was...when it was just dirty.

That's it.

What Caused That Terrible Smell?

That awful smell was a byproduct of the dirty, dusty, soot covered logs, embers, rocks and sand getting hot. Whatever was on them was burning off and emitting that terrible odor.

Once it was clean and fresh, the smell completely disappeared.

So How Do You Clean A Gas Fireplace?

First, we took a picture. The logs fit together like a puzzle and you can arrange them in several configurations. We liked what we had and we wanted to be able to replicate it.

Then we removed them.


Next, we shoveled everything out, placed it in a bucket and vacuumed out the entire space.


And then we put it all back.

The new sand went down first. Then the lava rocks.

And finally a fresh batch of the glowing embers.

How Do You Clean Gas Fireplace Logs?

The last step in this process was to put the logs back, after we cleaned them off, of course. To do that we used a nylon, stiff bristle brush so we didn't damage the ceramic coating.

That's what the manual recommends, so we stuck to it.


Once we turned it back on, there wasn't a scent in the room.

Only a lovely warmth to snuggle by.


Until we clicked it off.

Now if I could just do the same with winter itself, I'd be set.

How does your fireplace smell?

Happy Cleaning, Friends!