5 Tips On How To Reduce Dust When Cleaning Out A Wood Stove

Burning firewood leaves ash, and some types of wood leaves a lot more of it than others.

The point is this, eventually it has to be cleaned up from your stove. And as we all know, this is not the cleanest of the jobs, as it can track dust all over your house… unless you know how to do it right.

Take your time

This might seem like an absurd suggestion at first, but seriously, do take your time and be slow with it when emptying out the ashes.

The goal here, (if you use a bucket and a shovel that is), is to keep the bucket as close to the stove’s firebox as possible. This reduces the travel needed for the scooper to reach the bucket, hence minimizing the dust.

I’ve even heard of folks closing the lid of the bucket after each and every dump of ashes, just to be extra sure no more dust gets inside the house.

Again, just be mindful during each and every scoop of ash you go for, and I can tell you that this alone will end up helping you a lot.

Do it when the stove is warm

Emptying out the ashes soon after the wood stove died down ensures most of the dust particles you stir up go up the flue, not inside your room.

You should also take it easy here, too. Don’t just rip the stove’s door open in one go, slowly nudge it out as to not disrupt the current that goes up the flue; otherwise you may be welcomed with a cloud of ash dust blowing right at your face.

Try a different tool

An ash box can really be the answer here.

What it is is essentially a shovel that has closed sides, as well as a lid.

It works the same way as any old ash shovel, though this time you can close the actual scoop with a lid. In other words, you’ll be able to take the ash out of the firebox in an already shut container.

You won’t even need to empty it out into a pail that’s right by the stove. Take it outside into a metal bin and call it a day.

This pick from Amazon should give you the idea.

Do it less frequently

Cleaning the wood stove less often means less dust can get out into your house. Makes sense, right?

But how often should you do it then? Well, if you are deep into the burning season, going as long as 4 days can be just the number.

The point here is that you should only do the ash removal when you actually need to do it.

As a matter of fact, you should always maintain a bit of an ash layer at all times.

Or just get a vacuum

An ash vacuum is probably the cleanest solution to this whole ash dust dilemma we’re having here, though it doesn’t come without any drawbacks…

The biggest issue is that you will have to wait for the embers and ash to cool off.

Now that might not seem like a big issue at all if you don’t run your stove during the night, but if you burn pretty much 24/7, an ash vacuum will not really work.

That being said, if you are willing to wait for the ash to cool off to the proper temperature, go ahead and get a vacuum.

But don’t forget this…

No matter how clean you try to be here, just don’t forget that you’re dealing with firewood here.

It’s dirty to cut, split, bring into the house to start a fire, I can go on and on… To put it in other words, it’s not a clean job to begin with.

If you do end up getting some of the ash on the floor here and there, so be it. I mean, this is what it’s all about being a wood burner, right?