Fireplace in the house: how to give it new life
Rustic or modern, in red bricks or embellished with the natural effects of marble and natural stone, the fireplace it is a central element of the home. As time passes, however, the comfortable warmth of the lit fireplace leaves on the surfaces dust and soot, which can accumulate well beyond the confines of the hearth grate.
Eliminate combustion residues from the fireplace and the furniture closest to it is an operation that should be carried out with a certain regularity. In addition to preserving the functionality and aesthetics of the fireplace over time, correct maintenance allows you to keep the air quality in the home under control without giving up the comfort of a lit and easy to clean.
Fireplace, the best cladding materials
Il fireplace, once the "home" and center of family life, has become in recent years a fundamental element in defining the style and character of the home: the freedom of design is almost infinite.
You can choose from a long list of covering materials, each with its aesthetic and functional characteristics:
- natural stone: extremely durable, stone offers a great variety of choices in terms of colour, texture, grain and workmanship, and is an element capable of recall the external natural environment;
- marble: a marble fireplace is capable of embellishing any environment, whether classic or contemporary. In addition to conserving heat very well, marble ensures an aesthetic result of great value and capable of withstanding the test of time;
- bricks: economical, durable and available in a wide variety of shapes, bricks are a reliable and always fashionable choice, which allows you to obtain very different effects based on the brick but also on the laying pattern;
- ceramic and porcelain stoneware: ceramic, majolica and porcelain stoneware tiles allow great compositional freedom and are available in the most diverse shapes and price ranges, offering the possibility of experimenting with meticulous decorations and large slabs of great effect without spending a fortune;
- Wood: if it is true that the classic wooden shelf is a must for those who want a traditional fireplace, the versatile character of the different essences, more or less valuable, which can be polished, sculpted, inlaid or painted and used in combination with other materials to give a personal touch to the fireplace;
- metal: satin or polished, anodized or embossed, metal is the first choice for fireplaces that want to embody the sober and modern style of minimal or industrial-inspired homes.
How to remove soot from the chimney
When starting a renovation or scheduling spring cleaning this is important don't forget the fireplace, especially if you use it a lot during the winter and if you have the habit of using the home hearth (also) for cooking.
In addition to the annual cleaning of the flue, which should be done as autumn approaches, the right attention should also be paid to the inside of the fireplace and its cladding, without forgetting the immediate vicinity of the hearth.
The first thing to do to give new life to the fireplace is remove all the ash and proceed with deep cleaning of the cast iron grill: for this operation a powerful degreaser may be sufficient, left to act for a few minutes and then reinvigorated with the help of a brush or abrasive sponge.
Then you can move on to cleaning of the covering: if it is true that in general the most suitable product depends on the material, in this case there is a solution capable of restoring the majority of covering materials to their original splendor. Micromax Extra It is a concentrated stain remover, wax remover and degreaser low foaming which can be used pure or diluted with water, for remove tar and soot from ceramic coverings, porcelain stoneware and natural stones but also from the most delicate ones marble, terracotta and wood.
A fireplace like new and easy to clean
After having thoroughly cleaned the grate, walls and external lining of the fireplace, all that remains is to protect the fruits of our labor, making sure that the treatment is the most long-lasting and effective possible.
The ideal solution for fireplaces made of brick, terracotta, unglazed clinker, natural stone and marble is Krypto H-6, a strong protectant suitable for all non-polished stones and particularly suitable for materials such as granite, slate and travertine, much loved for hearths.
Often, however, the fireplace is adorned with structured or dense surfaces architectural details, ranging from bas-relief workmanship to the natural shapes of raw stone. The trick to simplify the maintenance of the fireplace, in this case, is called Summary 3/P: it is an interior finishing wax ideal for terracotta, non-polished stone and porcelain stoneware which performs an effective anti-dust and anti-soot action su surfaces with exposed bricks or structured like those of fireplaces.
