This is the shortest maintenance guide we will ever write, and that is the point. A bioethanol fireplace produces no ash, no soot and no creosote, so there is no chimney to sweep, no grate to empty and no annual service to book.
What remains takes a few minutes a month. If you want to understand why there is so little to do, our guide to how a bioethanol fireplace works explains the chemistry behind it.
Before anything: let it cool completely
Every task below requires the fireplace to be completely cold. Not cool to look at — cold to the touch, including the burner. Allow at least fifteen minutes after extinguishing, longer after a long session.
Never clean, move or refill a fireplace that is still warm.
The glass
Tempered glass stays clear because nothing sooty is being produced. What it does collect is dust, fingerprints and the occasional smear.
Wipe it with a soft cloth and ordinary glass cleaner, or a cloth dampened with water and a drop of washing-up liquid. Dry it with a second cloth to avoid streaks.
Avoid abrasive creams, scouring pads and anything gritty. Tempered glass is strong against heat and impact but scratches like any other glass, and a scratch is permanent.
If you ever see a light film after burning, the fuel is the cause, not the glass. Below 96% purity combustion is incomplete and leaves residue. Switch to 96–97% and the problem disappears — see the fuel guide.
The burner
This is the part that matters, because it is the part that affects how the fireplace performs.
After each use: nothing, if the burner ran dry. If fuel is left in it, that is fine for a few days; over longer periods it evaporates and can leave a faint residue.
Monthly, or every ten uses: wipe the inside of the burner with a dry or barely damp cloth once it is cold. Remove any residue around the opening, where it accumulates first.
Never submerge the burner in water, and never use solvents inside it.
Check the slider. The snuffer mechanism should move freely along its track. If it starts to stick, wipe the track clean — a snuffer that jams is a safety problem, not a comfort one, because it is your only means of stopping the flame quickly. See the lighting and extinguishing guide.
The body
Matte black steel is best cleaned with a soft dry cloth, or a slightly damp one for marks, dried immediately afterwards.
Avoid anything abrasive: matte finishes show polishing marks permanently, and once you have burnished a patch you cannot un-burnish it.
For a stainless steel combustion chamber, wipe along the grain rather than across it.
The decorative stones
If your fireplace uses decorative stones around the burner, they need almost nothing. Every few months, lift them out, rinse them in warm water, let them dry completely and put them back.
Make sure they are fully dry before returning them. Water sitting near a burner is not something you want when you next light it.
Storing the fuel
- Keep it sealed. Ethanol absorbs moisture from the air, and an open container drifts below the 96% purity band that makes it burn cleanly.
- Cool and dark. A cupboard, never a windowsill and never beside the fireplace.
- Out of reach of children and animals.
When to replace the burner
Burners last years in normal use. Replace it if you see corrosion, pitting or any deformation of the metal, or if the snuffer no longer closes flush against the opening.
A corroded burner does not just look tired — incomplete combustion in a degraded burner produces odour and, in poorly ventilated rooms, carbon monoxide. This is the one component worth inspecting properly once a season. Our safety guide covers why.
End of season
- Let it burn out completely, or snuff it and let the remaining fuel evaporate
- Wipe the burner, glass and body
- Rinse and dry the stones
- Store it dry, under cover, and never with fuel left in the burner
Fuel stored separately in a sealed container will still be good next season.
The whole routine
Wipe the glass when it looks dusty. Wipe the burner monthly. Check the slider moves freely. Inspect for corrosion once a season. Keep the fuel sealed and cool.
That is the entire maintenance schedule — no sweep, no engineer, no certificate. Our fireplaces are built from matte steel and tempered glass precisely so they can be kept rather than replaced: see the full range.
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Can You Use a Bioethanol Fireplace Outdoors?