Removing chimney soot stains off flagstones

[A99]

Hi;

I have an old wood burning stove sitting on "light grey flagstones" in my fireplace, I have just repaired my a leaking chimney but over the last 2 months of nonstop rain soot has ran down the inside the chimney & stained the "light grey flagstones", does anyone know of a stain remover that will remove this soot, I dont want to start scrubing as I might just spread the soot & make the stain worst !
Any tips or tricks welcome

Thanks in advance.

 

[New Home]

You might want to try with some upholstery foam cleaner (something like Vanish) - if it's delicate enough to work on fabrics, I'm sure it won't damage the stone. Otherwise, I guess your only other option is soap (the sort that you use to handwash clothes - it's called Marseille soap, I think?), a brush, and elbow grease - just don't use anything acidic (depending on the type of stone, it might corrode it). You could contact the crowd that sold you the stove, they might have some suggestions. Keep in mind that some soot (usually that which filters through a chimney wall, rather than the dusty type which has been washed out of a fireplace) may stain walls permanently, so it might have the same effect on the flagstones.

 

[New Home]

One more option: I was in Arro (similar to Woodies) on Saturday, and I saw they had specific cleaning agents to remove various types of stain from stone and other materials - I suppose your local DIY place might have something similar.