Knowledge Centre · Care
Care and maintenance for your pizza oven
A well-cared-for masonry oven will serve you for years. Here is how to use, clean, paint and look after your Eco oven.
Everyday use
- Burn only dry, untreated hardwood such as blue gum, with a moisture content of no more than 15 to 20%.
- Never use flammable liquids, charcoal, coal, treated timber, refuse or plastics.
- Use tools made for high temperatures, and wear protective gloves when working at the oven.
- Keep children, pets and groups of people a safe distance away while the oven is in use and while it cools.
- Keep furniture, plants, electrics and anything combustible well away from the oven.
- Store firewood under a non-combustible cover, away from sparks.
Cleaning and ash
Remove ash only once it is completely cold, and dispose of it safely.
Clean the flue parts regularly. A build-up in the flue can lead to a flue fire.
Keep moisture out
Protect your oven from excess moisture.
Hairline cracks
Small cosmetic hairline cracks can appear on the outside of a masonry oven as it heats and cools. They are normal and are not automatically a structural problem.
- Keep an eye on any crack over the next few fires.
- Contact us if a crack widens, moves or affects how the oven performs.
- Never attempt a structural repair yourself without speaking to us first.
Painting the exterior
Paint the exterior only after curing is complete, so that any remaining moisture can escape first. Use a suitable water-based exterior paint.
A useful tip: paint the exterior while the oven is at a medium temperature. The hairline cracks open slightly, so the paint can fill them.
Ovens assembled on site
When we assemble an oven on site, we complete the plaster finish but do not paint it, because the plaster needs about a week to dry. Once the oven is cured, you can paint it in your chosen colour.
Safety reminders
- Do not modify the oven from its original design.
- If the oven is under a roof or indoors, make sure it meets your local building and safety requirements.
- Be careful of high temperatures inside the oven and of flying sparks.
Need help with your oven?
Send us a photo on WhatsApp and tell us what you are seeing. You will be speaking to the team that made your oven.