Cleaning and maintaining your chimney appropriately can save you money and prevent trouble — and yes, you can do a lot of the work on your own or hire professional chimney cleaners.
It’s inevitable that you will need to clean your chimney —that’s a fact. But how often do you need to clean your chimney? There are several factors that need to be considered, including how often it’s used, what kind of fuel you are burning, and even what type of flue the fireplace uses.
Chimneys need to be cleaned, but why?
There is probably the greatest concern relating to chimney fires, which occur when creosote in chimneys condenses from wood smoke and catches fire. This is especially common with wood stoves, but can also occur with fireplaces. It is estimated that chimney fires can reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to partially crack masonry chimney liners and possibly start a fire in the surrounding framing.
How to Keep Your Chimney Clean
One way to minimize creosote production is to burn well-seasoned, dry wood. The cooler smoke generated by burning greenwood produces combustion byproducts that can condense in the chimney.
Getting Your Chimney Serviced
No fuel-burning appliance, even those that do not burn wood, should vent through a chimney, and the chimney should be cleaned and inspected by a verified CSIA chimney sweep.
Despite the fact that creosote is not a concern with gas or oil, there are two other concerns:
It is particularly important to take precautions with regard to oil. First, the build-up of soot in the chimney may block the flue and spread deadly carbon monoxide into the house.
Additionally, a combustion system using either fuel can create a solution that can combine with water to form a corrosive fume which can damage your flue. As time passes, this damage can cause flue gasses to enter your home.
How to Clean Your Chimney
Despite the fact that hiring a professional chimney cleaning service in Vancouver to inspect the chimney is a good idea, serious DIYers can take care of some chimney maintenance themselves. Here’s how to clean your chimney yourself:
To begin with, check the inside of the chimney. You might be able to see through the cleanout with a flashlight and a mirror, or by looking up from the fireplace with a flashlight.
The best view is had from above, however. To do this, you’ll need to be above the chimney looking down, which means you’ll need to be able to use ladders and be on a roof safely and comfortably.
Install a flashlight in the flue and remove the chimney cap.
Watch for a black, flaky substance, which may be a creosote build-up, on the flue. If you find creosote, the chimney needs cleaning. If you spot damage, you need a pro who’s experienced in chimney cleaning.
Tools for Cleaning a Chimney
Chimney cleaning is generally not a job best left to an inexperienced DIYer. However, with the right tools and skills, even an experienced DIYer can still take care of their chimney.
Make sure to buy a chimney brush that’s shaped and sized to fit your chimney and enough extension rods to run it from the top to bottom. Use metal brushes on masonry flues and poly brushes on stainless steel flues.
To use a chimney brush, follow these steps:
Put a plastic sheet over the fireplace opening, or tape the door to the woodstove.
Install the rod, opening the damper and removing the chimney cap from above.
Insert the brush into the flue, push it toward the bottom, and scrub it up and down.
Upon reaching the bottom, you will repeat the scrubbing process with additional rod sections.
If the creosote still remains inside the chimney, repeat the process. Once the brush is out, look inside to make sure you’ve eliminated all of it.
Once the chimney has been cleaned, use a shop vacuum to catch all the soot and creosote and blow it away.
Reach out to us and well be able to take care of everything for you & for any other cleaning needs or junk removal, reach out to our sister company Cleaning Maid.
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