Cleaning the Chimney Yourself
If you plan to clean the chimney yourself, you will
need to obtain some or all of the following tools and
supplies:
Drop cloth or other appropriate covering
Treble light or portable lantern
Leather gloves
Hand wire brush
Hand scraper or stiff putty knife
Hammer and screwdriver
Heavy duty vacuum cleaner
Whisk broom and dust pan
Metal bucket
Small shovel
Adjustable wrench
Can of furnace cement
Chimney brush
Rope and a weight or extension rods
Before starting to clean the chimney, be sure all
doors and windows are shut to prevent any drafts. Remove
damper, if possible. Seal fireplace opening with a drop
cloth and masking tape. You will need proper protective
clothing, including a mask to cover your mouth and nose
and glasses or goggles for your eyes. The material that
collects in chimneys is of such a nature that you should
avoid contact with it as much as possible. Wear good shoes
with slip resistant soles and be careful when climbing on
high, steep roofs to clean a chimney.
When cleaning the chimney from the roof, the easiest
method is to attach a line to the brush with a weight on
the opposite end. This weight should be of such a size and
shape that it cannot swing free into the tile liners and
cause damage. The purpose of the weight is to pull the
brush down into the chimney. A solid 15- to 20-pound
weight is required to move the brush downward. This will
depend on how tightly the brush fits and how dirty the
chimney is.
Another method is to attach a rope at each end of the
brush with a person at the top of the chimney and one at
the bottom, taking turns pulling the rope. This method may
be somewhat messy.
More effective is the use of rigid extensions such as
a pipe or tubing with a flexible leader. This allows you
to control and feel the scrubbing action of the brush in
the chimney. This method is used by most professional
chimney sweeps. Fiberglass rods are available for this
purpose. If metal pipe is used, be careful of power lines
above.
Lower the brush into the chimney being careful not
to disturb any loose brick mortar or any device in the
chimney. Cleaning can be accomplished by passing the
brush through the chimney a number of times in the same
direction or by raising and lowering the brush in short
strokes in a scrubbing action. If your brush is too
large, it will not reverse in the chimney and may even
lock up.
Experience will tell you how many passes to make
to get the chimney clean. Once this process is finished,
remove the seal from the fireplace opening. Use a drop
cloth in your working area. Slowly open the damper if you
were unable to remove it, vacuum up debris from the
bottom of the hearth, smoke shelf or catch pit. If you
can't open the damper you may have to drop a hose down
the chimney to vacuum out the soot.
While cleaning masonry chimneys, check for cracks in
the brick or masonry. Cracks allow cool air to come in,
thus reducing the efficiency of the fireplace or wood
stove and allowing creosote to form.
Stove pipes on the wood burner are critical to safety
and require additional attention. When cleaning an inside
flue, remove the connected sections. Be careful to
protect the area from soot. Take the sections outdoors
and brush inside them with a hand wire brush or a flue or
chimney brush that is the same diameter as the pipe.
Remove all the soot and creosote build-up from the breech
and the loose accumulation in the fire box. Stove pipes
need to be cleaned regularly. Check pipes at least once
every 2 or 3 months of stove operation.
After using your chimney brush, rinse it in a
cleaning solution such as kerosene and store it away in a
dry place. lt is a valuable tool.
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Tips & Techniques: Chimney Problems
