No need for ladders or walking on the roof: you can clean a fireplace in other ways
After using a fireplace and the chimney throughout the winter, you need to clean these thoroughly. And, fortunately, you can do this without the danger and/or expense: no need for long ladders, dangerous "roof walking" or calling out a professional chimney sweep. Read on to find out more:
Chimney cleaning techniques you can try out
There are tools that are easy to find and will allow your to clean your chimney and flue and without you having to get onto the roof. And there are also cleaning chemicals that will make this chore easier. Let's find out what these are:
- Brushes with flexible, extending shafts
With these brushes, you can clean the flue of your chimney from bottom to top. Start from the bottom of the flue and gradually lengthen the shaft of the brush as you work your way up to the top.
- Rotating cleaning kits
These kits are composed of brushes connected to drills, and also have flexible, extendable shafts. First, you connect the brush to the shaft, and then the shaft to a drill. Now, you just need to turn the drill on to make the brush rotate and clean the flue effortlessly.
- Chemical cleaning
Chemical cleaners are usually a special powder which you can burn in the fireplace and the exhaust helps break down soot and creosote deposits. These chemical cleaners cannot completely replace some manual cleaning, but they are excellent at preventing a build-up of grime between deeper cleaning sessions.
Cleaning a chimney will obviously create a pile of soot and debris in the hearth, so it's always a good idea to have a vacuum cleaner at the ready to deal with this.
Warnings
Cleaning a chimney can bring you into contact with potentially harmful substances: it is therefore essential to ensure you have adequate PPE protection, especially for your respiratory tract and your eyes.
Obviously, the fireplace must be extinguished and the chimney be at room temperature/cool/cold before starting the cleaning process.
If you are struggling to clean your chimney, don't take any risks - call a professional. The same is true if you notice that the coating of creosote in the flue is very thick (and which poses a serious fire hazard).
Proper chimney cleaning not only reduces risks but also improves the overall functioning of the system. Therefore, it's important to find the best method for you to keep your chimney in pristine condition.
