The profession of chimney sweeps is not the most popular; people have become accustomed to dealing with blockages and large amounts of soot on their own. In addition, the development of independence is facilitated by a huge number of available methods deliverance brick oven and chimneys from congestion. In addition to special means, folk craftsmen invent their own rather extraordinary methods of combating soot, such as aluminum cans or potato peelings, but first things first.
Chimney cleaning should be a regularly repeated task. Even the most innovative designs, consisting of expensive and cutting-edge modules, require careful maintenance. No matter how hard you try to reduce the amount of deposited soot, the appearance of soot cannot be avoided. If you heat the stove with wood, do not best quality, then the plaque can be impressive and difficult to remove. The amazing properties of soot allow it to accumulate even on vertical, flat surfaces, hence the need to clean the internal walls of the chimney and stove. If it is not cleaned, it may result in a fire in the bathhouse or house.
Chimney sweeps are not in demand today, due to the fact that men do not disdain menial work and are able to clean everything themselves. However, it is also not worth talking about the disappearance of this profession completely. If the chimney has complex design, with a lot of bends, then you should still give preference to a professional.
There are two types of smoke: noble white and harmful black. Light is formed from water and logs, dark from soot and coal combustion products. White smoke completely safe for the inner walls of the stove. From black you can notice the appearance of an unpleasant coating, it is especially noticeable on inside, since, unlike the upper glossy surface, the material inside the structure is slightly rough. As a result of the intensification of such a raid, the thrust becomes much less, and the amount of fuel burned decreases. You shouldn’t let the situation get worse, because it can lead to disastrous consequences.
Getting rid of soot is not difficult, because modern bathhouse lovers come to the aid of industrial chemicals and brushes specially created for this. You don't have to climb onto the roof to clean problem areas.
We use a special brush
As in previous times, specialized brushes remain unrivaled. Not a single chemical 
the remedy cannot compare with it. The only condition for success is that you need to choose it correctly. The type of chimney plays an important role here. Suitable for each of them different models, and there are a great many of them on the market.
The first thing you need to decide is the diameter of the brush. It is impossible to clean the chimney with a large brush; at the same time, cleaning a small one will increase the time it takes to get rid of soot. Thus, properly selected brushes will allow you to clean the oven evenly along its entire length.
When choosing a brush, you don’t need to give preference to the first one you come across. Examine it carefully, understand what it is made of. A stiff nylon brush is ideal for removing clogs. Despite all the rigidity, it is able to adapt to the pipe and reach the very hard to reach places. The lint does not damage the surface, but at the same time thoroughly removes dirt.
For chimney bends, use a special brush. It will help you reach curved structures. It is the turns that accumulate a huge amount of soot, and getting rid of it is much more difficult than it seems at first.
Cleaning should be done with the utmost care. The fewer deformations and scratches that appear during the procedure, the longer the stove will serve you. Scratches and chips are uneven surfaces, and they accumulate large number soot and soot. That's why ideal option becomes a brush with a flexible handle. It is easier for her to reach the dirt and easier to control when cleaning it.
Traditional method: potato peelings
This method has been known for several centuries. In the absence of special tools, our ancestors came up with an amazing way to clean the stove.
To carry out the procedure, you will need an impressive amount of potato peelings. Today this may be a problem, but rural residents in the old days did not have such a problem. But you managed to collect at least half a bucket of cleaning. We heat the oven well and pour all the available wealth into it. The quality of cleaning depends on the size of the pipe; the larger it is, the more potatoes need to be destroyed.
The effect of this method is explained by the effect of evaporated starch on soot. Mixing in the pipe, the soot begins to decompose and within a few days actively falls off the walls. But it doesn’t fall off completely, so after a few days we tie a ruff to the brick and send it down the chimney pipe. Noise and loss of soot residues are guaranteed.
The second folk method: we use aspen firewood
The firebox with aspen wood is also not new way. However, unlike the previous one, it cannot be called safe.
At the beginning, a firebox with aspen wood looks like any other. We lay the material and melt it well. This firewood burns well, so constant flooding leads to high temperatures. A great fire hazard lies in the fact that the oven doors must be open and firewood must be constantly thrown into them. Ultimately, this will cause the pipe to begin to hum, white soot flakes will fly out of it, and the soot inside will catch fire. When examining the pipe, you can see a flame from there.
Before carrying out such a dangerous maneuver, make sure that the design and material can withstand temperatures of 1000 degrees.
Method three: aluminum cans and hose
Burning aluminum cans is a relatively new method of cleaning soot from the stove. Once every five days, throw a couple of cans into hot coals. Please note that the cans must burn, so use hard coal. The cans will actually burn in it, producing very little soot, which means less clogging of the chimney.
Another existing, but very dubious method. You need to take the hose and insert it into the pipe from the firebox. The stiffer the hose, the better the result. After this, all the soot should fall down. You can further strengthen the hose by putting a brush or a cut plastic bottle on it.
Fourth innovative method: chemicals
Chemicals are not designed to completely remove soot from your oven. They refer to 
means of prevention. After using such products, the soot will fly off in places, but this will still lead to the need to buy and use a brush. In addition, the chemical composition is not very attractive to consumers, since after use for a couple of days the stove retains a persistent synthetic odor, which worries consumers.
Having dealt with all possible cleaning methods, we can conclude that the most effective and in a safe way is a mechanical manipulation using a rigid brush with a flexible handle. Treat the stove with care, clean it of soot, and it will serve you for a long time.
There is no smoke without fire, and also without soot and other products of incomplete combustion that settle on the walls of the chimney. Stove heating has been around for more than a millennium, and during this time people have developed dozens of ways to clean chimneys. There was once a belief that meeting a chimney sweep would bring good luck. This profession was honorable and in demand. Nowadays, many means have been created for mechanical and chemical removal of soot. Using them, the owner of the home can complete all the work himself.
Why does the chimney become clogged?
Combustion is a complex physical and chemical process during which a rapid oxidation reaction of combustible substances occurs, releasing a large amount of heat. The initial substance that served as fuel breaks down into fractions as a result of combustion. Most of it turns into a hot gaseous state and rushes down the chimney, creating draft. Along with the gases, particles of unburned substances rush into the chimney, which are deposited in the form of soot and plaque.
Incomplete combustion occurs for two reasons:
Soot is carbon in an amorphous state. In the chimney, soot mixes with the oils and resins contained in the wood and becomes greasy to the touch. This mixture itself is flammable. When soot ignites, its flame reaches a temperature of over 1000 o C. This reason alone is enough to regularly clean the entire chimney duct.
There is only one step from a fire in a chimney to a fire in a house.
In addition, soot clogs the clearance, which reduces traction. For this reason, combustion deteriorates and heat generation in the furnace decreases. Worse yet, a narrow clearance can create a reverse draft effect when the products of incomplete combustion begin to escape into the heated room. This is fraught not only with a fire, but also with the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The first signs that the chimney requires cleaning appear long before obvious negative consequences. You should be wary if:
Often, the chimney design includes inspection windows with plugs; they are called inspection windows; through them you can check the condition of the chimney. In the absence of revisions, the old fashioned method will do: lowering the brick on a rope into the chimney. If the blockage is severe, the brick will begin to get stuck. By the way the rope loosens and jerks again, you can feel the condition of the chimney. Today's advanced homeowners use a video camera on a flexible cable.
A clogged chimney is a risk factor and threat fire safety. This stove cannot be used until the chimney is completely cleaned.
How to clean a chimney pipe in a private house
Any method is good when the clearance in the chimney is restored, after which combustion in the stove or fireplace occurs with maximum heat transfer.
You can hire professional chimney sweeps, but the work itself is not difficult. If you have free time and simple equipment, doing the cleaning yourself will save the family budget and give you skill and understanding of how stove heating works.
Chemical cleaning methods
Industrial chemistry comes to the rescue. The homeowner's efforts are reduced to purchasing the product and filling it into the firebox according to the instructions.
Typically, chemical reagents are added directly while wood is burning. There is a combination of business and pleasure. Chemical assistant under the influence high temperature decomposes with the release of active components that convert amorphous carbon of soot into solid fractions that lose adhesion to the walls of the chimney and crumble into the firebox. They are then removed along with the ash.
The following chemical products are popular:
Dry cleaning is effective as a preventive measure even with a soot layer of up to 2 mm. It cannot completely replace mechanical cleaning.
Photo gallery: chemical chimney cleaning products
Inside the package 20 gram sachets 80 g in one package Powder comes with a dispensing spoon
Effective against creosote deposits
Video: log chimney sweep
Mechanical cleaning
There are traditional sets of professional chimney sweeps - weights, brushes, scrapers and brushes on chains and flexible cables. They are not consumer goods, so they are purchased in specialized stores or ordered directly from manufacturers. Modern industry also offers sophisticated devices for large volumes of work: vacuum cleaners, vacuum installations, smoke punches and ventilation ducts, live steam generators.
The chimney sweep is depicted on the 1 lat coin
The technique of work is simple, the main thing is to remove as much as possible the accumulated soot and other layers of products of incomplete combustion. The chimney sweep climbs to the roof, where, using cables (chains), he sharply lowers a weight with a brush into the chimney. The brush knocks off the soot and it falls into the firebox. Additionally, scrapers and brushes on long flexible poles are used. If the chimney has inspection holes, which in good condition are closed with flaps; they are also used for cleaning and inspection. In fireplaces and in some types of stoves or boilers, there is the possibility of partial penetration into the chimney from the firebox side.
In the absence of household You can make do with special tools using improvised means. Any chain will do; it can easily be replaced with a plumbing cable, hose or strong rope. Instead of a weight, they tie an old barn lock, a dumbbell, a plastic bottle with sand, or a stone in a stocking. You can’t make a metal brush quickly, but the same plastic bottle will help out.
Video: cleaning with a plastic bottle brush
If you create a powerful draft in the chimney, the soot will rush up the pipe naturally. Craftsmen use vacuum cleaners, fans, chainsaws and grinders for this. True, this method is not always practical, since clouds of black smoke rush into the atmosphere, and soot falls on personal plot and to the neighbors. In this case, reasonable care and approval is required.
Devices that can create a sharp shake inside the chimney have a good effect in collapsing soot. They even use firecrackers.
Video: cleaning a chimney with firecrackers
Burn out the soot with fire
For chimneys from fire bricks They use dry wood from alder and aspen. They quickly burn out with a flame temperature of up to 1100 o C. At this temperature, the soot completely burns out. The method is ancient, but is rarely practiced nowadays due to fire safety restrictions.
The procedure is as follows:
This method was developed using other means of burning soot. Gasoline, diesel fuel, and naphthalene were used. But it’s better not to take risks and experiment. Such flammable substances are not safe; their vapors are capable of a volumetric explosion. It will blow away not only the soot, but also the entire chimney.
Folk remedies
It is unknown who was the first to use potato peelings; the method is truly folk and appeared as side effect from burning household waste in a stove.
It was noticed that after the combustion of potato peelings, soot falls abundantly from the chimney into the firebox, from where it is removed along with the ash. The point, of course, is not the peelings, but the starch contained in potatoes. It is starch that successfully binds and collapses soot.
It is not necessary to use cleaning specifically. Potatoes themselves will do if they are in excess and need to be disposed of. As well as other starch-rich foods that must be soaked before use. These are legumes - peas, soybeans, beans, lentils and cereals - corn, buckwheat, rice. Or directly pure starch.
From a practical point of view, potato peelings are the most profitable material. They throw them away anyway. It is enough to accumulate about the size of a bucket and pour it into a fired oven to get an excellent result.
In addition to starch, you can use table salt and baking soda from what is always on hand. They also act on soot, helping it fall off.
Folk remedies are preventive, allowing to reduce chimney blockage. The highest quality results are still achieved by the same good old mechanical cleaning.
Sleeve in the chimney
It has long been noticed that oval-shaped pipes provide better traction, and less soot deposits on smooth, glossy surfaces.
Brickwork, which is most often used for the construction of chimneys, lacks such advantages. This is where the idea of a pipe in a pipe arose, especially when the industry began to offer pipes and connection elements made of galvanized sheet metal, stainless steel and ceramics as a set. In the future, pipes made of heat-resistant plastic that does not decompose at high temperatures are expected to appear.
A lined chimney is a structure in which the outer part is made of brick or concrete as an architectural element for decoration and protection of the internal chimney - the liner.
Lined chimney - a chimney in a closed shaft
The advantage of sleeves is obvious:
Since the sleeve consists of prefabricated elements, its installation, maintenance, and replacement of defective parts do not require the involvement of qualified repairmen.
The most popular material for lining is stainless steel. Ceramics in themselves are good, but only for individual project. Material and work will be very expensive. You can use galvanized sheet, it is cheaper than stainless steel, however, the service life will be shorter and there is always a risk that the sheet will not hold up and will burn out.
An even greater effect can be obtained from pipes and connection elements made in the form of a sandwich, that is, two-layer with insulating non-flammable material inside, for example, with mineral wool.
Video: pipe lining
When constructing a new chimney, the pipe lining is done simultaneously with the laying. It is more difficult when the chimney has already been built and was in operation. But this is not an insurmountable obstacle, because individual parts of the system are manufactured specifically for installation inside a brick or concrete shaft. Lining is performed as follows:
The sleeve is secured with clamps, an apron and a fungus are installed on top, protecting the chimney and sleeve from precipitation. Installation on the firebox side should ensure the removal of combustion products through the liner system, preventing them from entering the chimney shaft.
Assembling and disassembling a lined chimney is not difficult
The sleeve elements are made in such a way that they fit tightly into one another and firmly hold their shape. The dimensions are standard, this makes it easy to replace individual parts or modify them if it is necessary to rebuild the chimney.
A hearth in the form of a fireplace or stove not only serves as a means of heating the room, but also creates a unique coziness in the house. However, the use of fire inevitably creates the need maintenance chimney. Chemical and mechanical means cleaning. And besides them, there are folk remedies that have been proven over centuries. Each method is good in its own way, but with certain limitations. Using them in combination allows you to operate the system stove heating with the greatest return.
July 25, 2016Specialization: Capital construction work(laying a foundation, erecting walls, constructing a roof, etc.). Internal construction work (laying internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communications, high technology, computer technology, programming.
As it turned out, there was a bathhouse in the relatives’ yard, which they had not used for a long time, since the chimney in the stove was clogged. Luckily, I knew how to deal with this problem myself, so I quickly got to work and got the furnace working again. As a reward, I took a steam bath in the steam room and collected very valuable information.
The result of all this was the instructions for cleaning chimney pipes, which I bring to your attention.
Why do you need clean smoke exhaust ducts?
Many in childhood saw how their grandfathers and great-grandfathers cleaned the pipe from soot, but not everyone knows why this not very pleasant operation is necessary. Therefore, I will work a little as a lecturer so that you have something to tell your children on long winter evenings, rocking in a rocking chair by the fireplace.
So, when solid fuel burns, in addition to thermal energy and hot gases, soot is formed in the furnace. With currents of rising thermal air, it rises up the chimney and gradually settles on the walls of the chimney.
As you work heating device the soot layer becomes thicker. And in the end, all this can lead to very unpleasant consequences:
- the channel for removing gases formed during combustion is greatly narrowed, which reduces the draft in the pipe;
- soot adhered to the walls of the chimney damages the surface of the pipe and reduces the service life of the device;
- the efficiency of the stove (thermal energy production) decreases, that is, to maintain the desired temperature in the room you will have to use more firewood, coal, fuel briquettes or whatever you have;
- the likelihood of ignition of soot deposits inside the stove chimney increases.
Only cleaning the smoke exhaust duct will help you get rid of all the troubles. It is only important to determine when exactly you need to start this not the most pleasant procedure. This is what I will talk about next.
When you can no longer put off this unpleasant task
Basically, based on own experience, I can tell you that if a fireplace or wood-burning stove was built by an experienced craftsman and he met all the requirements, you will need to worry about how to clean the chimney from soot no more than once every few years.
Especially if you use high-quality fuel. For example, if, in addition to firewood, you throw various garbage, plastic bottles, plastic bags and other plastic items into the firebox, you do not need to count on a clean chimney.
I can also advise you not to use damp wood for heating, especially pine or spruce wood.
Birch logs that have been in your woodpile for at least 2 years from the date of harvesting are most suitable for the firebox.
So, I’ll tell you what signs indicate the need for urgent chimney cleaning:
- Smoke color change. A clean chimney produces clean, light and transparent smoke. If soot has accumulated there, it will change its color to a darker one. And the smoke itself will become denser.
- Changing the shade of the open flame in the firebox. If the draft in the pipe is normal and the chimney is clean, the firewood burns with a light orange flame. An orange-colored fire will indicate the need to clean the chimney.
Be that as it may, I advise you to carry out preventive cleaning of the pipe once every 6 months: before the start of the cold season and after it ends. This allows you not only to remove soot in a timely manner, but also to get rid of clogging of the smoke exhaust channel with cobwebs, bird nests, fallen leaves, and so on.
Based on the signs outlined above, you will definitely determine that you need to get to work. But we’ll figure out how to do this below.
Pipe cleaning methods
There are many ways to clean soot from a pipe. You can use both folk remedies and advice, as well as the achievements of the modern chemical industry. Yes, no one canceled and mechanical method, that is, you can easily work as a chimney sweep.
In my practice, I had to use all available methods, so I can safely talk about each of them in more detail.
Method 1 – Using Grandma’s Remedies
There is no need to philosophize here. Our grandparents have long known that they need to burn in a stove to get rid of soot. I won’t say that these methods are very effective, but they have a right to exist.
Here are a few tools you can use:
- Rock salt. Regular table salt should be poured onto burning wood or coal.
This method is quite common, but not particularly effective. My grandmother often poured salt into the stove, but she did this not so much to get rid of soot deposits in the smoke exhaust duct, but to prevent its accumulation. Therefore, I won’t dwell for long, I’ll tell you about another method.
- Potato skins or potato tubers themselves. The quantity is determined by the size of the firebox in the stove, but, as a rule, about a bucket of such waste was enough for me. They need to be poured into an already burning fire.
The essence of the method is that when organic matter burns, starch is released from potatoes, which tends to soften soot deposits on the chimney. After this, the waste layers fall into bottom part pipes, from where they are removed through a specially made hole (it was provided when laying the furnace).
- Firewood from aspen. There's not much to say about the technology itself. You need to chop wood from aspen logs and then light a fire in the stove.
Here's the thing. Aspen firewood burns at a very high temperature, so hot gases enter the chimney, which burns soot deposits. This method is quite dangerous, so I advise you to take some precautions:
- make sure that the chimney material can withstand high temperatures;
- check that soot deposits in the channel are not so large as to ignite.
But in principle, no one is stopping you from buying special chemicals for cleaning soot from stoves. Their price is low, and their effectiveness is proven by practical experience. At least mine. Therefore, the story about them will go further.
Method 2 – Call on science to help
Modern industry produces a lot of products specifically designed for removing soot from the chimney. They can be supplied as:
- powders;
- liquids;
- fuel briquettes.
They are added to the firebox during fuel combustion. Chemical elements contained in the preparations do not cause harm to human health, but have a destructive effect on soot deposits, causing it to collapse into the lower part of the chimney.
Supplements should be used as deposits accumulate or from time to time, as a preventive measure.
I have described the most popular means for cleaning chimneys from soot in the table, which I suggest you familiarize yourself with.
| Name | Description |
| Anti-carbon chemical composition | A special loose powder that must be poured directly onto the firewood while it is burning. This is very effective remedy, which allows you to quickly get rid of carbon deposits in the smoke exhaust channel. It can also be used for prevention. In this case, the powder consumption is 200 g for every ton of fuel. |
| Kominichek | Soot remover made in Czech Republic. It is also supplied in powder form, which contains a catalyst that allows the soot to burn out at a safely low temperature. However, the powder is only suitable for removing a not too thick layer of carbon deposits. |
| Log chimney sweep | The most popular method in our country for cleaning chimneys from soot. It can be used to clean pipes of furnaces and boilers operating not only on solid fuel, but also on fuel. Effectively removes soot accumulation and can be used for prevention. In my case, to keep the chimney of the fireplace in the country clean, one log is enough, which I burn every month. |
Considering that most likely you will also use the Chimney Sweep Log, I’ll tell you how to clean soot in a chimney using it:
- First of all, you need to make sure that the smoke exhaust channel is not completely clogged with soot, debris or foreign objects.
- Burn yourself fuel briquette It is possible both with the main fuel and completely independently.
- To achieve maximum efficiency, I burn wood in the fireplace, then place the briquette on the hot charcoal(like shish kebab, but not on skewers).
- Before use, you need to remove the packaging of the log, but not the wrapper itself in which the substance is wrapped.
- Usually the log ignites on its own, but if for some reason this does not happen, light the wrapper on both sides yourself.
The chemical itself, which eats away the soot, continues to act for about 14 days. During this entire time, lumps of soot may collapse from the chimney into the firebox or to the bottom of the smoke exhaust channel. It needs to be constantly removed from there.
In conclusion of this particular section, I would like to mention one feature that not everyone knows about. When burned, the “chimney sweeper log” produces gases with a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, which can melt a steel chimney pipe. Therefore, the substance can be used in furnaces with stone and ceramic pipes.
Method 3 – we climb the pipe ourselves
I think you are all familiar with the popular wisdom that you can only do a good job with your own hands. This is exactly what I was guided by when I started cleaning the pipes at a bathhouse in the village. In this case, you get rid of not only soot accumulation, but also debris in the channel.
At the end of the work, you will see for yourself how efficiently and smoke-free the stove will operate. I won’t tell you how I took a steam bath in the bathhouse, otherwise you’ll become jealous.
I’ll only tell you about the work scheme for cleaning chimney from internal soot accumulation. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- First, we close the holes in the chimneys, which are specially designed for cleaning the stoves from soot accumulation, with doors or bricks. If you don’t do this, you will then be tortured to wash interior spaces baths (or whatever you have) from black unpleasant plaque.
If you clean a fireplace with an open firebox, I advise you to curtain it damp cloth, to, again, avoid the park-and-housekeeping day of cleaning the living room.
- Then we pretend to be Carlson and go up to the roof. Since you don’t have a motor, I advise you to come up with something as insurance so as not to fall down in the midst of the process. Believe me, no one wants to take you to the traumatology department.
By the way, if it is raining, it is also better to avoid climbing onto the roof. You will either be struck by lightning or slip on the roof. You and your loved ones are unlikely to like both.
- First of all, you need to inspect the pipe from above. If soot accumulation does not exceed 2 mm, there is no need to complicate your life. Go to the store, buy some pipe cleaner and fire it up in the oven. This will be more than enough.
You also need to see if a foreign object is blocking the pipe. This can often be a bird's nest or fallen leaves. In this case, the plug must either be pulled up or pushed down to be removed through the door.
- If, as in my case, there is a lot of soot, we clean it with a special scraper. Then it can be replaced with a special brush, which is sold in a specialized store.
To achieve maximum efficiency, I recommend measuring the diameter of the pipe in advance and purchasing a tool whose diameter is slightly larger than the dimensions of the smoke exhaust duct. You will get a kind of brush, similar to the one your mother used to wash milk bottles when she was a child.
- One more thing. During my work, it turned out that some kind of plug formed inside the pipe, which interfered with cleaning. In this case, you need to use a special weight on a chain, which will break through the blockage and bring it down.
In this case, I do not recommend using a sports weight with a handle. Its center of gravity is shifted, so it may get stuck inside the pipe channel and you will not be able to pull it out. You will have to partially disassemble the smoke duct.
- If you are cleaning not a stove, but a stove, you can partially free the smoke channel from soot by working from bottom to top. For this purpose, special brushes with a long and durable handle are sold. It grows in length, so you can reach very deep inside the pipe.
- At the end of the cleaning, you need to remove the fallen soot from the firebox and from the pipe through doors specially provided for this purpose. Don’t forget to clean the vent, there is also a lot of soot that falls there and needs to be removed.
At this point, cleaning the chimney could be considered complete. if not for one important stage - quality control of work. You can safely entrust it to your significant other, unless, of course, she is afraid to climb onto the roof.
Work quality control
Upon completion of the work, it is necessary to check the quality of the work performed and, most importantly, the condition of the chimney itself. This can be done visually, but it is better to rent a special endoscope camera, with which you can see the pipe along its entire length.
If cracks or defects in the surface of the chimney are found within direct reach, they must be eliminated. You can do this as follows:
- dilute clean clay with water and coat cracks and crevices with it;
- after this layer has dried, you need to make a clay-sand solution and carefully wipe over all other defects with it;
- The last stage is whitewashing the treated areas with lime or painting with water-based emulsion.
If in some places you were unable to clean the chimney, you will have to resort to partial disassembly of the stove, since soot residues in the smoke exhaust channel can cause serious trouble.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is nothing difficult in cleaning a pipe from soot. The main thing is to decide to do this dirty and unpleasant work. But in my case, a reward awaited me in the form of a pleasant time in the bathhouse. I suggest you watch the video in this article, where there is a lot of information about the design and operation of furnaces.
And one more thing. I would be very grateful if you would share in the comments to this material your own secrets and tips on how best to clean soot from pipes. Maybe next time I won't have to spend so much time getting the furnace back up and running.
The most common heating devices for a home, cottage or bathhouse are stoves or boilers. In order to support this equipment in due course functional order, you need to know how to clean a chimney.
Causes of soot
Fuel combustion is accompanied by an oxidation reaction, which occurs under conditions of high temperature and a stable supply of oxygen. If at least one of these conditions is not met, soot is formed: this substance is a consequence of insufficient oxidation of carbon. A visual sign of the appearance of soot is the black color of the smoke coming out of the chimney. This indicates the presence of soot particles in its composition, the main part of which settles in the chimney (most often at turns). Sometimes people don't understand why the stove smokes. And often, the appearance of smoke from the stove is caused by soot in the chimney.
This process is activated in the following cases:
- Insufficiently dry firewood. If the firewood loaded into the firebox has a high moisture content, then the first time the firebox is fired it dries out. This is accompanied by the consumption of additional energy, which reduces by an order of magnitude operating temperature. As a result, due to underheating of the carbon, a large cloud of black smoke is formed. If such cases are a stable trend, the chimney will gradually become clogged.
- Getting plastic waste and plastic bags into the firebox. It is advisable not to allow this to happen. A lot of soot is produced by scraps of plywood, chipboard, and OSB, which contain glue. Its combustion is accompanied by the release of dense smoke, which leads to rapid clogging of the chimney.
- Low level of traction. Sometimes they reduce the air supply to increase the burning time: firewood in this mode slowly smolders. Another reason may be insufficient chimney height. In addition, the accumulation of significant layers of soot in the pipe leads to a decrease in draft.
The chimney can also become dirty when using certain types of firewood. This is especially true for spruce and pine, which contain large amounts of resin. There is not always finance for expensive oak or other hardwoods. However, any home owner can take care of proper dryness of firewood. Good option– get a spacious firewood shed. This will make it possible to first select the most seasoned and dried firewood. At this time, fresh logs will be able to dry to the proper condition.
Chimney cleaning options
Most often, one of three methods is used to clean a brick oven from soot:
- Mechanical. A brush is used as a tool to clean the inner walls of soot. A prerequisite is access to the pipe, and this is not always feasible. Not everyone has the skill to climb on a roof (especially on steep structures). There is also an option for cleaning from below, which requires a flexible rod. During the procedure, the knocked down soot is poured down, after which it has to be collected and taken out. All this is accompanied by the formation of caustic dust and contamination of the surface of the stove or fireplace. It is best to place a large container under the crumbling dirt in advance.
- Chemical. Special powders and briquettes are available for sale for this purpose. As the fire proceeds, the powders must be poured into the fire, and the briquettes must be thrown into the flame. The active components included in their composition help soften the soot. As a result, it gradually evaporates outward (although it can fall down in a layer and create a plug). This method of how to clean a stove from soot is more preventive.
- People's. Since furnaces have been used for centuries, we had to deal with soot before. It is clear that non-chemical methods were used for this. In ancient cities there was even such a profession as a chimney sweep, for whose services you had to shell out a lot of money. The cleaning agents for stoves and chimneys were often salt or potato waste.
If there is no opportunity or desire to do this dirty work, you can contact the fire department and call specialists. Although they are not called chimney sweeps, they perform the same functions. These teams have the appropriate equipment and approval to work with explosive soot.
Mechanical cleaning
Special brushes were a classic tool for getting rid of soot in a furnace. They are still used today, albeit in a somewhat improved form. The long flexible cable is equipped with a brush-ruff, the diameter of which is selected individually to suit the size of the chimney. To make it easier for the brush to move downward, a small metal ball is often attached underneath it. During the cleaning process, this device is alternately lowered and raised from the chimney. And so on until the passage is completely clear. As the process progresses, the bristles remove plaque from the pipe.
The peculiarity of this method is that the presence of good traction provokes the flight of crushed soot through the top. Before you clean the soot in the stove, you must have safety belts to avoid falling from a height. Cleaning soot is allowed only with safety glasses and a respirator.
Gloves are also needed, otherwise the cable may damage your palms. At self-production When using chimney cleaning devices, it is recommended to always use a centered ball. From using weights or wrenches It’s better to refuse, because periodically they get stuck in the pipe. There are times when you have to disassemble the chimney to remove them.
It is not always possible to penetrate the chimney through the top. For example, the height of sandwich pipes above the roof sometimes reaches several meters. It is impossible to lean a ladder against it, or use any other method. The only option for cleaning chimneys in a stove in such a situation is to carry out the procedure from below using a brush on a flexible rod. The individual parts of the rod are connected to each other, which allows the brush to move along the pipe. With this approach, a certain percentage of dirt also flies up, but some falls down (this must be kept in mind). Professional teams work with special industrial-type vacuum cleaners, the design of which takes into account the explosiveness of soot.
The easiest way to care for fireplaces is due to the availability of free access to the combustion chamber. With a sauna stove everything is much more complicated. If the chimney is equipped with a special container for collecting condensate, it can be dismantled and a brush run inside the pipe. Otherwise, you have to try to get into the chimney through the firebox. To simplify maintenance, the smoke exhaust system is initially equipped with a special tee with a glass.
Dry cleaning
It makes sense to use chemicals to clean the chimney in cases where not much soot has accumulated. This is especially true for brick pipes: this allows minimizing mechanical impacts on its surface. As the main method chemical method can be used to service ceramic and stainless steel chimneys. Although basically these powders or briquettes for removing soot from a pipe are more of a preventive measure.
It is difficult to remove large amounts of plaque from the surface of a chimney. There are often situations when the collapse of soot after burning the powder led to a blockage of the chimney. To eliminate the consequences, we had to arm ourselves with a brush and carry out manual cleaning. Despite some inconveniences, it is convenient to soften the soot accumulated in the boiler with the help of chemicals, sauna stove or in smoke ducts. If you put the process on a regular basis, you can do without labor-intensive manual cleaning.
The most popular means of chemical cleaning of chimneys:
- Kominichek. Czech substance in the form of granules, packaged in bags. It is placed in a well-heated oven, simply throwing the untorn packaging there on top of the firewood.
- Log "Chimney Sweep". Depending on the manufacturer, the design of the box may vary. The log should also be placed in a well-heated oven. When burned, the substance is added to the smoke and softens the soot. This causes it to fly out or fall down.
- Powders domestic production . Presented in a huge assortment (Cheerful Chimney Sweep, Happy Chimney Sweep, Happy Summer Resident, Chimney Sweep Express, etc.). The powder packaged in bags is placed in a burning firebox.
After using any chemical agent the room needs to be ventilated, and the stove or fireplace needs to be cleaned. Often after treatment, soot continues to fall off for some time.
Traditional methods
The simplest popular way to clean soot from stove chimneys is to heat an already heated stove with aspen wood. When they burn, a very hot flame is formed, burning the soot in the chimney. This method must be used very carefully, otherwise large accumulations can simply explode the pipe.
A safer remedy is to add 0.5 kg of salt or a bucket of potato peelings (it is advisable to pre-dry them) to a melted and well-heated oven. This technique works approximately the same way as dry cleaning. The effect is milder - the soot comes out of the pipe for several days.
If you heat your house with coal, wood or all kinds of briquettes, you probably wondered how you can clean a chimney in a private house? In this article we will analyze everything possible ways, as well as the reasons why clogging occurs?
Why does the chimney become clogged?
There are several reasons why the draft in the stove at home may disappear and it will stop functioning properly.
- Before heating season, the owner of the house did not clean the stove from the soot and dust that had accumulated during the warm season.
- The vortex “fracture” has not been cleared.
- The pipe itself in the house is not sealed; it drags in a cold stream along with street dirt.
- There is no umbrella on the house.
- Birds or wind-blown debris got in.
Do not forget that the most ordinary firewood leaves soot on the walls of the chimney duct that is many times greater than that from coal. That is why it is recommended to periodically “throw” a chimney sweep log into the fire, which allows you to slightly clean the pipes in the house. Firewood can leave a significant layer of soot, so don’t be too zealous with burning wood.
How do you know when your chimney needs to be cleaned?
It is easy to understand that you are about to need to clean the chimneys of stoves and fireplaces from soot if you notice that the draft has disappeared or combustible gases are entering the house. It will also clearly make it clear that enough smoke has accumulated on the walls of the chimney duct after burning the fuel; particles of wind-blown debris have appeared on the walls inside the house and in the bathrooms adjacent to the duct. This occurs due to blockage of the output channel.
How to properly clean a chimney?
In the old days, people cleaned stoves with sodium chloride or table salt - these are the so-called folk remedies. Nowadays you rarely see someone in a village cleaning “wells” in this way.
To know how to clean correctly and which method will be most effective, you need to determine the cause of the blockage, the density and size of the soot layer (or the presence of the object). It will depend on this which method will be correct and advisable to clean it?
Manual mechanical cleaning
Of the advantages of this particular cleaning method, it is worth mentioning in full environmental safety. Various chemicals are not used, and the only drawback of the work is that there is a danger of falling from a height while carrying out the work.
Chimney cleaning tool - rope with core and brush
Cleaning a chimney with your own hands will require you to have a certain tool. So, mechanical cleaning of chimneys can be performed using the following devices:
- Kettlebells. Due to its heavy weight, it penetrates large layers of soot. It is recommended to additionally attach some scratching devices to it in order to increase the efficiency of pipe cleaning.
- Hard brushes. Additionally, take care of a long handle so that you can penetrate into remote corners.
- Ruff. By the way, you can make it yourself. Special stainless steel devices with weights and chain are sold. Of course, from plastic bottle will not replace a professional “device”, but it will be possible to achieve even minor results.
When using a ruff or brush, do not forget about protective equipment. Buy:- Respirator.
- Glasses.
- Gloves.
- Safety rope.
Traditional methods of chimney cleaning
Potato peelings - folk way chimney cleaning
People learned to clean a chimney with their own hands back in ancient times, using various traditional methods. You can clean the “well” yourself using:
- Aspen firewood. Peculiarities:
- a lot of energy is released;
- temperature perfectly cleans brick and stainless steel chimneys.
- Potato peelings.
Prepare about one bucket of peelings and dry them thoroughly. Flood the oven with a high-calorie product and place dried peelings on top. Subsequently, hot steam containing starch will soften the soot, heavy briquettes will fall, and the light briquettes will evaporate away. - Table salt.
Pour a couple of glasses of salt onto the fire; when combined with air, an environment is formed in which soot will not accumulate. - Chainsaws.
This chainsaw cleaning method is not recommended due to its dangers. You need to climb onto the roof and insert the intake valve into the chimney and start the saw motor. It is better to attach a special exhaust pipe to stay clean and direct the soot to a specific area.
How to clean a chimney using chemicals?
First on the list we will consider the drug PHC, a fairly strong remedy.
NOTE: There is no need to unpack the packaging, it is burned entirely.
Second remedy folk use. Includes composition copper sulfate, saltpeter and crushed coal. This powder needs to be sprinkled on red coals, in the process a reaction is formed due to which the soot “slides” from the walls of the chimney.
It closes the top three of chemical reagents capable of peeling off soot from the walls. Just like in the first case, it is not necessary to unpack the packaging. It must be put into the fire in this form; during combustion, active substances are released that are excellent at fighting soot growths.
Preventing chimney clogging
Pipes and chimney wells must be cleaned periodically, despite good draft. After the winter season, it is recommended to do a complete inspection of the stove using any of the methods listed above. Submitted chemicals will allow the soot to peel off, after which its large fractions can be easily removed during preventive cleaning.
For prevention, you can also use salty solutions, especially if you have a solid fuel stove. It also easily allows you to get rid of a small layer of soot, which is divided into small and large particles that settle at the bottom of the chimney.