Chimney's cleaning & Safety

J

Jeff Silvey

501 Club
Well its that time of year which I know some of you have used them. I just want to say to be careful with these, If you have a fire place or wood burning stove you need to use seasoned wood.
I hope everyone has checked their flue's for creosote or bird nest or cracks if you can. You also need to have beside the fire places & wood burning store a 5 LB or 10 LB ABC extinguisher. 5 LB is better for the females to handle. If you do a cleaning to your flue's make sure the damper is closed. It does make one heck of a mess. Make sure you know how to work off a ladder or the roof. You can use a brush made for cleaning a flue or use a log chain. It depends on the length of chain reference the height of the flue. If you don't want to tackle this problem call a chimney sweep.If you do get a flue fire get out of the house & call 911. They are the one who have the tall ladders. You can also put the ABC powder if you can get any loose in a thin sandwich bag that locks & put in the stove, fire place. They do have on the market some other sort of other extinguisher stuff I'm not familiar with that stuff. Just be careful don't put combustible to close in the area of the fire place or wood burning stove's.
Enjoy the heat & the season. Just trying to help.
Be Safe Enjoy
Jeff
 
Jeff:

A timely post :!:

A couple of additional thoughts. I am not sure about south of the 49th, but up here it makes sense to call a professional chimney sweep with a good reputation to clean your chimney at least once per season. Insurance companies like that a lot... and if God forbid, something happens, they can immediately rule out incorrect cleaning as a possible cause/contribution to the incident.

I generally call our local chimney sweep at the beginning of the season.. he is due here on the 14th I think, and then again after the new year when we usually have a few thaws, we call them in again to reclean and make sure that there is no creosote buildup. We also have one specific sweep that we want to clean our chimney. He has been doing it for the most part for the last 21 years with a couple of exceptions. Even though the company warrantees the work, each sweep tends to work differently with different priorities. We were not happy with a couple of replacement sweeps, and the company now only sends the one we request. It pays to build a good relationship with those whom you depend on to maintain your chimney.

Cleaning chimneys is a daunting task and many have gotten hurt whilst doing this, and many of those injuries were preventable from what the stats say. So, if there are any issues that could affect the safety aspect of chimney cleaning, please err on the side of caution and hire a professional to provide the service.

Unfortunately, along with a few other seasonal chores/projects, chimney cleaning is also the theatre of choice for many scam artists. Before you contract with anyone, research them to ensure that they are who they say they are, they have all the required credentials, and any credentialed company will gladly produce the certification simply because you ask. IF the prospective contractor balks... walk.. no RUN very fast away from them. We just had a 3 or 4 week scare with a scam artist posing as a sweep and bilking many customers in the 3 maritime provinces.. PEI, NB and NS...
 
i agree excellent timely post for us wood burners. i for sure ,am one who needs to get out the brush and gear prior to lighting up the big fisher this year. gonna get it done as soon as i get back from fishing. 8)
 
i try to clean mine out three times a season, of course i may not burn as much as someone further north BUT, it only takes one spark.
 
Good reminder, I clean both of mine a couple of times a year. There were 3 fires in my area this week one was a fatal, all caused by space heaters. It really comes down to the operator not the source, wood ,electric or gas people need to think safety.
 
Just cleaned mine this week! Got 3 cords of dry and seasoned wood in the woodshed. We're ready for the season.
 
Did mine on Friday this week-wow was it full. Burn 3 cords per year but for some reason it was packed from last spring. Good reminder!!
 
My chimney is on the outside and was built with a clean out at ground level. The top is a little over shoulder high above the edge of the roof and was always a pain to clean due to the height above the roof. When I started having hip problems and knew climbing a ladder and walking on a roof was going to be a problem, I added a second clean out about 4 feet above the ground. Now I can clean it and never leave the ground, gets cleaned a lot more often that way.
 
Jeff,
I did mine also......I have a extinquisher next to the fire place......but I have to ask....you say have one handy, but if you have a chimney fire call 911 and get out.....so why have one handy.....what is the correct way to use one on a chimney fire....I always pictured standing back like 10 to 15 ft and spray the fire out and move up closer and spray it up the flu...do you have any advice...
Robert (want to do it right) Miller
 
Good advice. I clean mine the end of every month so I don't forget. Sometimes it needed it and other times not. Feel better knowing its done monthly. Grump
 
I have stainless flue. I have never had a build up. At the clean out I have a little black dust each time I check it. This is since 1985. Always burn as small a hot fire.
During the 8 years we heated the house on Staten Island with wood we had a tile lined outside brick chimney, with a clean out door in the basement. Used a mirror to look up the chimney. Never any build up and again a little black dust in the clean out. Small hot fires do the trick. The home owners policy on SI turned against Wood stoves, so,m it was cheaper to go back to gas.
My friend Mike in Roscoe NY had a massive stone Fire place. It had some sort of problem that we decided to cure with a chimney (cap) a massive piece of local slate supported 5 bricks high. While hoisting the cover in to place I looked down the chimney and found a coating of creosote and other products of combustion at least 1/2 inch thick. It had the consistency of pine gum only drier and harder. I made him build small hot fires for a week in the fire place till we caused all the bad stuff to evaporate. The other chimney that his wood stove was not quite as bad. Only enough to scare the pants off me. He went to small hot fires in that also till it was clear. Mike used to start a fire get it going good and then load it as much as he could and the choke the draft so that he did not over heat the house. Wrong wrong wrong way to do it. So you have to put wood in more often, you will use less over a year with less waste with unburned fumes.
I know every is saying "what would a city guy know about wood". Yet it is not that different from coal that my folks and grand parents used when I was a kid.
 
Just had mine checked and cleaned last week...chimney guy says I build good fires...nice and clean..he did do a side step with a case of dynamite fire starters next to the fireplace LOL
Robert (city boy did good) Miller
 
Thanks for the reminder, it is that time of year, and I had not thought about it yet. As I get older I have gotten smarter (or maybe lazier). My chimney goes up the outside of my house, and stands about 5 feet above the roof. It has a clean out at ground level and another about 4 feet up that allows me to use a flexible rod on the brush and clean it from ground level. No getting on the roof for this old geezer. Needless to say, it gets cleaned more frequently set up that way.
 
Ill throw a little firefighter knowledge in here. If you request it, we will usually come out and inspect it for free or a small donation. We have a rod with chains on it that we run down the chimney and break up all the creosote. First step, close the damper and limit oxygen to the fire. Don't open the front of the stove. Call 911 immediately , we carry some small bags of what we call chimney bombs ( its a mix of a lot of stuff but mostly baking soda and a little purple k mixed in). We either drop it in from the top down or throw it in the open stove or fireplace and let the convection carry it up. But always call the fire department!!!!!! It may have overheated metal , or broken loose mortar and let fire extend into the structure itself. We carry thermal imagers and can look for fire extension without opening up walls. The extended fire can smolder for a long time then end up in you losing your home when you aren't expecting it. In fact, in a lot of states is is actually a crime to not call the fire department if you have a fire in the house. Because even if you put out visible flames, there still may be fire hiding in the walls. Most balloon frame home we have had burn, started from a small kitchen fire that the homeowner put out, but the hidden flames went up inside the wall and ignited a large fire in the attic. Please call us, we wont get mad. We don't ever like seeing someone lose their home and possesions.
 
Do the creosote reducing/eliminating chemicals, added to the stove fire, from the hardware stores work and to what extent?
 
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