Cleaning chimneys from soot. We clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies

July 25, 2016
Specialization: Capital construction works (laying the foundation, erecting walls, constructing the roof, etc.). Internal construction works (laying of internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communication, high technologies, computer equipment, programming.

As it turned out, in the yard of the relatives there was a bathhouse, which they had not used for a long time, since the chimney was clogged in the stove. Fortunately, I knew how to deal with this problem on my own, so I quickly got down to business and restored the oven to working order. As a reward, I took a steam bath in the steam room and collected very valuable information.

The result of all was the instruction for cleaning the chimneys, which I bring to your attention.

Why do you need clean smoke ducts

Many in childhood saw how their grandfathers and great-grandfathers cleaned the pipes 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, during the combustion of solid fuel, in addition to thermal energy and hot gases, soot is formed in the furnace. With the flow of rising thermal air, it rises up the chimney and gradually settles on the walls of the chimney.

As the heater operates, the soot layer becomes thicker. And in the end, all this can lead to very unpleasant consequences:

• the channel for the removal of gases formed during combustion is greatly narrowed, due to which the draft in the pipe decreases;
• soot adhering to the walls of the chimney damages the surface of the pipe and reduces the 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;
• increases the likelihood of ignition of soot deposits inside the stove chimney.

Cleaning the smoke channel will help get rid of all the troubles. It is only important to determine exactly when you need to start this not the most pleasant procedure. That is what I will talk about next.

When you can no longer put off this unpleasant task

In principle, based on my own experience, I can tell you that if a fireplace or a wood-burning stove is built by an experienced craftsman and all the requirements are met, you will need to worry about how to clean the soot from the pipe no more than once every few years.

Especially if you use 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 rely on a clean chimney.

I can also advise you not to use damp firewood for heating, especially pine or spruce wood.
Most of all, birch poles are suitable for the firebox, which have lain in your woodpile for at least 2 years from the moment of harvesting.

So, I’ll tell you about what signs indicate the need for urgent cleaning of the chimney:

1. Smoke color change. From a clean pipe comes 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.

1. Changing the shade of an open flame in the furnace. If the draft in the pipe is normal and the chimney is clean, the firewood burns with a bright orange flame. An orange-colored fire will indicate the need to clean the chimney.

Be that as it may, I advise you to perform preventive cleaning of the pipe once every 6 months: before the start of the cold season and after it ends. This allows not only to remove soot in time, but also to get rid of clogging of the smoke exhaust channel with cobwebs, bird nests, fallen leaves, and so on.

Focusing on the above signs, you will determine exactly what you need to get started. And here's how to do it - we'll figure it out 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 has canceled the mechanical method, that is, you can also work as a chimney sweep.

In my practice, I had to apply all the available methods, so I can safely tell you 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 what to burn in a stove to get rid of soot. I will not say that these methods are very effective, but they have the right to exist.

Here are a few tools you can use:

1. Rock salt. Ordinary table salt should be sprinkled on 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 will not stop for a long time, I will tell you about another method.

1. Potato skins or potato tubers. The amount is determined by the size of the firebox in the furnace, 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 organics are burned, starch is released from potatoes, which tends to soften soot deposits on the chimney. After this, the layers of waste fall into the lower part of the pipe, from where they are removed through a specially made hole (it was provided even when laying the furnace).

1. Aspen firewood. There is not much to say about the technology itself. It is necessary to chop firewood from aspen logs, and then kindle a fire in the furnace.

Here's the thing. Aspen firewood burns at a very high temperature, so hot gases enter the chimney, which burn soot deposits. This method is quite dangerous, so I advise you to take some precautions:

• make sure that the material of the chimney can withstand high temperatures;
• check that the soot deposits in the channel are not large enough to ignite.

But in principle, no one bothers you to buy special chemicals for cleaning furnaces from soot. Their price is low, and the effectiveness is proven by practical experience. At least mine. Therefore, the story about them will go on.

Method 2 - Calling on Science

Modern industry produce quite a few products specifically designed to remove soot from the chimney. They can be supplied as:

• powders;
• liquids;
• fuel briquettes.

They are added to the furnace during fuel combustion. The chemical elements contained in the preparations do not harm human health, but have a destructive effect on soot deposits, causing it to collapse into the lower part of the chimney.

It is necessary to use additives as deposits accumulate or from time to time, as a prophylactic.

I described the most popular means for cleaning soot from chimneys in the table, which I suggest you familiarize yourself with.

Name	Description
Anti-carbon chemical composition	A special free-flowing powder that must be poured directly onto the firewood while it is burning. This is a very effective tool that allows you to quickly get rid of carbon deposits in the chimney. It can also be used for prevention. In this case, the powder consumption is 200 g per ton of fuel.
Kominichek	Means for removal of soot of the Czech production. Also available as a powder that contains a catalyst that allows the soot to burn off at a safely low temperature. However, the powder is only suitable for removing a not too thick layer of soot.
log chimney sweep	The most popular method of cleaning soot from chimneys in our country. It can be used to clean the pipes of furnaces and boilers that operate not only on solid fuels, but also on fuels. Effectively removes soot buildup and can be used as a preventative. In my case, to keep the chimney of the fireplace clean in the country, one log is enough, which I burn every month.

Considering that most likely you will also use the “Chimney Sweep Log”, I will tell you how to clean the soot in the pipe with it:

1. First of all, you need to make sure that the smoke outlet is not completely clogged with soot, debris or foreign objects.
2. You can burn the fuel briquette itself both with the main fuel, and completely independently.
3. To achieve maximum efficiency, I burn wood in the fireplace, after which I put the briquette on hot charcoal (like a barbecue, but not on skewers).
4. Before use, you need to remove the packaging of the log, but not the wrapper itself, in which the substance is wrapped.
5. Usually the log flares up on its own, but if for some reason this does not happen, set fire to the wrapper on both sides yourself.

The chemical itself, which corrodes soot, continues to act for about 14 days. During all this time, it is possible for soot lumps to collapse from the pipe into the furnace or to the bottom of the smoke channel. It must be permanently removed from there.

In conclusion of this particular section, I want to mention one feature that not everyone knows about. "Log-chimney sweeper" when burned, forms gases with a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, which can melt a steel chimney. Therefore, the substance can be used in furnaces with stone and ceramic pipes.

Method 3 - we climb the pipe ourselves

I think you all know the folk wisdom that you can do a good job only with your own hands. This is what I was guided by when I started cleaning the pipes in the bathhouse in the village. In this case, you get rid of not only soot accumulations, but also debris in the channel.

At the end of the work, you will see for yourself how efficient and smokeless the oven will work. And I won’t tell you how I took a steam bath in the bathhouse, otherwise you will become jealous.

I will only tell you about the scheme of work when cleaning the chimney from internal accumulations of soot. The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. First, we close the doors or lay bricks in the holes in the chimneys, which are specially designed to clean the stoves from soot accumulations. If this is not done, then you will be tormented by washing the interior of the bath (or whatever you have there) from the black unpleasant plaque.

If you are cleaning the fireplace with an open hearth, I advise you to curtain it with a damp cloth, in order, again, to avoid a park and economic day cleaning the living room.

1. 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 break down in the midst of the process. Believe me, no one wants to take you to traumatology.

By the way, if it's raining, climbing to the roof is also best avoided. Either lightning strikes you or you slip on the roof. Both are unlikely to please you and your loved ones.

1. First of all, you need to inspect the pipe from above. If the accumulation of soot does not exceed 2 mm, there is no need to complicate your life. Go to the store, buy a pipe cleaner and light it in the oven. This will be more than enough.

You also need to see if a foreign object is blocking the pipe. Often it can be a bird's nest or fallen leaves. In this case, the plug must either be pulled up or pushed down to remove it through the door.

1. If there is a lot of soot, as in my case, 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 that you measure the diameter of the pipe in advance and purchase a tool whose diameter is slightly larger than the dimensions of the smoke outlet. It will turn out to be a kind of brush, similar to the one with which my mother washed milk bottles in her childhood.

1. One more moment. In the course of 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 that will break through the blockage and bring it down.

I do not advise in this case to use a sports kettlebell with a handle. She has a shifted center of gravity, so she can get stuck inside the pipe channel and you cannot pull her out of there. You will have to partially disassemble the smoke channel.

1. If you are not cleaning the stove, but, you can partially free the smoke channel from soot by working from the bottom up. For this, special brushes with a long and durable handle are sold. It grows in length, so you can get very deep inside the pipe.

1. At the end of the cleaning, it is necessary to remove the collapsed soot from the furnace and from the pipe through the doors specially provided for this. Do not forget to clean the blower, there is also a lot of soot pouring in that needs to be removed.

On this, the cleaning of the chimney could be considered finished. if not for one important stage - quality control of work. You can safely entrust it to your soulmate, unless, of course, she is not afraid to climb onto the roof.

Quality control of work

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 gaps or defects in the surface of the chimney are found within direct reach, they must be eliminated. You can do this in the following way:

• dilute clean clay with water and coat cracks and crevices with it;
• after drying this layer, you need to make a clay-sand mortar and carefully wipe all other defects with it;
• the last stage is whitewashing the treated areas with lime or painting with a water-based emulsion.

If in some places you could not clean the chimney, you will have to resort to partial disassembly of the furnace, since soot residues in the smoke exhaust duct can cause serious trouble.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in cleaning the pipe from soot. The main thing is to decide on the implementation of this dirty and unpleasant work. But in my case, the reward was waiting for me in the form of a pleasant pastime in the bathhouse. And 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 moment. I would be very grateful if you shared your own secrets and tips on how best to clean the soot from the pipe in the comments to this material. Maybe next time I won't have to spend so much time getting the stove back up and running.

July 25, 2016

If you want to express gratitude, add a clarification or objection, ask the author something - add a comment or say thanks!

Everyone knows that the removal of fuel combustion products in stoves and fireplaces is carried out through the chimney. It is also designed to create natural draft in the system, ensuring the efficiency of the combustion process. Those who have a stove are well aware that when the chimney passability decreases, serious problems arise in its operation, up to the occurrence of reverse draft.

In this case, instead of being brought out, smoke and soot enter the interior of the living space. In such a situation, an urgent cleaning of the chimney is required, otherwise carbon monoxide poisoning is possible. Regular maintenance of the smoke extraction system will help to avoid such situations. You can clean the chimney from soot in different ways, which we will get acquainted with.

You can clean the pipe neatly and even elegantly

Why does the chimney grow soot

Fuel combustion is a process of its high-temperature oxidation in the presence of oxygen. If the temperature is not high enough or there is not enough oxygen to support an efficient combustion process, soot is formed as a product of insufficient carbon oxidation. Visually, in the combustion products, it is detected when black smoke exits the chimney. The main causes of soot are:

• Use of raw wood as fuel. The combustion temperature in the furnace is reduced due to the consumption of thermal energy for drying firewood, as a result, soot is actively formed.
• Plywood, chipboard and other similar materials contain adhesives. When it is burned, the chimney becomes clogged very quickly, as when burning plastic bags and plastic.
• A large amount of soot is formed when the natural draft of the chimney is reduced. This can occur due to the cover of the damper or the insufficient height of the pipe itself, as well as a decrease in its permeability.

It looks like soot on the inner surfaces of the pipe

The type of wood used as fuel also affects the rate of soot overgrowth in the chimney. This process will occur most quickly when burning coniferous wood, slower - deciduous, but they are much more expensive. Regardless of the variety, it is imperative to ensure that only dry firewood gets into the firebox.

However, even if you choose the right fuel, occasionally you still have to clean the soot in the stove with your own hands.

Why you need to clean the chimney

The soot raised by the ascending flow of warm air is deposited on the inner walls of the pipe. A layer of soot thickening over time leads to rather serious disturbances in the operation of the heating system. These include:

• reduction of natural draft due to the narrowing of the channel for the removal of smoke;
• accelerated wear of the inner surfaces of the pipe walls;
• decrease in the efficiency of the furnace;
• increasing the risk of fire inside the smoke exhaust ducts.

Such a "salute" of burning soot can lead to a fire

To prevent the occurrence of such unpleasant consequences, the pipe must be subjected to periodic cleaning. This procedure should be carried out at least once a year. This procedure is not pleasant, but it is simply necessary to clean the chimney and remove soot from it.

Methods for cleaning chimneys and stoves from soot

To learn how to clean the oven correctly and remove soot from it, it makes sense to study all known ways to do this job. Since ancient times, the services of chimney sweeps have been necessary for a large number of people; professionals in their field have been respected in society. Since then and to the present, many ways have been invented to clean soot from chimneys. These primarily include time-tested mechanical methods using special tools that have been used by professional chimney sweepers for decades.

Good results are obtained by burning soot by the thermal method, but when using it, there is a danger of cracking the pipe. You can clean the chimney without the use of special tools, using chemicals of folk invention or industrial development.

The work of a chimney sweep is not without romance

We get rid of soot with our own hands

The mechanical cleaning method is used in case of severe contamination of the chimney, when the soot layer exceeds two millimeters in thickness. In order to get rid of soot with your own hands, you will need the following tools:

• A chimney brush made of plastic or metal. Its diameter should exceed the internal section of the pipe by one and a half times.
• The flexible sanitary cable equipped with the convenient handle. It can be replaced with a strong rope.
• Long-handled brush with stiff bristles. It should be possible to increase the length of the handle if necessary.
• A metal core or weight attached to a ruff. These parts must be centered and have a diameter two times smaller than the internal section of the chimney.

Work on cleaning the chimney can be performed both from above and from the bottom of the fireplace or open firebox. When performing all manipulations on the roof (to prevent falling), it is necessary to use a safety cable and a strong ladder. The respiratory organs are protected by a respirator, gloves are put on the hands, and shoes with non-slip soles are put on the feet. When working at height, it is forbidden to consume alcoholic beverages and drugs that reduce the speed of reaction and concentration.

Basic Pipe Cleaning Tools

Before performing all procedures, it is necessary to allow time for the chimney to cool completely. The doors of the heating device located in the living room are tightly closed to prevent soot from entering the house. Work begins with lowering a metal load, mounted on a flexible cable, into the chimney. This allows you to determine the distance to the blockage in order to eliminate it.

At the same time, it is necessary to try to keep the load along the central axis of the pipe section so as not to damage its walls.

A thick layer of soot from the inner surface of the chimney is pre-cleaned with a scraper on a long handle. The final cleaning is done with a brush with a metal core attached to it. If the furnace design provides for an open combustion chamber, the chimney cleaning is completed from below with a brush with hard bristles or a ruff on an extendable telescopic handle. Lastly, with the help of a vacuum cleaner, the firebox is cleaned of soot.

Chemical cleaners are a good helper

Chemical cleaners are good helpers in removing soot from the chimney. They cope well with even the most difficult pollution. Specially selected reagents effectively remove a thick layer. When burning on smoldering coals a composition consisting of a mixture in equal parts of coke, saltpeter and copper sulphate, soot deposits fall off.

Chemicals are easy to use

The industry produces the so-called anti-scale chemical composition, which has a very strong effect. In no case should the dosage of the drug indicated on its packaging be violated, otherwise cracking of the chimney may occur. Before use, be sure to read the instructions for use and follow all the recommendations indicated there.

In the Czech Republic, a composition called Kominichek is produced, the active substance of which is copper chloride, so when using it, it is necessary to ensure good ventilation in the living room, and even better to leave it. The frequency of processing is about three months with the active operation of the stove or fireplace.

Domestic manufacturers produce natural aspen or birch logs impregnated with copper chloride. It has a simple name: a log is a chimney sweep, when it is burned in the furnace furnace, substances are released that destroy tar deposits on the internal surfaces of the exhaust system. Considering the rather high cost of chemical cleaners, it is cheaper and easier to take preventive measures to reduce the formation of deposits and to carry out regular mechanical cleaning.

Folk remedies for cleaning are not worse than chemistry

Folk cleaning agents work no worse than patented chemicals. The easiest and most affordable way is to clean the dirt in the chimney with potato peels. To do this, about half a bucket of dried potato peels is burned in the furnace. The starch contained in them softens tar deposits, and they are easily removed mechanically. Firewood sprinkled with rock salt emits sodium chloride vapors during combustion, which destroy soot deposits on the walls of the chimney.

Samples of folk remedies for pipe cleaning

The combustion of aspen firewood at the final stage of heating the stove is highly efficient. They have a high combustion temperature, and exfoliated deposits burn out from intense heat, while making sure that sparks do not fly out of the pipe. Birch logs cleared of bark have approximately the same effect when loaded into the combustion chamber.

An alternative to aspen firewood is walnut shells. They also have a very high combustion temperature, so no more than two liters of this material should be loaded into the furnace at a time. Walnut shells perfectly clean the chimney from tar deposits. A good prophylactic is ordinary naphthalene. A tablet thrown into the fire contributes to the exfoliation of soot and its release along with smoke, but the smell of naphthalene is extremely persistent and it is very difficult to get rid of it afterwards.

When mixing seven parts of saltpeter, five parts of copper sulfate and two parts of coal, the so-called blue mixture is obtained. Approximately twenty grams of this mixture is poured into a well-heated oven and the door of the combustion chamber is closed. In furnaces with an open firebox, this composition is not recommended.

As you can see, cleaning the pipe yourself is not at all shameful.

Some owners, without further ado, clean the chimney with an ordinary watering hose, preferably hard. It is pushed as far as possible into the chimney and perform several reciprocating movements. As a result, most of the dirt falls down: into a substituted bucket or other similar container.

An unusual but effective method is to burn aluminum cans. They should be placed in a well-heated furnace with a large amount of hard coals. One can should burn in about five minutes, and not just lie there changing colors. The vapors of burning aluminum produce a good cleansing effect.

Extreme method using a chainsaw

Using a chainsaw is an extreme method of cleaning a chimney. A nozzle is put on the unit, which works on the principle of removing sawdust from woodworking machines in the form of a snail. It turns out a kind of exhaust gun, driven by a chainsaw motor. The flow of ejected soot is oriented in the direction of the wind. A similar effect can be obtained using a vacuum cleaner with a reverse hood, but for its operation it is necessary to lead an electric power cable to the roof.

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The following video is carefully selected and will certainly help the perception of the foregoing.

There is not a single heating boiler or furnace that does not have a chimney to remove combustion products. Chimneys differ in material, design, location in space, but the requirements for them are always the same - creating good draft for burning fuel and removing heat from hot gases.

The effective operation of the channel largely depends on proper operation and timely cleaning of soot and soot on the inner walls of the chimney.

Causes of plaque on the chimney

Combustion waste accumulates in the chimney for various reasons. For example, one of the reasons may be the design of the chimney. If a direct-flow channel is provided for the exit of smoke, then soot and soot accumulate in it slowly, since the rate of passage of gases is high and deposits do not have time to hit the inner surface.

But such outlet channels are rarely used, for the most part they are used labyrinth chimneys, which are created to slow down the emission of smoke and the strongest heating of the walls of the chimney.

The efficiency of heating the room increases, but this design leads to a large deposition of soot on the walls of the chimney, and it's hard to clean it due to the large number of turns. In chimneys of this type, special inspection hatches are provided for cleaning soot.

Wrong fuel

It is known that in order for the stove to burn hot and give warmth, the firewood must be dry, or have no more than 20% humidity. But this is not always the case in practice, which leads to incomplete combustion and particles entering the chimney, where they are deposited.

Resinous woods give a lot of deposits, sometimes a tree is thrown into the oven, which was in operation and gained negative qualities. For example, old parquet, which was removed from the floor for replacement. They throw him into the furnace, not thinking that he is covered with resin and varnished all over.

Often the mouth of the furnace is used to burn household waste. But if we are talking about cardboard and paper, then this is normal, which cannot be said about disposable tableware, plastic bottles, plastic bags and other similar human waste. When burned, chemicals emit products that spoil the inside of the chimney, being deposited on its walls.

Violation of masonry and low-quality material

The chimney can be made of brick, ceramic, metal and asbestos. The last two staunchly resist decomposition from the effects of combustion products. The brick, despite the fact that it is burnt, is gradually destroyed by the action of gases and acids.

This leads to a significant roughness on the inner walls. Smoke, passing through the smoke channel, gradually clings to irregularities, its speed decreases, therefore, there is no rapid release of combustion products.

When laying a chimney, stove-makers try to lay the brick with the smooth side inward, but no matter how hard they try, the stove chimney gradually loses its smoothness. In addition, when laying, the norms for preparing the solution are sometimes not observed, it dries up, the pipe cracks, which allows soot deposits to accumulate in the irregularities that have appeared.

Cracks are dangerous in terms of fire, at a high combustion temperature in the furnace, hot gases and soot burning on the walls can fly out and cause a fire, for example, floor or roofing materials.

If you do not clean the chimney, then the roughness of the walls becomes greater, the friction force of air on the side surfaces increases. The thrust force is expended to overcome this resistance, and as a result, the rate of exit of combustion products decreases, and the air consumption for heating decreases.

The temperature in the furnace drops the house is getting cold. Instead of cleaning the channel, the owners of a private house begin to add fuel. All of the above causes lead to a violation of traction, which is manifested in the following performance indicators:

• The amount of heat in the house remains constant, but more fuel is needed to achieve this.
• From hot gases, soot in the pipe can ignite and lead to a fire.
• Burning soot emits black smoke visible from the chimney, and absolutely dry fuel can be loaded into the furnace.
• The color of the flame turns into a dark red hue, which indicates a lack of fresh oxygen due to reduced thrust.

The chimney in the house should be cleaned only if it removes products solid fuel combustion. In the case of combustion of gaseous fuels in the chimney, other problems arise due to the formation of condensate.

It is considered normal to clean the chimney from soot once a year, this is done in any way at the beginning and end of the season, which prevents major cleaning or even dismantling of the chimney.

To clean the chimney, you can resort to several methods:

Using the first three methods, you can clean channels that have a small degree of contamination. But if the walls of the chimney are overgrown with soot, then the mechanical method will be just right. The first two ways to clean the channel are to put chemical drug or folk remedy and is set on fire.

Substances released during combustion actively decompose pollution. Part of the soot in the form of flakes breaks out of the pipe and falls down to the courtyard, the rest falls down to the channel bottom. Chimney calcination although it belongs to folk methods, it is dangerous to carry it out on your own, you can start a fire.

Calcination is the combustion of soot in a pipe due to the high combustion temperature. To do this, the furnace or boiler must be made to operate at full power, which is ensured by the supply of the greatest amount of oxygen. After heating, gases heated to a temperature of 600ºС make the soot burn in the chimney and clean it.

The method requires preliminary verification smoke channel integrity, which can collapse over time, even simple rodents can contribute. Flammable materials may ignite through openings.

Mechanical way to clean the chimney

This difficult task will be easy to do if you read the information presented in this article. Before cleaning the stove, remove from the firebox all objects that are loose and may interfere. The oven and hob, if any, are covered with thick cellophane or cloth, and secured with a load.

You need to start cleaning the chimney from below, for this they use special brushes, brooms. After freeing the accessible part of the pipe, clean the chimney from the side of the roof. To do this, you need to insure yourself with a mounting belt, and with the help of a sinker, try to push or pull out the soot layers in or out.

If a lot of debris and soot accumulate in front of the stove, then you can get rid of it with a vacuum cleaner or a broom with a scoop. This work is usually done by men, as it requires some effort.

Soot can be attributed to the main enemies of the chimney, she and reduces traction and gradually destroys the pipe. If the soot begins to burn, then not all channel materials can withstand such heating.

Cleaning the chimney with potato peels

To clean the oven in this way, it is melted, then potato peels are placed in the fire. The peel is pre-dried so that it burns well in the oven. Cleanings are put in a container, the size of a bucket and kept for several days. After this, the cleanings are ready for use in the form of a cleanser.

During the combustion of cleaning, starch is released, soot destroyer upon contact with her. If the work is done correctly, then soot will fall out of the chimney in pieces for several days, falling into the furnace. To clean the chimney faster, you can use items for mechanical cleaning.

Using salt to get rid of soot

This method is more suitable as a preventive method for removing soot deposits, which is desirable to use constantly. Salt is poured in an amount depending on the size of the furnace, on hot fuel.

When burning, salt particles will react with oxygen molecules and destroy the soot in the pipe. The effectiveness of the measures taken depends on the choice of the quality of salt, but you can choose the right substance by trying several times to carry out such cleaning.

Folk recipes for burning soot

With confidence, we can say that these means of cleaning channels for removing combustion products are dangerous and not every chimney can withstand this. Cracks from high temperatures appear in the walls of the chimney, sometimes it is better to use other means for cleaning.

walnuts and aspen. The shell of walnuts has an amazing property of high heat transfer. Therefore, to clean the chimney, you need to place about two-liter jars of shells in the furnace. This tool will make the rising smoke as hot as possible, from which the soot in the chimney will burn.

Aspen was an accessible material in the northern and middle regions of Russia, therefore it was used quite widely. This method applies to the best for cleaning, but undeservedly forgotten against the background of modern chemicals. During the firebox with aspen logs, all valves and oven doors should be closed.

After the firebox, white flakes begin to fly out of the chimney, which are the product of soot burning. The oven will make a lot of noise soot will burn out completely, but the cleaning method is dangerous for weak chimneys.

Chimney cleaning with mothballs

Before using the method, you need to make sure of the following:

1. There are no cracks, damages and holes outside the chimney, if any are found, then they are carefully sealed with mortar, waiting for drying.
2. Make sure that objects and work items do not accumulate in the channel passage.

Naphthalene for small stoves of a private house is used in the amount of one tablet, which thrown on burning fuel. Soot, as in the case of aspen, will fly out in white flakes.

Naphthalene is a crystalline substance with a pungent characteristic odor, sometimes it explodes when used as a chimney cleaner, which can lead to the destruction of the pipe and subsequent fire.

Cleaning if the pipe lumen is completely blocked

To do this, fill with water (about three liters) from above into the chimney. After that, steam is released, which cleans the hole in the pipe. Soot flies out of the chimney in a caked cloud of thick consistency. So that the chimney made of steel does not rust, they immediately begin to heat it and warm it up until the last moisture has evaporated.

There are special cleaning logs or pellets, which are placed in the oven without opening the package, while the firebox lasts about two hours. After that, the accumulation of soot and soot in the channel becomes loose, the separating light particles rise, and the heavy ones fall down into the furnace.

If special revision holes are provided along the chimney, it is recommended carry out preventive cleaning after applying cleansing logs. There are special powders for cleaning the furnace outlet channel, for example, a Czech product called Kominichek, Smoke-Glas and others.

For their application instructions have been developed who will tell you how to use them correctly and what dosage to use. But all of them are used in the furnace to obtain a chemical reaction and as a result of which substances are obtained that destroy the soot layer in the pipe.

In conclusion, it should be said that the smoke channel should be cleaned in any case, so that grief from a sudden smoke in the room or a fire in the attic, where a soot-clogged pipe passes, does not add to one misfortune of poor burning of the stove.

The patency of smoke channels is of decisive importance for the normal operation of heating systems. This is especially important for solid fuel thermal units. Chimneys tend to become clogged with combustion products, which reduces fuel efficiency and increases the likelihood of situations that threaten not only the integrity of property, but also the lives of people living in the house.

How and how to clean the chimney from soot

Heating in a private house is a vital system that affects not only comfortable living, but often the property and life of residents. A special role is played by the system for removing fuel combustion products from the room - the chimney. Its inner surface is gradually contaminated with condensate and soot, while the cross section of the chimney channel decreases, the draft decreases, and the full removal of smoke from the room is disturbed.

Over time, the chimney becomes clogged with soot, and its ability to remove combustion products decreases.

Why does the chimney get dirty

Clogging of the smoke channel occurs during the combustion of fuel, when vaporous and solid products are released from it, carried out by the flow of furnace gases. But under certain conditions, they do not completely fly out into the pipe. This happens under the following circumstances:

Signs of a clogged chimney

When the flue gas duct becomes clogged, it will be immediately visible. The main signs of a clogged channel will be the following phenomena:

What to do if the chimney is clogged

Before the start of the heating season, it is imperative to inspect the chimney from the inside for blockages. In the warm season, birds with a nest can settle in it or debris blown into the chimney by the wind can appear. To avoid this, the chimney must be equipped with a mesh cap at the installation stage to prevent such situations.

In such a case, the house should always have a backup heating unit in the form of a heater or an electric heater built into the heating system.

Having provided yourself with warmth with its help in the cold season, you can thoroughly consider the situation and think about options for getting out of it.

The presence of draft in the furnace must be checked every time the furnace is ignited - the flame must deviate towards the chimney

How to clean a chimney

The meaning of this operation is to timely clean the walls from soot deposits and debris that has got inside (during the off-season period). When cleaning, you need to check all sections of the chimney and the stove itself. The last step is to clean the ash pan and the firebox. Timely cleaning of the chimney reduces fuel consumption and makes the operation of the furnace safe.

In practice, three main cleaning methods are used, two of which are preventive:

1. Chemical and biological methods. They are used as a preventive measure using compounds that soften soot and lead to its partial removal from the smoke channel.
2. Mechanical. It is produced by direct impact on the soot layer with various tools in order to remove it.

If you use such tools correctly and in a timely manner, you can avoid involving a third-party specialist in cleaning the chimney.

Biological methods of cleaning the chimney

All biological methods are based on adding some substances to a burning furnace. Common products include the following:

• potato peelings. This is an old folk remedy for the prevention of soot deposits, the simplest and always available. The peel must be prepared in advance, accumulating at least half a bucket. It must be dried and brought into the furnace at the end of the burning of the bookmark. When burned, potatoes release starch, which softens the soot layer well. It happens that it simply falls down in layers or pieces, part of it is carried out along with the furnace gases. This operation is also recommended before mechanical cleaning;
• rock salt. The method is used when igniting the furnace. The compound formed when the salt is heated softens the soot layer well. A tablespoon of salt should be poured over the fuel tab;
• aspen wood. Firewood from a tree of this breed has a high calorific value, so they are laid at the end of the firebox. Hot furnace gases simply burn soot directly on the walls of the chimney. The danger of the method lies in the fact that large deposits of soot during combustion at a high intrinsic temperature can destroy the chimney and cause a serious fire. Therefore, this method should be used regularly, laying aspen firewood in small portions. For the same purpose, you can use birch firewood peeled from the bark;
• walnut shell. The use of this tool is also associated with a high temperature of their combustion. Therefore, they can serve as an alternative to aspen firewood. But the shell can be used in an amount of no more than two liters at a time. Otherwise, overheating of the chimney is possible with predictable consequences.

Photo gallery: folk remedies for cleaning the chimney

Walnut shells cannot be burned in large quantities - it can overheat the chimney Burning dried peelings destroys the soot layer due to the release of starch Rock salt, when heated, releases substances that soften soot on the walls of the chimney Aspen wood burns soot on the walls of the chimney due to a very high combustion temperature

Soot removal chemicals

There are several such products, and they can be divided into two groups: household products and special chemicals. The first group includes:

1. Naphthalene. This is an effective and quite reliable tool. Under its influence, soot exfoliates and is taken out into the furnace. It is placed in the oven on the burning firewood. A significant drawback is the acrid unpleasant odor remaining in the room. Therefore, it is not used in open hearths and fireplaces.
2. Blue blend. It's easy to make your own if you have a few common ingredients on hand. Need to mix:
   • five parts of copper sulfate;
   • seven parts of saltpeter;
   • two parts of medium fraction coke.

Special chemicals are used to clean chimneys also for preventive purposes. Given the existing demand, the industry produces a variety of formulations designed specifically to combat soot. The release form can be briquettes, like logs, powders or solutions. Their action is based on the decomposition of smoke even in the furnace into components that do not form soot.

The convenience is that the methods of their use are described in detail in the instructions for use, and they are divided into portions. You can burn these products together with the packaging, which is also very convenient. The following products are popular:

There are quite a few remedies for soot on the market, so by testing you can choose the best option for yourself.

Photo gallery: chemicals for cleaning the chimney

Cheerful chimney sweep tablets will help get rid of soot in the chimney no worse than a professional chimney sweeper Blue mixture must be prepared independently from three not the most common components This product is recommended to be used only in closed combustion chambers Naphthalene leaves behind an unpleasant odor that will disappear within a few days

Video: chimney cleaning with special chemicals

Mechanical cleaning methods

Mechanical methods are radical and are recommended for use at least twice a year. They are produced from the top of the pipe with various brushes or nozzles for power tools, and the final cleaning is performed from the bottom of the hearth, fireplace or furnace furnace.

Chimney sweeps use special ruffs on a long cable

As preparatory measures, before cleaning a thick (from two millimeters) layer of soot, potato peelings or other listed means are burned.

In this case, the following materials and tools may be needed:

To clean the pipe from above, you need to use a roof ladder, well fixed on the roof . Under any conditions, you need a reliable safety rope.

Work at height can only be carried out in dry, calm weather. Before climbing to the roof, you should not take drugs that reduce the reaction, and even more so alcoholic beverages.

Before starting work, the oven must be cooled down. Clean the furnace space from unburned fuel residues and ash. Close the firebox door, blower, and hob covers tightly and hang with a wet rag to prevent soot from entering the room. The gate must be opened completely to avoid re-clogging of the channel with crumbling soot.

The chimney pipe must be freed from the head, after which:

Video: cleaning the chimney from the side of the room

Ruff with your own hands

If for some reason there was no brush at hand, it can be made “on the go” from a plastic bottle. To do this, you need to cut several tiers of strips up to 12-15 millimeters wide on the body so that they bend vertically. To make the device heavier, sand can be poured to the bottom.

A good chimney brush can be made from a plastic bottle

Stainless steel pipe cleaning

A feature of the product is the high quality of the inner surface of the chimney. This prevents a significant amount of soot from settling on the walls. Naturally, this is true for a properly made chimney, subject to the rules for firing a furnace. If a stable soot has formed, it is urgent to clean it. To do this, use the following methods:

In order not to conduct additional "experiments", you need to heat the stove only with suitable fuel - well-dried hardwood firewood. At the end of each firebox, you need to add one aspen log for prevention.

Video: stainless steel pipe cleaning

Soot removal from stainless steel sandwich pipes

Cleaning the inner sandwich pipe, if used correctly, is very rarely needed. Nevertheless, if such a need arises, you can use an elongated brush made of thin pile. The flexible compound hose is rotated by an electric drill, cleaning is done through a tee from below. Fine bristles of the ruff do not damage the surface of the pipe, effectively cleaning the surface.

Such a chimney is easy to dismantle and clean each pipe individually.

Special cases of cleaning the chimney

Some chimney cleaning situations require separate consideration.

How to clean a chimney pipe in a private house

Briefly, the entire process of cleaning the chimney has already been described above. To what has been said, it is only necessary to add that with a strong clogging of the smoke channel, the first operation is to break through the soot with a core without additional devices. Only then are brushes of different sizes and designs consistently used.

When performing work, care should be taken to create a safe working environment.

When working at height, be sure to buckle up with a safety cable.

Video: how to clean a chimney in a private house

Bath chimney cleaning

The chimney in the bath is usually simpler. And most often it is made of stainless pipes, which requires special attention to its cleaning. In order not to negate its main advantage - the high quality of the inner surface - it should be cleaned only with soft plastic or brushes made from natural materials. The easiest way to manage is with straight pipelines, and if there are elbows - we recall that there should be no more than two of them - you may have to dismantle the chimney if it does not have special windows for cleaning during installation.

Otherwise, preventive measures and cleaning are carried out in the same way.

Cleaning the chimney pipe from tar

Considering the composition of flue gases, you need to pay attention to two main components - this is water vapor from the fuel and a vapor of difficult-to-ignite creosote. Mixing and settling on the walls of the smoke channel, they form a resin that is difficult to remove due to its viscosity and good adhesion to various types of surfaces.

The only effective way to deal with tar deposits is to prevent its formation. For this, various means are used that are produced specifically for this case.

HANSA effectively protects the walls of the chimney from the formation of tar

For example, the known composition of HANSA is a fine crystalline substance. Part of it converts wood into resin and water vapor, and the second, reacting with the substance of the resin, contributes to its decomposition and combustion at the temperature in the furnace. Remains of resin on the walls turn into a brittle crystalline composition, crumbling into the furnace.

This composition is placed inside the burning furnace. The frequency of use at the beginning of the operation of the thermal unit is daily, then you can switch to use once a week.

Curved chimney cleaning

The bends of the smoke channel are always a forced measure caused by the structural features of the building. However, they need to be cleaned periodically. For this purpose, elements are provided in the design of the pipeline, using which this operation can be performed easily and simply. These are special hatches, when opened, it becomes possible to access the straight section of the bend. The length of the inclined sections is not recommended to be made larger than a meter. The number of bends on one pipe should not exceed two.

If there is no window for cleaning on the outlet elbow, then the chimney will have to be disassembled

How to clean a gas stove chimney

The reason for cleaning the chimney of the gas column is its banal clogging with a deterioration in draft. In a city apartment, this is all the more dangerous because the threat arises for many people at the same time. One of the signs of traction deterioration is the “popping” of the column igniter.

The process of cleaning the exhaust pipe from a gas unit is practically no different from such an operation with conventional chimneys. The same ruff is used. Recently, vacuum cleaners of a special design are often used, which reliably clean the surface of the pipe and collect pollution products. In difficult cases, when the layers cannot be removed with a brush or vacuum cleaner, special chemicals are used to soften and remove them. Considering that the use of prophylactic agents on the column pipe is impossible, urgent measures should be taken if signs of clogging are found.

It must be admitted that the success of using solid fuel furnace equipment to the greatest extent depends on the correct operation of the units and the careful selection of fuel for it. In addition, it is necessary to regularly use preventive measures and know how to get rid of problems with clogged chimneys. Then stoves and fireplaces will delight you with fertile warmth in the house for a long time. I wish you success!

A blockage in the pipe leads to the following unpleasant moments:

1. With low draft, a large amount of condensate accumulates inside the channel, which only accelerates the clogging process.
2. Soot is an excellent thermal insulator. With its accumulation in a thick layer, the pipe ceases to heat up to the desired temperature, which significantly reduces the efficiency of the unit. To ensure normal heating of the home, much more fuel will be required.
3. Solid particles accumulated in soot do not have time to burn out completely and at any moment, for example, during the rise of gas flows upward, they can give a spark, ignite, which is fraught not only with the rapid burning of the pipe walls, but also with ignition of the whole house as a whole. The area becomes vulnerable to an accidental flash of a spark, its possible escape from the pipe. It is for this reason that fires most often occur in buildings, private houses heated by such stoves.
4. From a chimney clogged with soot, lights can fly out into the street. Hot solid particles can spread to neighboring buildings, which is a threat to the lives of neighbors.

With the totality of all the unpleasant consequences in the form of a fire, losses after it simply cannot be avoided, therefore it is important to periodically check the chimney and perform effective cleaning in a timely manner. It is best to do this procedure in early autumn, choosing a cool day and viewing the entire structure in detail, thoroughly.

How often should the pipe be cleaned

If the furnace device is built correctly, the chimney will serve quite well for 2-3 years, and without any cleaning. Nevertheless, this procedure should be done every six months for confidence and peace of mind, because a lot depends on the fuel used: the pipe becomes clogged faster from incinerated garbage, bags, plastic bottles. Over time, firewood also leads to pollution, no matter how high-quality it is, especially when laying it in its raw form or heating the room with resinous spruces and pines. Dry logs that have lain in the woodshed for at least a year and a half are considered the best material for a firebox. Only with such material the chimney becomes clogged much more slowly, there are practically no unburned particles left.

If the pipe is overgrown with soot, it is not difficult to determine: the smoke coming out of it will noticeably change its color, that is, it will become darker. Ideally, in the chimney duct, it should be bright, clean, and easily ventilated. With the accumulation of soot in the pipe, the plaque itself begins to smolder, the smoke that comes out becomes dense, dark, with strong soot. Moreover, the color of the flame itself also changes: instead of light orange, it becomes saturated dark, viscous. Such signs indicate that the time has come to clean the chimney, otherwise a fire or smoke in the room cannot be avoided.

Ideally, it is better to check the channel twice a year - in autumn and spring. It is necessary to inspect it not only for the presence of accumulated soot, but also for other waste products that enter the hole from the outside: bird droppings, nests, cobwebs, dry branches, leaves.

There are many popular methods for cleaning the chimney. After checking the device, you just have to choose the best method and get down to business, removing all contaminants and other waste in the channel.

Folk ways to clean the chimney

Soot is a decay product of burned fuel, which is 90% carbon. It starts to burn at a temperature of 1000-1100 degrees, and not every channel can withstand such heating. Not only the chimney is very hot, but also all the elements adjacent to it. The risk of fire of the entire building increases significantly.
How to clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies? We suggest considering the most popular options:

After using potato skins in huts, residents carried out an additional procedure: they tied a thick strong rope to the core and ran it through the entire cavity of the pipe, thereby thoroughly cleaning the inside of the heating device.

Self cleaning

Work execution algorithm:

How to clean the smoke channel with chemicals

Chemical products are generally more effective at cleaning pipes. They allow you to clean the entire cavity without residue, even soot that has ingrained and dried inside the channel. Chemicals should be used at the time of burning firewood. Then substances begin to be released that have a destructive effect on soot deposits, while being absolutely harmless to human health. Black plaque quickly crumbles down, that is, into the ash pan, after which it is simply raked out into a bucket. The oven is then completely cleaned.

The following substances are considered effective chemicals for cleaning chimneys from soot:

Conclusion

Chimney cleaning is able to perform every home master. When choosing the best method for removing soot in a pipe, consider its condition, degree of clogging and the amount of accumulated plaque. Try not to throw unnecessary plastic bottles, all kinds of cans, milk and juice bags into the furnace. Following all the points of the instructions described above, you can completely cope with cleaning the chimney yourself: assistants and specialists in this matter will not be needed. However, if you are not confident in your abilities or do not want to get dirty, invite a professional who can do a quality job. Cleaning the chimney from soot is required to be carried out periodically. This helps to improve draft, increase the service life of the pipe, and the safe use of the furnace.