If the chimney has not been cleaned in a long time it is wise to have a chimney sweep do the first cleaning.
How to clean your chimney from inside.
Or more layer of buildup the thickness of a nickel call a chimney sweep.
Here are the steps for cleaning your chimney yourself.
The chimney should be cool and no fire should be present.
First you remove the creosote that has built up on the inside of the chimney walls.
How to clean your chimney.
A quick way to tell if your chimney needs cleaning is to run the point of your fireplace poker along the inside of your chimney liner.
You could also climb up a ladder and measure it from the top.
While it s a very good idea to have the chimney inspected by a csia professional serious diyers can do some maintenance themselves.
First take a good look at the inside of the flue.
Chimney sweeps may see 40 to 50 chimney fires a year and more than half of the chimneys they service require.
Measure your chimney flue.
Stay safe by practicing good ladder safety and by having an assistant monitor you when you are on the roof.
Also wear protective equipment such as a dust mask and eye protection while cleaning a chimney.
It will be either square or round 6 or 8 determine the height of the chimney.
Drop cloths and plastic tarps to seal off the area from all the dust protect yourself with the appropriate gear protective goggles a dust mask a sturdy ladder and purchase the right types of chimney brushes for the job.
You can clean a chimney top down from the roof or from the bottom up inside the house.
To clean your chimney you ll have to use properly sized tools.
But it s still an important task as a smoky fire without enough oxygen emits lots of unburned tar vapors called creosote that can condense inside the fireplace flue and stick to it possibly leading to a chimney fire.
Why clean your own chimney.
If you re not experienced working on the roof of a house or if your roof is particularly steep hire a professional or consider the bottom up method of cleaning the chimney from the fireplace.
There isn t a simple rule of thumb on how often to clean your chimney such as cleaning after 50 uses or one year.
You may choose to call in a chimney sweep or clean the chimney by yourself.
To save yourself the time of cleaning up a mess later take proper steps to protect the inside of your home think.
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How to clean your chimney.