Cleaning the chimney with folk remedies. We clean the chimney ourselves. Folk ways to clean the chimney

A stove or fireplace can be called the heart of any home. Together with warmth, coziness and comfort spread from them to every corner of the home. However, to maintain the safety and efficiency of such heating, flue ducts need periodic cleaning. You can entrust this work to professionals or use purchased chemicals, there is another method: you can also clean the chimney from soot in a folk way. Knowing the reasons for the active formation and settling of soot on the inner walls of the pipes, you can minimize this process, then you will have to resort to the work of a chimney sweep less often.

Causes of chimney clogging and the need for periodic cleaning

When the Heat-giving begins to flare up noticeably worse, and the smoke penetrates the house through the existing holes during kindling, most likely, the reason lies in the clogging of the chimney. These can be foreign objects, such as birds, nests made by them, or brick fragments from a collapsing pipe. Most often, these are flakes of soot and soot that have settled inside the chimney.

Soot deposits with regular use of stove heating are inevitable, but there are two reasons why the process is much more intense:

The design of the chimney itself and the material from which it is made,
Something that regularly gets into the furnace.

In the first case, inaccuracies and flaws in the masonry make it difficult for smoke to pass through, while the settling of burning on the walls increases markedly. Contributes to this:

narrowing of smoke channels,
excessive curvature,
residual solution on the inner surface,
poor thermal insulation and, as a result, the accumulation of condensate.

The most durable material is metal and asbestos is preferable for making pipes. Ceramics and bricks are subject to destruction, which means that the resulting roughness will reduce the permeability of smoke and increase deposition on the walls of combustion products. The same applies to a poorly prepared solution: when it dries, it cracks, the irregularities that appear serve as a place for soot deposition.

Raw firewood, especially with a high tar content, items made of polyethylene and plastic also exacerbate the situation.

As a result of the narrowing of the lumen:

The exit of smoke is difficult, which means that part of the harmful gases enters the house, causing intoxication of the residents,
There is a possibility of ignition of soot accumulated in the channels, and this is already a fire hazard situation.

When the degree of pollution is not critical, deposits can be dealt with by burning special preparations purchased in the trade network in the furnace or using well-known chimney cleaning products.

If the thickness of the settled soot exceeds 5 cm, then, according to the numerous experience of the owners of private houses, it is unlikely that it will be possible to do without brushes and scrapers.

Effective folk ways to clean the chimney

Not bad have proven themselves means such as "Cheerful Chimney Sweep", "Kominichek", "Sazhinet". Burning in the furnace, the resulting products bind to existing deposits, loosening them. Further, with smoke emissions, flocculent formations fly out or are deposited on the channel bottom.

Similarly, when burned, soot is bound by other "natural" products.

Potato peelings

The smell of fried potatoes is not always the result of cooking dinner. It has long been known that by throwing potato peelings into a burning oven, you can clean the chimney. So if there is no one to feed the waste, then the best use for potato peels is burning it in a firebox. The resulting starch-containing vapors bind soot layers, as a result of which it falls away from the walls of the channels. Flakes along with smoke can fly out for more than one day after the procedure.

Pre-drying promotes better combustion. To do this, simply leave the chips in the bucket for a day or two.

Salt

Salt should be sprinkled on dry firewood laid for kindling. In this case, soot settles less on the walls of the smoke exhaust channels, narrowing their clearance.

The use of this method is more suitable for prevention and in "severe" cases is not effective.

Naphthalene

One tablet of this substance is enough to reduce the precipitation of tar formations that are released during the furnace.

Due to the explosiveness of the chemical compound, use the method with caution!

logs

A special combustible mass mixed with chemical compounds is formed in the form of logs, which periodically need to be placed in the oven during kindling. The cleansing effect of this method differs depending on the manufacturer and the composition used by him.

Folk remedies can be called the use of aspen or alder logs. Having a high heat transfer, such a material causes the soot that has stuck around the pipe from the inside to burn out and is the essence of the following method.

soot burning

Not every oven will withstand such a test. It is first necessary to check the integrity of the chimney, since if it is violated, a fire may occur. Further:

A large amount of highly combustible wood material is laid (aspen, alder, oak),
Provides maximum oxygen supply due to open blowers.

At a temperature of about 600 0 C, the soot accumulated in the pipe ignites - a kind of self-cleaning of deposits.

walnut shell

It is not often that tenants have this material in large quantities. But burning it in a furnace makes it possible to release a large amount of heat and clean the inner surfaces of the chimney from the resin by burning it out.

mechanical cleaning

The need to clean pipes with various devices has existed since the advent of furnaces. Brushes and scrapers of various designs are still the main tools of chimney sweeps.

Mechanical and manual cleaning can be carried out without the help of professionals. This can be done either from above - through the pipe, or from below - through the base of the chimney. Both options can be used if necessary.

To avoid spilling soot on the floor during cleaning, it is better to close all openings with rags. Upon completion of the main work, it is good to use a vacuum cleaner with a fireplace cleaning function.

It is believed that the chimney needs to be cleaned at least once a year. It can be carried out, for example, before the start of the heating season or after its completion. The intensity of operation of the furnace and the time elapsed between cleanings affects the amount of "harvested". It can be a bucket, two or a whole bag.

Traditional brushes with metal bristles can be replaced with homemade devices, the effectiveness of which is no worse:

A plastic bottle with cuts imitating bristles, mounted on a hose,
Spruce legs tied to a long stick
Bath brooms, planted on a cable or other likeness of an elongated handle.

In the case when the chimney is cleaned from top to bottom, it is reasonable to mount the cleaning devices not on the handle, but tie them in a rope with a load at the end. The length of the rope should be slightly longer than the length of the channel, the weight of the load should be about 10 kg.

Rooftop Safety

Work carried out on the roof requires not only skill, but also the observance of personal safety rules. No one acquaints them with a signature, but the price of life is perhaps the best motivation to listen to them.

Do not clean in rainy and / or windy weather,
A rope tied at one end to a belt is the simplest fall arrest device,
A roof ladder is used to move around the roof,
It is unacceptable to engage in work while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs that inhibit activity.

Recommendations for preventing soot accumulation in the chimney

Just as any health problem is best prevented, excessive soot build-up, which requires a lot of time and effort to clean, is best avoided altogether.

First of all, it concerns what material is used for the firebox. It is possible to reduce the amount of soot deposited on the inner walls by eliminating combustion in the furnace:

Raw firewood (with a moisture content of more than 20%),
Resinous wood materials (oily products of combustion contribute to excessive deposits),
Household waste (plastic bags, disposable tableware and other plastic

The problems of the initial poor design of the chimney are solved only by disassembly and new masonry. Only professionalism at the stage of planning and manufacturing the furnace will help to avoid problems during its further operation.

Under the bewitching crackle of firewood in the fireplace and the touch of spreading waves of heat, all the worries associated with maintaining the normal operation of this wonderful heating device are forgotten. Like any organism, albeit not a living one, it requires regular care for itself, endowing it with trouble-free work in return. By adopting folk methods for cleaning the chimney, you can save on purchased products and extend the time between mechanical cleanings.

Until recently, both in cities and in rural areas there was only one type of heating - stove. Their technical condition was monitored by specially trained people - chimney sweeps. They checked the chimneys for cracks, monitored the draft in the furnace and cleaned the soot. Today, private houses are equipped with a variety of stoves, stoves, fireplaces. You have to serve them with your own hands - clean the chimney and monitor the technical condition.

The device of the chimney, what is its cleaning and how often should it be carried out

The first cleaning of the chimney should be carried out 1.5–2 years after the start of operation of the furnace. During this time, a soot layer of more than 2 mm accumulates in the pipe, which is a guideline for cleaning. In the future, the chimney should be cleaned 1-2 times a season. This is best done in spring and autumn. In order to facilitate this process, it is necessary to apply preventive measures, which will be discussed below.

The chimney is covered with soot during the combustion process. It appears gradually from the products of combustion and layer by layer is deposited on the walls of the pipe, gradually narrowing the passage. And since soot is a very good thermal insulator, the stove channel heats up much weaker and a much larger amount of firewood is required for heating.

A thick layer of soot reduces traction, which means that the amount of condensate increases, which, in turn, contributes to the rapid formation of new layers. Unburned solid particles accumulate in the pipe, which can easily ignite when gas flows rise. This leads to the fastest burning of the pipe walls and increases the risk of fire. Especially in severe frosts, when a large amount of firewood is used to heat the house and the temperature in the furnace is very high, sparks and even small lights fly out of the chimney clogged with soot. And this threatens to fire outbuildings and even neighboring houses.

In the event of a strong blockage, the likelihood of a reverse draft increases - the smoke will partially or completely go into the room and the likelihood of being poisoned by combustion products increases.

Cleaning the chimney consists, first of all, in freeing the surfaces of the pipe from soot, debris (after the summer season there may be small branches, dry leaves, and even bird nests). At the same time, all elements of the furnace are checked and cleaned. Lastly, the firebox and ash pan are cleaned.

With timely cleaning of the chimney, you will significantly reduce the consumption of firewood, you will be sure of your own safety, and the chimney will not need emergency repairs.

Methods and devices for cleaning the chimney with your own hands

There are three main ways to clean the chimney: chemical, biological and mechanical. Biological and chemical methods are rather preventive, preventing the formation of too thick a layer of soot. All these methods can be carried out independently, without resorting to the help of specialists, following certain rules.

Biological (potato peeling, starch, firewood, etc.)

One of the simplest and most common methods, widely used by the people because of the ease of use and the availability of the necessary funds. To a greater extent, it is preventive - it prevents the appearance of a thick layer of soot. For this method, aspen wood, salt, potato peelings, walnut shells, naphthalene, blue mixture are used.

Potato peelings need to be pre-prepared. It will take about half a bucket of well-dried cleanings. They need to be poured directly onto the heat so that they burn out immediately. During combustion, a large amount of starch is formed, which softens the soot. You can apply this method before proceeding with mechanical cleaning - it will be much easier to remove the soot layer.

Rock salt is more of a soot preventative. A small handful is poured on firewood until kindling. Vapors of sodium chloride destroy viscous deposits in the pipe.

Aspen firewood is the most effective remedy. Since aspen has a high combustion temperature, firewood must be used at the end of the firebox. The fumes generated during combustion peel off the soot from the walls of the chimney and, during intense heat, it burns out. Therefore, when using aspen, you need to ensure that sparks do not fly from the chimney. An alternative is birch firewood, previously peeled of bark. The effect will be about the same.

Walnut shells are an excellent chimney cleaner. It has a very high combustion temperature, so you can not use more than two liters in one run. An alternative to aspen wood.

Naphthalene is a good prophylactic. It is enough to throw one tablet into the fire, as the soot will begin to flake off and come out with the smoke. But the smell of naphthalene is very persistent and then it is very difficult to get rid of it.

Blue mixture - easy to make yourself if you have the right ingredients. 5 parts of copper sulphate, 7 parts of saltpeter and 2 parts of coal (coke) are mixed. About 20 grams of the mixture is poured into a preheated oven and the door is tightly closed. This mixture should not be used to clean open lesions.

Chemical method

Like biological, it does not solve the issue of complete cleaning of the chimney and is preventive. The stores sell a large number of a wide variety of compositions for cleaning the chimney: logs, briquettes, tablets, solutions. Principle of operation - the harmless gas released during combustion decomposes combustion products and their components, which could later turn into soot.

In almost all cases, there are detailed instructions for use, dosage. Portion packs are very convenient. As a rule, together with the packaging, they are placed in an oven and burned either separately or together with firewood. If the chimney is heavily clogged, use either several packages at the same time, or several times in a row.

"Log - chimney sweep" - a small bar or briquette, consists of ammonium sulfate, coal wax, phosphorus oxide and several other components. Prevents the formation of carbon deposits and the removal of previously accumulated soot. With constant operation of the furnace for the season, you need to burn only 2 logs. If the stove is heated 1-2 times a week, then one bar is enough.

"Cominichek" - is used only if the soot layer is up to 2 mm. The package contains 5 bags of 15 grams. The active substance is copper chloride. Converts soot to oxide, allowing it to burn at a lower temperature without causing a fire. Since chlorine is included in the composition, it cannot be used for open stoves. When using, close the door tightly and, at the end of the firebox, ventilate the room with a “comic cut”.

PHC - anti-stain chemical composition. The powder is burned together with paper packaging, together with firewood or separately from them. Powder consumption per ton of firewood is 150–200 g.

Since there are a lot of funds and they are produced both in our country and abroad, you can always choose the best option by trying several types.

mechanical way

It is used in cases where the chimney is very heavily clogged. The soot layer, as mentioned earlier, is more than 2 mm. Before proceeding with this type of work, the furnace should be prepared. Preheat using potato peels, aspen wood or walnut shells to soften the soot and peel it off the chimney walls. This will greatly facilitate further work.

Required tools:

Ruff for cleaning the chimney with a diameter 1.2–1.3 times larger than the diameter of a pipe made of plastic or metal;
A flexible cable with a handle (similar to plumbing) or a strong rope;
Hard brush with a long handle (or with the ability to build it up);
A metal weight or core that can be attached to a brush. Must be centered so as not to damage the chimney, and with a diameter 2 times smaller than the diameter of the pipe;
Metal scraper with handle.

The chimney can be cleaned both from above, from the side of the pipe, and from below - if it is a fireplace or an open stove. To perform pipe cleaning work from above, prepare a small ladder that can be mounted on the roof. To prevent falling from the roof, use a safety rope. All tools that may be required, lift to the roof immediately, so as not to go down again.

Shoes should be non-slip, protect your hands with gloves.
Use a respirator to prevent combustion products from entering the respiratory tract.
Start work only in dry calm weather.
Before starting work, do not take drugs that reduce the reaction, and alcohol.

The oven must be completely cool before starting work. The combustion chamber is completely free from unburned logs and ash. Close the furnace, cleaning and ash doors beforehand so that soot cannot enter the room through them. Curtain open fireboxes with a dense, damp cloth, which you will not be sorry to throw away later. The dampers must be opened completely, otherwise soot will fall on them and may lead to a new blockage.

Remove the cap from the chimney pipe to provide access. Carefully inspect the pipe and proceed to cleaning. Begin work with the core attached to the cable. This will help to immediately eliminate large blockages and will show the distance that the chimney can be cleared. If the layer of soot is very large, it is better to immediately use a long-handled scraper to clean the walls and work with it, and then clean the walls using a brush with a core attached to it. Make sure that the core is in the center of the chimney and cannot damage the pipe.

If the stove is with an open firebox, after cleaning from above, proceed to clean the chimney from below. Use a ruff or brush with a long, flexible handle that can be extended.

The combustion chamber is cleaned last. Collect soot with a special vacuum cleaner or sweep with a special brush.

If it so happens that you do not have the opportunity to purchase a special brush, you can make it yourself from a plastic bottle.

Video: how to make a plastic bottle brush

In some regions, it is common to clean the chimney with a chainsaw or a leaf blower (a leaf blower). Of course, in this way it is quite simple to clean the chimney using a special snail nozzle with an air duct. Of course, from the point of view of ecology, this method cannot be called correct.

Video: how to clean a chimney with a chainsaw

Technological elements for cleaning the chimney

In many ways, chimney maintenance can be simplified if cleaning methods are provided at the design stage. As a rule, now chimneys are made of sandwich pipes or metal. It is not always installed strictly vertically, and sometimes serves several stoves in the house at the same time. In this case, cleaning from soot will become more complicated due to the corners. And if a horizontal pipe section comes from the furnace, it is better to use a tee for connection. One of its sides opens with a threaded lid. Through the hole, you can both remove moisture and clean the riser. In some cases, a special removable glass may be provided.

In ovens made of bricks, hatches for cleaning are necessarily provided. In some stoves, there may be several hatches.

Prevention of clogging of the chimney pipe

What needs to be done so that the chimney does not clog so quickly? Proper use of the oven. The rules are simple, but if you follow them, it will simplify care and help you use firewood more economically.

Coniferous wood should not be used for the firebox - they contain a lot of resin, which will remain on the walls of the chimney. Give preference to hardwoods. At the end of the firebox, add aspen logs or any other folk remedies.
Heat the stove only with dry wood - wet ones give a lot of soot.
There must be a cap on the pipe. It will not only protect the pipe from debris, but also from precipitation.
To reduce the accumulation of condensate, the pipe must be insulated.
Do not turn the stove into a place for burning garbage. Plastic, polyethylene, rubber melt and remain in the oven and on its walls. It is better to throw garbage in a container or burn it on the street.
Do not use flammable liquids for ignition.
In severe frost, sometimes a fire occurs due to the fact that the stove is hot. Try not to overheat it.
Timely carry out preventive work, carefully monitor the condition of deposits on the walls.

With proper cleaning and constant adherence to the rules of the firebox, the stove and chimney will last a long time and will not require special care, and sometimes unforeseen repairs.

The ignition of soot in the chimney is an on-duty nightmare for the inhabitants of any house with fiery heating and cooking appliances. Even if the fire can be extinguished before the chimney (boiler) burns out and the house does not have a fire, the cost of eliminating the accident will be prohibitive, and the house will be left without heating and cooking facilities in the cold. However, regular cleaning of the chimney from deposits in it is necessary not only for fire safety purposes: the efficiency and durability (resource before overhaul) of the furnace or boiler are maintained only if the draft in the chimney corresponds to the nominal value; any blockage reduces the clearance of the chimney and, accordingly, the draft of the chimney.

Why get into the dirt?

For the reasons given chimney cleaning is an absolutely necessary scheduled technological operation during the operation of fuel-burning heating and cooking appliances, and the profession of a chimney sweep remains in demand from the most developed countries in an age when humanity is mastering quantum information systems and preparing for interstellar flights. Moreover, in the current state of affairs with energy resources in the world, the advantages of individual stove heating over centralized heating significantly outweigh its disadvantages.

But, the reader may object, when my sink siphon clogs, I call a plumber. And why should I know something about such a much dirtier and more unhealthy activity as cleaning soot from chimneys? Let the chimney sweeps do it, and I'll pay within reason.

First, what is the “reasonable limit” in this case? Chimney sweep services in the Russian Federation are considered to be perhaps the cheapest in the world. But in Russia, cleaning the chimney from soot costs at least 10,000 rubles. This is if there is a chimney sweep in this locality or in its immediate vicinity. For his call with departure, you will have to pay extra for round-trip travel and accommodation at the place of work. And if the road to the house with the stove is impassable for ordinary vehicles in winter?

Secondly, if it flows from the siphon of the kitchen sink or overflows from the toilet bowl, then there is simply no time to wait for the plumber - here the salvation of the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves; the degree of urgency in the presence of signs of the need for unscheduled / emergency cleaning of the chimney is even higher. That is why, even if your money is enough to pay for a chimney sweep + 200% bonus, you still need to know how to clean the chimney yourself at least quickly so that the immediate threat is over.

Thirdly, cleaning the chimney by any method other than chemical sparing (preventive) does not pass without a trace for its resource. At the same time, the profession of a chimney sweep is highly paid, but harmful, dirty and dangerous, and there is little competition in it. Really high-class professionals prefer to engage in easier scheduled and preventive cleaning under subscription service contracts, and if you need to clean a pipe in a private house urgently and / or in the outback, there is a high risk of running into a klutz who is greedy for money, moreover, if your chimney is a modern modular-sandwich or ceramic / glass, inept cleaning can disable it once and for all.

Reliable information about chimney sweeping is much less common than about plumbing - after all, just 10 years ago, individual stove heating was considered a relic of the past doomed to extinction. If a plumber begins to connect propylene pipes, wrapping them together with adhesive tape, he will also be kicked out by a glamorous pampered diva. But if a chimney sweep puts a steel ruff on a solid rod into a sandwich chimney with deaf kinks, then an intelligent economic man can decide that this is how it should be. And a day, a week, a month after the “specialist” receives his bribe and leaves, the consequences will be severe, even catastrophic. If it becomes necessary to clean the furnace / boiler pipe, some minimum knowledge in this area is needed to control the work of a specialist. Therefore, even if the very mention of cleaning the chimney causes you physiological disgust, but you use stove or boiler heating, you you need to know:

Why and how the chimney clearance is covered with deposits.
How to determine by external signs whether the chimney needs cleaning and, if so, in what order (see below)?
What tools and methods are used to clean chimneys of different types, depending on the nature and properties of deposits in them?
How, if necessary, to clean the chimney with your own hands, using improvised means?
Are there ways to ensure that urgent chimney cleaning is avoided during the heating season, and if so, which ones?

Is it just soot?

Cleaning the chimney from black soot, as the ignorant imagine it, is quite simple, and if the pipe is brick, then one should not expect serious negative consequences from self-cleaning with improvised means. But, firstly, not only black soot is deposited in chimneys, and in different ways. Secondly, modern chimneys are by no means brick in their properties.

In brick and, when fired with high-quality fuel (deciduous or pine wood, properly seasoned in a woodshed), in simple steel chimneys, the so-called. plump soot (pos. 1 in the figure), which is almost pure amorphous carbon. As a rule, plump soot completely fills the lumen of the pipe before it cokes (sinters; is cemented with bituminous substances, mainly creosote). Puffy soot ignites most easily, but the external signs of its influence on traction (see below) appear early and clear. Cleaning the chimney from fluffy soot or preventing its deposition by any of the methods described below does not present technical difficulties.

Gray soot (pos. 2) is typical of conventional steel chimneys for stoves/boilers fired with coal or occasional wood fuel. Coking of gray soot begins when its layer reaches approx. 2 mm and then spread to the entire plaque. External signs of overgrowing of the chimney with gray soot are weak and develop slowly. Ignition of gray soot is a rare phenomenon, but it necessarily entails the most severe consequences: part of the amorphous carbon is modified to graphite during bituminization, and burning gray soot develops a temperature of over 1600 degrees. Cleaning the chimney from gray soot manually is not always possible or very laborious, therefore, in this case, preventive measures against soot deposition are of paramount importance.

Note: pure graphite burns at 2500 degrees. According to the memoirs of helicopter pilots who extinguished the Chernobyl reactor, its inside shone dazzlingly like the Sun.

Light gray soot in sandwich chimneys (pos. 3) cokes instantly, at the time of deposition. The modular sandwich chimney at the moment of starting the device that is connected to it experiences a thermal shock: the cold inner surface of a thin-walled steel pipe in thermal insulation very quickly warms up to the flue gas temperature. From the point of view of the energy efficiency of the device, this is good: almost no fuel is spent on accelerating the furnace / boiler to the rated thermal power. But at the same time, the creosote film sits first on the pipe wall, which immediately seizes unburned fuel particles. Further, if the chimney is not prevented from falling out of soot, its lumen quickly overgrows with ordinary gray soot. Only an experienced professional chimney sweep can remove a coating of light gray soot without damaging the chimney, using alternately installations for hydraulic and mechanized rotary (rotary) cleaning.

Oily (white) soot, pos. 4, is formed in the chimneys of appliances intended for cooking on an open fire: barbecues, barbecues, etc. In addition - in the sandwich chimneys of household fireplaces - a real coal-wood fireplace, thanks to the always open firebox, perfectly cleans the room from dust. Where is the fat from? From the dust drawn into the furnace. A significant proportion of household dust is the dried grease of the inhabitants of the dwelling, kitchen fumes and splashes. Greasy soot manifests itself as clearly and quickly as plump, and is easily brushed off with a brush or ruff both from above and below. Preventive measures against greasy soot are quite effective and, if applied correctly, urgent cleaning of the chimney will never be needed at all. But, if greasy soot is detected in the chimney, it is impossible to delay its removal in any case - greasy soot ignites very easily; however, it burns weakly and the chimney can always be extinguished in time. But a complete replacement of the expensive modular system is inevitable after that.

About sandwich systems…

The advantages of sandwich chimneys are not limited to their efficiency, but it is almost never possible to clean a clogged "sandwich" without compromising its resource. The fact is that customers, tempted by the ease of installation of sandwich pipes, for the sake of cheapness, ask to make a chimney (or do it themselves) with inclined sections and deaf corners (kinks). The brush goes through them even during manual cleaning (see below), but it scratches the smooth stainless steel so much that the deposition of soot on the fractures becomes chronic, to the point that the chimney elbows have to be changed at the height of the season.

A correctly modular-sandwich chimney is assembled from horizontal (hogs) and vertical (otters) knees connected by tees to cleaning and inspection hatches, see Fig.:

In this case, even if solid light gray soot is detected in the chimney, it is cleaned after hydrotreatment with a gentle rotary brush (see below) and its resource practically does not decrease. If chemical prevention and revision of the chimney are carried out in a timely manner, then the “impact” chemical cleaning (see below) works. Then the remnants of soot can be scooped out into tees and removed by the owner himself without calling a specialist. In general, add. the cost of "extra" elbows and tees during operation pays off with savings on cleaning and peace of mind.

Note: what is in fig. designated as otters, according to the rules for the formation of technical terminology - risers. An otter in the furnace business is a broadening of the part of the chimney protruding above the roof, which improves its wind flow, chimney draft and partly prevents the junction of the pipe with the roofing cake from sticking. But there are already plenty of risers in everyday life - water supply, sewage, gas - so it will not be a big sin to call the vertical modules of a sandwich chimney otters.

When to Call a Pro

It is recommended to clean the sandwich chimney yourself only by chemical (non-contact) methods, but they are effective if the soot layer is not thicker than 2 mm. Otherwise, you need to call chimney sweeps, but first show them a photo of soot in the pipe and ask: how will you clean it?

Puffy soot and gray not too thick, i.e. not completely coked, the so-called. with a gentle, fast-rotating brush, on the left in the figure:

Its flexible shaft (see below) can be driven by a drill or hammer drill with the impact turned off. Further, if the gentle brush did not cope, use a hydraulic installation to remove soot and repeat the passage with a gentle brush; it's already extra. payment. Soot remains - more extra. payment, and the master prepares the unit for mechanized rotary cleaning with hard brushes (the rest in the figure). "Handy" drive is not suitable for them, because. the rotational speed must be kept stable regardless of the load on the brush. Its (frequency) and type of brush is chosen by the master, depending on the type, structure of the chimney and the nature of its pollution. A hard rotary brush will rip everything off, but if a sandwich was cleaned with such, then a conscientious specialist warns: “Do not forget to replace the chimney in the summer. Whether this next season will survive, I can’t guarantee.”

…and about ceramic chimneys

Glass chimneys and solid ceramic chimneys made by slip casting are very expensive, but in terms of economy and overall performance they surpass the best sandwich. If regular chemical prophylaxis is carried out, soot in them or does not fall out at all, and if it does, then it keeps very weakly. But such chimneys are fragile, and damaged ones quickly overgrow with plump soot. Therefore, if it comes to mechanical cleaning of a ceramic / glass chimney, you need to use only and only a special tool, see below.

When should you clean?

The chimney is cleaned next. cases:

Scheduled annually - before and after the end of the heating season with the furnace/boiler stopped;
Scheduled preventive maintenance - in the process of using the heating and cooking appliance without stopping it;
Unscheduled without shutdown - if there are initial signs of soot deposition and if, according to the results of the chimney revision, the thickness of its layer is up to 2 mm;
Urgent with a stop - according to the signs of strong soot deposition and the thickness of its layer of more than 2 mm.

Annual scheduled cleanings are carried out necessarily mechanically (see below). During the autumn, the readiness of the device for the heating season is checked, even if it did not work in the summer: a bird's nest, a tangle of hibernating snakes, or just random garbage can be found in the pipe. In no case should you skip the spring one: over the summer, winter soot in it from heat and precipitation will coke so much that autumn cleaning from a simple inspection will turn into a complex and expensive procedure.

Smoke or flame?

It is usually advised to determine the need to clean the chimney during the operation of the furnace / boiler through the smoke from the chimney: if, they say, white curly, everything is OK. Turned gray, compacted, stretched down - you need to clean it. This is an unreliable sign: the type of smoke from the chimney is highly dependent on weather conditions; You do know that they predict the weather from it, don't you?

The most reliable state of the chimney is determined by the type of flame in the furnace. Fuel must be loaded into it according to the norm; firewood should flare up, i.e. be completely engulfed in flames and charred on the outside. If the stove/boiler is new, correctly designed, built and properly heated, then after they are accelerated (brought to the design capacity by test furnaces), the cores of the flames will turn light yellow, and the tongues themselves will evenly stretch upwards (on the left in the figure). This means that the device has settled down: a layer of soot with a high content of graphite up to 0.5 mm thick has been deposited in its chimney. Such a raid is harmless, and in a brick chimney it is useful, because. makes its walls smoother and enhances traction.

Over time, the cores of the tongues will turn straw yellow and the flame will begin to dance (center in the figure). This is a sign that it is time to start chemical prophylaxis (see below) and carry it out until the flame stretches straight up, remaining straw yellow in the core. If this did not happen after 2-4 fireboxes, you need to burn the aspen or a log for shock dry cleaning. It did not help, the flame faded, turned red at the top and beats in the furnace; especially if it splashes on the forehead of the stove, on the right in fig. - an urgent mechanical cleaning of the chimney with a stop of the device is needed.

Note: by smoke, you can clarify the state of the chimney if the flame does not give a definite answer; e.g. when changing the type of fuel. Provided that you remember (or photographed in good quality) what was the smoke from the chimney of a new or thoroughly cleaned stove in different weather. If it then darkened and thickened in the same one, you need to revise the chimney and, if necessary, clean it.

Chimney cleaners

Chemical and mechanical chimney cleaners have already been mentioned above; this is their set and is limited. "Chemistry against soot" is applicable to non-running (in the sense of care) chimneys with soot deposits no thicker than approx. 2 mm; in other cases, you have to use the mechanics

Chemistry against soot

Chemicals are designed for use by the owners themselves without the involvement of specialists and cope with a thin coating of any soot of any kind. "Chemistry from soot" cleans not only the chimney, but the entire smoke system. For devices with complex thermal circuits (which are just the most economical), this is more than relevant. Prevention against soot loss is also possible only by chemical means. In addition, the “dry cleaning” of the stove is the cleanest in the literal sense: a relatively small amount of cleaned soot falls into the furnace, from where it can be removed without soiling the room; most of the soot burns out and flies out into the chimney.

The action of means for the chemical removal of soot is based on the release of catalysts into the flue gases, which provoke the combustion of its bituminous components. A typical composition of "chemistry from soot":

Amorphous silicon (inhibits, i.e. suppresses the ignition of carbon).
Sawdust (release volatile combustible substances that initiate the ignition of bitumen).
Carbamide (urea) plays the role of saltpeter: when heated, it releases oxygen. Saltpeter itself (any) in this composition cannot be used - in contact with carbon and in the presence of catalysts it can detonate!
Ammonium and sodium sulfates - give catalyst ions.
Charcoal wax - spreading in a layer of soot, provides uniform combustion.

Note: carbamide is also, in principle, an explosive. In the James Bond movie "All World is not enough", under the Western name "urea", a terrorist blows up MI-6. But some kind of Hollywood-style fantastic detonator was used there, and in general it is extremely difficult to make carbamide detonate even in special installations.

Creosote and other bituminous substances are enough even for the most plump soot. After their burnout, non-sticky amorphous carbon and graphite remain, which crumble down. This implies an important disadvantage of chemical soot removers: the chimney must be designed for elevated temperatures. If the upper part of the pipe is laid on a conventional cement mortar or made of asbestos-cement pipe, then the use of chemical soot cleaners can render it completely unusable. And if you try to remove a thick coating of plump or greasy soot with "chemistry", then the probability of its ignition is very high.

Chemical soot removers are available in the form of powder (on the left in the figure), briquettes and logs (in the center and on the right):

Powders are used for prevention; the ratio of ingredients in them is different than in pressed formulations. The powder is sprinkled with the logs loaded into the firebox in layers before kindling according to the instructions attached to the package. The device is started and operated in the normal mode; combustion can be adjusted by supplying air and draft with a gate valve. If you buy a powder recommended for the type of fuel you use, then only planned seasonal cleanings of the chimney listed above will be needed.

A briquette and a log for cleaning the chimney from soot differ only in shape and are used for “impact” unscheduled dry cleaning. They are applied in a different way, because. act only on hot soot: they load standard fuel into the furnace and wait for it to burn out, but not completely go out. Then a cleaning log is thrown into the furnace, its door is closed and the blower with the gate is fully opened. The device is kept “on the blow” for 2-3 hours (more precisely, according to the instructions), i.e. the stove/boiler is getting dry and this load of fuel does not provide useful heat.

Note: how chemical soot removers are used, see the video:

Video: dry cleaning of the chimney

and user reviews about them in the next. roller:

village chemistry

Our ancestors discovered chemical prevention and chimney soot removal long before they hit the market in the form of new chemical technology. Folk remedies for preventing soot deposits in the chimney and cleaning it from it are as follows:

Potato husks - for the prevention of soot, similar to chemical powder;
Table salt - the same;
Aspen firewood - for "shock" cleaning of a small layer of soot.

Potato peels are dried until brittle before being added to the fuel. Soot bitumen burnout catalysts are organic products of joint pyrolysis of starch and solanine alkaloid; solanine is found in the peel, sprout and green areas of the tubers, which is why they are all poisonous. There is even more solanine in the tops of potatoes and other solanaceous (for example, tomatoes), but there is no starch there and they are unsuitable for prevention from soot. Also, products containing only starch, such as rice, are unsuitable, and peeling root crops without alkaloids containing sugars (beets, turnips, etc.) will only aggravate the deposition of soot. In principle, cleaning the root crops of yams, sweet potatoes and taro would fit against soot, but they do not grow here, and where they grow, there is no problem cleaning chimneys due to the lack of need for seasonal heating.

Note: organic bitumen combustion catalysts are more active than mineral ones, therefore removing a lot of plump and greasy soot with potatoes is even more dangerous than with “chemistry”.

During thermal decomposition, table salt releases sodium ions - catalysts, but in the singular without complementary additives, they act weaker. But with salt, you can try to loosen thick, plump and greasy soot without stopping the furnace: if it doesn’t work out, then nothing bad will happen. Just do not expect an instant effect - soot shedding into the firebox begins 1-3 days after heating with salted firewood.

Aspen firewood (see the figure on the right) is used to remove soot at room dryness, i.e. after the woodcutter, they must be kept for at least a month in a dry, heated room. Aspen fuel is low-calorie, but during combustion it develops a high temperature, up to 1200 degrees, which is why it is used to disperse brick ovens. On soot (including thick plump and greasy) the aspen furnace acts purely thermally: the bitumen is heated to fluidity and the soot crumbles. An aspen firebox from soot gives an immediately visible effect, but it is necessary to load aspen firewood into the oven no more than half of the norm (by weight), otherwise the structure of the oven may not withstand overheating.

Note: about "village" ways to prevent soot in the chimney and remove it from there, see the video:

Video: folk methods for cleaning soot

Means for mechanical cleaning

Mechanical cleaning of the chimney is carried out, firstly, in the order of its scheduled inspection and care in the fall and spring. Secondly, if urgent cleaning is required during the heating season with a furnace/boiler shutdown, because Mechanical cleaning while the instrument is running is not possible. Mechanical cleaning is laborious; a lot of dirt gets into the room. It is not possible to clean the furnace/boiler mechanically together with the chimney. Mechanical prevention from soot is also impossible: mechanical cleaning of the chimney is carried out only upon the fact of its contamination. When cleaning by mechanical means, the probability of damage to the chimney is not small. But on the other hand, by mechanical means it is possible to remove the oldest soot, even completely tightening the pipe lumen, without risking its ignition and / or overheating of the device.

Note: machine cleaning of the chimney (briefly described above) is the lot of professionals, because. keep at home in reserve just in case resp. installation is pointless. If an ordinary householder dares to clean the chimney himself, he will have to do it manually.

Above or below?

Mechanical devices clean the chimney from above (from the roof) or from below (from the furnace / boiler furnace). Upper cleaning may not give dirt to the room at all, because. most of it is removed outside, but it is traumatic and is possible only under favorable weather conditions. From above, as a rule, the chimney is cleaned in the order of the autumn-spring revision. After the bottom cleaning, the room will be full of soot, but climbing to the roof is not necessary. Therefore, an urgent / emergency winter cleaning of the chimney is carried out from below with the device shutting down. The working body of a manual cleaning tool in either case will be a ruff or brush.

Ruffs…

Cleaning the chimney with a ruff is the most accurate; it is strongly recommended to clean sandwich chimneys by hand only with a ruff. But cleaning with a ruff is also the most time-consuming: on average, a planned cleaning of a pipe 4 m long takes 40 minutes, and an urgent one takes more than an hour. Light gray and old gray soot is unlikely to be removed with a ruff.

They clean the chimney with a ruff most often without rotation; in this case, the working body is fixed on a long flexible cable in a slippery sheath (on the left in the figure). They clean the pipe with a ruff, shaving it up and down; the cleaned soot is poured wherever it is necessary. The awns (bristle) of the ruff can be steel or plastic. Steel ruff cleans both plump and greasy soot, but scratches the pipe. A plastic brush in greasy soot sticks or slides on it, but it can clean not only a sandwich, but also cast ceramics and glass. However, now more and more chimney brushes with awns of propylene fishing line for lawn mowers are coming into use, they combine the advantages of steel and plastic brushes, without their shortcomings.

Note: a ruff with awns made of hard, rigid, thick steel wire (see the figure on the right), the so-called. bastard, is used in exceptional cases for cleaning thick-walled steel chimneys, but scratches them so that then soot deposition accelerates significantly.

A ruff-brush (pos. A in the previous figure) for 2-3 turns is also called single or clean: they alone can only remove not thick fresh puffy soot, and from others it only rakes out the remnants loosened and / or softened by chemical or hydrocleaning. A clean ruff does not pass through the breaks in the chimney - there are few awns, they are crushed and do not hold the rod, which rests on the break.

One and a half ruff for 4-5 turns (pos. B) is the most common, because. it picks up plump, greasy and not old-fashioned gray soot and passes through kinks at least 120 degrees. However, they have to play tricks even with planned seasonal cleaning for up to an hour or more. A one-and-a-half ruff is also called a poltorashka and is often attached to a ball cleaner (see below), which is also called a poltorashka. Full brush for 6 or more turns (pos. B) is suitable for cleaning only straight pipes, incl. boom (also see below), but reduces the working time by approx. 1.5 times compared with one and a half.

…and brushes

A chimney brush differs from a ruff in that its awns stick out in bunches without forming spiral surfaces. Therefore, the brush can clean the chimney with rotation: the awns do not crumple or cut into the soot and do not get stuck in it.

Brushes for manual chimney cleaning (see fig.) are not the same as for machine brushes (see fig. above), and replacing manual brushes with machine ones is unacceptable: a machine brush must rotate much faster than a manual one, and you will ruin the chimney with your hands more than you will scrape off soot . Brushes for manual cleaning of conventional chimneys are produced with a through axial hole for mounting in one and a half (pos. and 2 in the figure) or with a threaded tip for installation on flexible rods (pos. 3) for cleaning from below or from above, or on a rigid rod for cleaning only from above. Both of them do not differ in length, arrangement of awns and action, but the drum brush for sandwich chimneys is arranged differently, pos. 4. It is not recommended to replace it with a simple one, because otherwise, the thin-walled pipe can be damaged by the brush core or the load of one and a half.

Note: working with a manual brush on the bar, watch where you twist. If the brush unscrews and remains in the chimney, it will be difficult to remove it back.

Bottom cleaning...

Not a chimney sweep with your own hands most often has to clean the chimney from below - in winter, urgently, when the roof is snowy and / or icy and calling a specialist is too expensive or even problematic. For lower cleaning, a ruff (better if it takes soot) or a brush is screwed onto a rod and, building up the unit with them, gradually push it into the chimney until the working body leaves the mouth of the pipe (this is well felt). Suddenly it gets stuck - carefully poke around and twist: flexible rods with a one-and-a-half ruff go through a break from 120 degrees, and with a brush from 90 degrees.

If you work with a ruff, then you need not to quickly shove to full length, stepping back and coming up again until the soot stops pouring in a stream. Be patient: an hour and a half to clean the bottom of a 4-meter chimney with a ruff is still fast.

If for the sake of speed you work with a brush, the next stage is the most interesting. A regular handle is placed on the last rod, or the end of the rod is fixed in the drill chuck. The tool is switched to the right (direct) rotation, so that the rods seem to be screwed into each other and into the brush, the speed control is set to 2-4 clicks from zero and moves back, rotating the entire system. One pass is probably enough, because. in winter, soot cokes slowly, but how much it will fly into the room ... you can imagine, but you don’t have to. And if it comes to such an extreme, you will see for yourself. Therefore, carpets, furniture and everything valuable from the room must be taken out in advance, and the walls should be hung with a film, fastened with tape. It is difficult to hang the ceiling, so plan to re-whiten it in the spring, and it is better to remove the false ceiling: stove soot tightly eats into all finishing materials.

…and above

Two scheduled cleanings a year will save you at least 20 thousand rubles, so let's see how the chimney is cleaned mechanically from the roof. This can be done with a brush on the rod(s), and a ball (one and a half) with a ruff, depending on the type of soot and the degree of contamination of the chimney.

Dense gray soot builds up and the pipe lumen narrows slowly, so in this case it is better to brush. Cleaning is done in reverse: the brush, without rotating, is slowly inserted into the chimney channel, trying to bring down as little soot as possible (pos. 1 in the figure), and then faster and rotating it is pulled up (pos. 2), pulling the soot out. If the firebox and blower of the stove are closed, and the fireplace portal is tightly hung, nothing will get into the room, but carpets, furniture and valuables still need to be taken out in advance.

The chimney brush will not quickly take soot in the corners of a rectangular channel; square brushes are nothing more than a marketing ploy. To speed up the work, the corners can be cleaned with a hard household or locksmith brush on a pole, pos. 3, but the remnants of soot will then fall down and it will take more to rake them out of the furnace. For the same purpose, a thick, dense and / or lumpy coating of soot is loosened with a hook (pos. 4) before using the brush; they also remove foreign objects.

A special case is the cleaning of a ceramic chimney. Soot adheres poorly to cast ceramics, but sharp scratches on its inner surface, no matter how small, accelerate its deposition and adhesion to the base to the point that an expensive chimney begins to require replacement. Therefore, ceramic chimneys are cleaned with a special so-called. smooth brush with blades made of steel spirals, pos. 5.

Note: light gray, old or greasy soot from a round steel chimney is more convenient, faster and cleaner to remove with a disc scraper, see video:

Video: a simple and effective pipe cleaning method

And if you joke?

If you don’t feel sorry for the time and labor for cleaning, and the chimney is straight, then you can clean it with a half-and-a-half round-trip method. Soot will also get into the room a little, but the risk of damaging the chimney channel is the least. Very dense soot lends itself to a poltorashka from above, almost completely or completely tightening the pipe lumen, because. the load (ball) of the device is involved in cleaning, breaking and loosening soot deposits; ruff removes it more and brings it down. To do this, they use the shock method: they lift the one and a half on a cable and throw it. For these reasons, the chimney sweeps of the past preferred to work with one and a half and were depicted with it.

You can make one and a half chimney cleaners with your own hands by buying only a ruff and / or a brush for it. But it is not worth using a sports weight as a load: it can get stuck in the channel (see the figure below), which will almost certainly result in damage to the chimney and increased soot deposition in it in the future. How the poltorashka is correctly arranged, see in the same fig.

Note: about cleaning the chimney with a homemade one and a half, see the video:

Regular cleaning of chimneys of stoves and fireplaces from soot is a mandatory procedure, regardless of the frequency of use of the heater. For these events, modern chemicals, proven over the years folk remedies and special mechanical methods are suitable.

The choice of the most effective technique depends on the level of contamination of the chimney channels and the desire of homeowners to do everything on their own or, in the full sense of the word, without getting their hands dirty, entrust the work to professionals.

Are you planning to get rid of the burning yourself, but do not know which method to use? We will help you decide on the tactics of action. The article provides a detailed overview of the most effective methods, indicates the reasons for the rapid clogging of the chimney and indicates the timing of the cleaning activities.

Chimney clogging is a natural process that occurs as a result of combustion. Only part of the fuel, breaking up into fractions, acquires a gaseous form and goes out into the atmosphere as an emission.

Other fragments with a heavier, denser structure take the form of soot deposits and settle on the inner surface of the pipeline, over time significantly worsening its throughput.

The chimney coming out of the roof must be closed with a special windproof cap. Then, during the period of seasonal downtime, a bird or wasp nest will not be built there, and in winter leaves, branches, ice and other foreign elements will not get inside

The use of firewood from coniferous trees provokes clogging of channels. Viscous resinous substances, contained in excess in the composition, form a powerful adhesive base and help retain soot deposits on it.

Such contamination is difficult to prep clean and requires careful removal by means of mechanical devices.

Household garbage, packaging containers, remnants of old furniture, textiles and other items that are not a fuel resource by definition emit caustic ether complexes, heavy carcinogens and resinous compounds during combustion.

Therefore, burning in the furnace or fireplace of such human waste negatively affects the operation of heating equipment of any class.

All of them in the form of a dense, viscous sediment cover the inner surface of the pipes and create conditions for retaining soot, soot and soot. The channel through which the gaseous elements escape into the atmosphere narrows to a minimum, the draft overturns, and part of the smoke enters the living room.

The temperature in the room drops and the use of heating equipment becomes dangerous due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

They accelerate the clogging of the chimney channel with deposits of firewood from a recently sawn, damp forest.

If the current moisture content of a log exceeds 12%, it is strictly forbidden to throw it into the firebox immediately. It is necessary to dry it thoroughly in a warm room for at least 1 week.

A damp log reduces the level of heat transfer by 35%, contributes to the rapid clogging of the smoke exhaust system, and eventually disables it.

Method #3 - Aspen wood to remove soot

Stoking a stove or fireplace with aspen wood is a simple and fairly effective cleaning procedure. Its convenience lies in the fact that no additional actions need to be performed. It is enough to place a wood-burning bookmark in the firebox, light a fire and wait for its complete combustion.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

An interesting way to clean pipes that does not require climbing to the roof - simple, modern and effective.

Regular cleaning of pipes and chimney channels is a very necessary and useful procedure. It has a beneficial effect on the general condition of the heating system, restores the traction properties of the equipment and contributes to the economical use of the resource.

Preventive measures can be carried out as needed on their own, strictly adhering to the instructions for the drugs and the safety rules. In case of clogging or other more serious problems, it is better to use the services of experienced professionals.

Do you have personal experience with cleaning a stove or fireplace chimney? Please tell readers what soot removal method you have used. Leave comments, ask questions and participate in discussions - the feedback form is located below.

If thick black smoke comes out of the chimney, the volume of fuel burned has increased, the stove smokes, then you should think about cleaning the chimney, as well as about doing it yourself or calling a specialist. In this article, we will talk in detail about how to clean a chimney in a private house and why it is needed at all.

The profession of a chimney sweep has long been in demand, and it has not lost its relevance in our time. We are talking not only about old buildings with, but also about modern estates and cottages that have.

Why does the chimney get clogged and what does it lead to

Combustion is a rather complex process. During the combustion of fuel, various reactions occur, in which the fuel decomposes into many components, most of which in the form of hot gas go outside through the chimney, maintaining traction. Unburned non-decomposable substances settle on the walls of the chimney.

This happens for various reasons, which may include the use of resinous wood for the firebox, burning garbage, the design of the chimney using a large number of bends, or subject to condensation.

Soot, mixed with oils and resins contained in wood, is combustible in itself. When it ignites, the temperature of the fire can reach 1000 degrees. Therefore, the formation of a large soot in the pipe can lead to the most serious consequences both for the house and for the health and life of its inhabitants. These consequences include:

You can tell when your stove's chimney needs cleaning by looking at the smoke from the chimney or the fire. The darker the smoke, the more soot. The color of the flame approaching orange also signals pollution.

In order not to get into a dangerous situation, you need to regularly monitor the condition of the chimney. Very often, special inspection windows are provided in the pipes, through which the condition of the chimney can be assessed.

It is necessary to monitor the condition of galvanized pipes of heating boilers at least once a year. If the chimney is made of brick, then the audit must be carried out 2-3 times a year, with the change of seasons.

Chimney cleaning methods, tools and fixtures

There are several methods for cleaning the chimney pipe in private homes. All these methods, as a rule, do not cause difficulties for independent use. However, we do not advise you to clean the chimney yourself if you are not sure of your abilities, or the condition of the chimney leaves much to be desired due to wear and tear.

Mechanical cleaning method

The mechanical method is the most effective and time-tested method. Remember how in the old days they portrayed a chimney sweep? The main tool of his labor is a long stick with a brush at the end. In our time, no fundamental changes have occurred, except that the tools and devices are adapted to real conditions.

Cleaning is desirable to carry out in the warm season, in the absence of wind. Before directly cleaning the chimney, close all the openings of the stove in the room, so soot will not enter the room. An open hearth or fireplace is enough to completely cover with a wet rag. On the roof, be sure to secure yourself with a safety cable. Feet must be firmly supported.

Tool used for cleaning:

Scraper, which is used if the soot layer is too thick.
Metal ruff. They are lowered into the pipe with the help of a cable, sometimes a weighting agent in the form of a core is attached from below. Such a device (total weight of at least 9 kg) passes through the entire pipe, cleaning off soot.
Stiff bristle brushes with flexible holder. Used for square and rectangular pipes.
Core or weight. Use if a blockage has formed due to accumulated debris or collapsed masonry.

It is also possible to clean the pipe from the inside of the room, if the design allows, and the entrance to the roof is difficult. Of the tools, a ruff on a flexible holder is used. The disadvantage of this method is that the soot falls down and it is necessary to protect the furniture and surfaces with a tarp. Professional chimney sweeps in such cases use a special "vacuum cleaner" to collect soot. Also, cleaning from the inside of the room is used in the presence of bends in the chimney.

If there are no special tools for cleaning in the arsenal, you can make them yourself. So, for example, you can make a full-fledged brush from an ordinary plastic bottle. The video provides detailed instructions:

Chemical cleaning method

It is used to prevent contamination of chimneys. Agree that it is better to use this method once or twice a year than to bring the state of the chimney to a deplorable state.

Chemical cleaning agents are a special powder or briquette, which, when burned, forms a specific gas that destroys soot. The soot accumulated in the chimney simply crumbles from the walls and is removed along with the ash. These methods are very effective for ceramic chimneys or stainless steel pipes.

Chemistry can be divided into three groups:

Paper bags with granulated substances of Czech production. Laid together with firewood. Remove dirt up to 2mm thick.
Briquette in the form of a log. Can be used with firewood or burned separately. Softens soot and facilitates mechanical cleaning.
Powder, analogue of the Czech cleaner, but Russian-made.

Chemical cleaning methods will be ineffective if the deposit is already too large and can only be removed mechanically. Therefore, as mentioned above, such funds are effective only as a preventive measure.

Folk methods for cleaning chimneys

If the pollution is not too great, then you can use one of the popular methods for cleaning the chimney. It will not be possible to remove old deposits, but as a preventive measure, these methods have proven themselves on the positive side.

Salt. Once a week, add regular table salt (100-200g) to the firewood. It interacts with water in burning wood and releases an acid that binds soot and prevents it from settling on the walls. Do not use if you have a metal pipe as this will corrode it.
Starch. When burning potato slices and their peels, starch is released, which decomposes soot, but "potato raw materials" must be burned at least a bucket at a time. You can also use other products containing starch (peas, beans).
Alder, aspen or walnut shell. Aspen, alder or walnut shell firewood burns very hot. The high temperature simply burns the soot formed. With good draft, black flakes will fly out of the pipe, and then crumble into the furnace for several days. This method is effective, but can cause a fire.

Recommendations for owners of houses with stove heating

Do not burn household waste in the stove, especially polyethylene and plastic - these are very toxic components, the combustion products of which cover the walls of the fireplace or stove with viscous chemical compounds.
Coniferous firewood emits more resinous substances that settle on the walls and “attract” soot to itself. It is best to use deciduous trees for the firebox.
Raw wood contributes to the formation of more condensate and soot.
At the end of the firebox, burn a bunch of aspen branches. At the same time, watch for sparks that may fly out of the pipe to avoid fire.
Regularly check the chimney for blockages, use a dummy lid when not stoking the fireplace.
It is advisable to clean the wood-burning stove before each heating season mechanically and carry out preventive maintenance by chemical cleaning once every one and a half to two months per season. If the stove or fireplace is used from time to time, then it is enough to carry out chemical prophylaxis twice a year.
When designing chimneys, try to avoid too many bends. Each bend in the pipe worsens traction and contributes to more soot formation.

With the development of technology, the so-called sandwich chimneys began to win the championship in the market. They are a round galvanized pipe, inside which a smaller diameter pipe is installed, and the space is filled with a layer of refractory insulation.

Such pipes have better traction due to smooth walls that prevent soot from settling on them, as well as due to insulation, which prevents the formation of condensate in the pipe. These pipes can even be used in brick ovens, using a brick chimney as a decorative element containing a working galvanized pipe inside. Such a pipe will be much easier to clean and maintain.

For a long time, the services of chimney sweeps were offered by the All-Russian Voluntary Fire Society, but now many private firms have appeared.

Benefits of professional services:

Availability of special equipment.
Great experience, high quality and guarantee.
Fast and efficient.

It is necessary to clean chimneys in a private house regularly, combining cleaning methods. If possible, it is best to trust the experts - this is a guarantee of your safety and fire prevention.

Finally, we offer a visual look at several ways to independently clean the chimney: