How to clean the chimney from soot folk remedies?

It is impossible to imagine a house that is located outside the city or in the village, without a fireplace or stove. First of all, it is warmth, comfort, and indeed, stoves and fireplaces perform a large number of functions, including today they are full-fledged interior items. But not many people know that they are clogged and that they need to be cleaned. Moreover, few people know how to clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies. If you have already thought about such a need, we have specially gathered all the information that can help clean the chimney from soot.

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Why is it necessary to clean the chimney?

During fuel combustion, soot is released in the heater. All warm air rises with soot up, where it settles on the surfaces of the walls of the chimney. With the passage of soot accumulates, and its layer becomes more powerful and more powerful. This by itself leads to rather unpleasant consequences:

• The channel for the exit of smoke narrows, which entails a decrease in draft.
• The wear resistance of the chimney walls drops.
• The efficiency of the heating apparatus decreases.
• More and more painfully increases the likelihood of fire inside the chimney channel.

It is possible to prevent trouble only if timely high-quality cleaning of the chimney from all accumulated soot is carried out.

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Folk remedies

Folk remedies are very popular today for solving various tasks of home care. The main reason for this trend is their rather high efficiency, affordability and optimal price. There are various ways to use improvised means and in order to clean the chimney from soot.

Method 1

The most common substance that helps to eliminate accumulated soot in the chimney channel is rock salt. As a rule, it is filled up with wood during their burning.

Important! A similar option can only be considered as prevention in the formation of soot. Radically, this method will not be able to clean the pipe.

Method 2

A more effective substance for cleaning chimneys is potato peeling or just chopped potatoes in half. The amount of potatoes is determined by the size of the heating apparatus, but as a rule, it takes about 1 bucket.

Pour cleanings straight into the fire. Starch, which is released along with steam softens the soot, as a result of which it leaves the chimney. Clean the oven after the procedure.

Important! Sometimes a similar operation is carried out before starting mechanical cleaning, which is much easier as a result.

Method 3

Another good option to clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies are aspen firewood. Burn a small number of bunches of such firewood in an oven.

However, do not forget that this is a somewhat dangerous method, because it involves heating the chimney to sufficiently high temperatures at which soot begins to burn out. Before using this method, make sure how durable your chimney is.

Important! Soot deposits should not be large, otherwise - even the most durable chimney can not withstand the load and can collapse.

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Flue duct mechanical cleaning

The recommendations for cleaning the chimney from deposited soot determine the exact sequence of work:

1. Close the cleaning holes tightly, otherwise the soot will fly into the room.
2. The firebox door must also be closed.In case it is supposed to clean the open fireplace, close the firebox with a damp cloth.
3. Climb to the roof. Be sure to use insurance and do not try to clean the chimney from soot in bad weather, because there is too much risk of falling down.
4. Inspect the flue duct. In the event that the deposited soot layer is less than 2 mm, it is better to postpone mechanical cleaning and use one of the above options.
5. Check for debris or foreign objects inside the chimney. Take them out or push them with a stick further in order to remove them from below.
6. For a start, clean a dense layer of soot with a scraper.
7. After that, take a ruff or a brush, the diameter of which is slightly larger than the diameter of the chimney and work with them.
8. If you find a blockage in the chimney, use a special core. This is a fairly heavy metal ball, which must be fixed to the cable.
9. Trying not to touch the walls of the chimney, throw it in the very center of the channel. You can also use it to make a brush or a brush heavier.

Important! In no case should you use sports weights or other objects whose center of gravity is displaced as the core. They are able to roll over, as a result of which they get stuck in the chimney. And they can be removed only after the complete dismantling of the structure.

10. As soon as the flue channel is clean, you can open all the cleaning holes and remove dirt and soot from them.
11. After that, clean the firebox and blow it.

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Cleaning an open fireplace with a direct chimney

Open type fireplaces that are equipped with straight chimneys can be cleaned not only from below, but also from above, from the side of the firebox. To carry out such manipulations, use a special metal brush, which is equipped with a stackable compound handle.

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How to determine that the chimney needs to be cleaned?

Practice shows that a well-built fireplace or stove, which was handled correctly all the time, has been working without cleaning the smoke exhaust channel for several years. With all this, pay special attention directly to the fuel.

Important! You cannot burn garbage, plastic bags or plastic bottles in the fireplace.

However, firewood can also clog the chimney, especially if you heat the stove with raw logs or use tarry spruce or pine as the main fuel. It will be best if you heat dry logs that have been lying for at least a year and a half.

The main symptoms of a clogged pipe and that it is time to clean the chimney from soot with folk or mechanical means can be easily noticed:

• First of all, the color of the smoke changes. If the chimney is completely clean, it will be light, transparent or white. The accumulated soot gradually begins to burn, which changes the color of the outgoing smoke. It becomes denser and darker.
• The shade of flame inside the furnace is also likely to change. Under normal conditions, it will be approximately light orange. If a very saturated shade of dark orange appears, it means that it's time to think about how to clean the chimney.

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Cleaning Quality Control

Methods for cleaning flue ducts using chemistry often do not cause people much confidence. There is an understanding of the important point that the quality of such cleaning is noticeably inferior to the quality that professional chimney sweeps can provide. In addition, upon completion of their work, experts always conduct quality control of their work, as well as a general analysis of the condition of your chimney. To do this, they use special tools, for example, a mirror.

Serious companies working in this field, various service centers, for the purpose of quality control use special cameras that have a backlight function. Using this camera, they can fully assess the quality of the work done and eliminate all the shortcomings, if of course there are any.

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Useful Tips

If you decide to nevertheless perform such work as cleaning the chimney from soot, with your own hands, be sure to adhere to these rules:

1. When choosing a method, be sure to take into account the amount of deposits that has accumulated on the walls of the flue channel.
2. All work, and this is mechanical cleaning, preliminary work, can be done with your own hands, combining various options, technologies and tools.
3. Read the instructions carefully and follow them very strictly.
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   Stock footage

As you can see, the process of cleaning the chimney by folk methods is not so complicated, so try to keep it always clean and tidy. Then the stove will delight you with its excellent traction, a sufficiently long service life, warmth and comfort in the house.