How to Clean Your Fireplace Flute
If your fireplace is properly maintained all-year long, you can expect it to be efficient and safe to use for as long as you want. While many property owners are not aware of it, unkempt flues or chimneys are ever-present fire and health hazards. Over time, a tar-like substance called creosote builds up inside the flue, which could lead to fire or carbon monoxide leakage into the home. As such, it’s vital to regularly clean the flue to avoid such problems and to guarantee proper functioning of the fireplace. You can hire professionals to perform the task or make it a DIY job to save some dollars. If you prefer the latter, just make sure that you know how to clean your fireplace flue.How to Clean Your Fireplace Flue the DIY Way
Most fireplace flues are constructed with enough space to allow for DIY cleanups. If your own fireplace is built this way, then you should be fine cleaning it yourself. If you’ve determined that the creosote buildup is already 1/8 inch or ¼ inch thick, then get your tools ready and follow these steps on how to clean your fireplace flue, DIY-style:- Prepare your cleaning tools. You will be using brushes to do the job. The rule is to use brush with plastic bristles if your flue’s liner is made of metal liner and brush with metal bristles if it’s made of clay. You should also have a shop vacuum, plastic or canvas tarp, poly sheet, dust mask, safety harness, flashlight, and drop cloth.
- Secure your interior. You don’t want the soot or creosote that you’ll remove or brush away to reach your interior where things will surely be messy, right? As such, you must place plastic or canvas tarp from the hearth down to the floor in front of the fireplace. The top of the fireplace must be lined with poly sheeting while a shop vacuum hose must be installed so the dirt will be easily collected. Make sure to place the vacuum outside and to properly seal everything (specifically the areas where you placed the poly sheeting) with duct tape to prevent soot from escaping.
- Begin cleaning. You could work from top-down by brushing the flue liner with the appropriate flue brush. Do this task section by section, carefully adding rods until the entire flue length has been cleaned. Then, proceed to the smoke chamber from inside the house and thoroughly brush the smoke chamber and smoke shelf. The firebox must also be cleaned and vacuumed to achieve best results.
Safe Fireplace Flue Cleaning
There are some important things to consider when cleaning the fireplace flue. First is to learn the right methods on how to clean your fireplace flue. As mentioned, you must protect your interiors from getting all covered with removed soot by placing tarp or poly sheeting. You should wear safety harness when working from the top of your chimney and dust mask, so you won’t accidentally inhale the creosote and dust from your flue. If possible, you could also wear work gloves and goggles to be fully protected against possible injuries. When done right, cleaning fireplace flues can be a fun DIY job that you can do with the help of your family or friends."MORE ARTICLES"
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