How to choose and use a chimney cleaner

About the prevention of the chimney pipe

In the process of development, heating systems became more and more perfect. Empirically, some techniques have been developed to significantly reduce the formation of soot, such as:

1. Chimney insulation.This is done in the following ways: by plastering the surface of brick pipes; covering the outer surface with various rolled or plate heaters, followed by the installation of protection from foil film, metal sheet and other materials; the use of special insulated blocks with ceramic pipes for the chimney device; protective devices for sheltering the outlet of the chimney from debris and nesting birds; the use of two-layer "sandwich pipes" made of metal with a layer of insulation.

The purpose of all these measures is to create conditions for rapid heating of the smoke channel, as a result of which the dew point in the process rises higher, up to the release into the environment.

1. The greatest amount of soot is formed on the bends of the chimney, therefore, no more than one elbow should be used in the design if it is absolutely necessary to change its direction.
2. When installing a chimney, it is mandatory to scrape the inner surface in order to reduce the number of irregularities that contribute to the deposition of soot.
3. The use of chemical or biological methods for cleaning the inner surface of chimneys during combustion.

Which chimney cleaning methods to choose

Methods for cleaning chimneys and chimneys are quite diverse, from folk methods, proven for centuries, to modern ones based on scientific developments. Let's take a closer look at all of them.

Folk remedies

Our ancestors knew well the characteristics of different types of wood. Coniferous firewood contains a large amount of resins emitted along with smoke. Poorly dried, damp wood smolders, gives off little heat, and at the same time emits water vapor, which settles on the walls of the pipe, fastening loose soot into a monolith.Best of all, dry hardwood firewood is suitable for burning stoves: birch, alder, aspen. They burn with increased heat transfer, practically do not give soot and soot and do not clog the pipe.

To clean the chimney in the old days, aspen firewood was used, burning with the formation of a high hot flame. When the walls of the chimney are heated, the soot loosens and burns out, and its remnants are carried out through the chimney along with the smoke. Many modern pipe cleaning methods are based on the same principle, which are described below. For the prevention and periodic cleaning of the chimney, you can use this old method by throwing several dry aspen logs into the heated firebox. At the same time, it is necessary to observe fire safety and prevent overheating of pipes.

Another interesting folk chimney cleaning method is to burn dried potato peels. When they are burned with smoke, substances are released that loosen the soot and make it easy to remove it through the cleaning holes.

Video - a folk method for cleaning the chimney

Folk methods are interesting, but sometimes ineffective, especially when a blockage has already formed. In this case, it is more reasonable to resort to chemical cleaning of pipes.

Chemical cleaning of the chimney

Furnace stores offer a large selection of various products that allow you to clean the chimney from soot without any hassle. These products come in the form of powders, tablets, liquids or briquettes that mimic logs or pellets. Their use is quite simple: you need to put the package in a stove or fireplace and burn it, together with firewood or separately. Detailed instructions are usually indicated on the package, as is the dosage.

Powder cleaners are usually packaged in single-dose sachets, depending on the degree of contamination of the pipe and chimney, one or more bags may be needed. They are thrown into the fire after kindling the furnace, without opening. The appearance of a blue or green flame indicates that the product is working and releasing chemically active substances that break down soot and plaque.

Means for chemical chimney cleaning

Cleaning pellets or logs are more convenient to use, they are simply placed in a fireplace or stove right in the package and set on fire, after which they continue to burn the stove for one to two hours. During this time, the resins and creosote that hold the soot in the chimney decompose, and small particles are carried out with the smoke, and large blockages fall down. Therefore, after cleaning and cooling the furnace, it is recommended to inspect the smoke channel through the doors specially designed for this.

Cleaning the chimney to prevent blockages is carried out several times a year. If the oven is used no more than once a week, it is enough to use these products a couple of times a year. With the daily burning of the stove or the use of low-quality firewood, prevention is carried out more often, once every two months, without waiting for the chimney to become overgrown with soot.

Mechanical cleaning of the chimney

In case of serious blockages caused by a strong narrowing of the lumen or debris entering the pipe, chemical agents may be powerless. The operation of the stove becomes impossible and very dangerous - deposits on the walls of the chimney ignite when overheated, and together with the smoke, sparks or even flames escape from the chimney. In dry weather, this can cause a fire.If there is no draft at all in your stove, and the smoke goes inside the room, it must be cleaned mechanically, using a special tool.

Devices designed to clean the chimney from soot and soot are very diverse: these are brushes, scrapers, ruffs of various configurations and sizes, as well as cores on a strong cable that break through dense blockages. They can be purchased at specialized stores or made by hand.

Video - how to make a ruff for cleaning the chimney with your own hands

Chimney cleaning is usually carried out from top to bottom: they break through blockages in the chimney, clean it with scrapers, ruffs and brushes, after which they clean the smoke channels through the cleaning doors, and lastly clean the dampers and the firebox itself, as well as the ash pan. Chimney pipes of a simple configuration can be cleaned from below, using ruff on a long handle. How to clean the chimney mechanically is described below.

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 application. 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 lower it 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.

Mechanical way to clean the chimney

Mechanical cleaning consists in removing soot using a metal ruff, which is inserted into the chimney and, making rotational and translational movements, scrape off the soot from the surface of the chimney. The method has several advantages: it is effective against blockages and hard deposits, it is cheap and quite simple, and does not require special knowledge and skills. At the same time, manually cleaning the chimney through the pipe is a rather dangerous task, because you have to climb onto the roof.

What is ersh?

This is a twisted cable with steel wire, equipped with a twisting handle on one side and a wire or plastic nozzle on the other. The length of the cable can be different and depends on the length of the chimney. The ruff is introduced into the pipe forward with a nozzle, while rotating its handle. In this case, the rotation is transferred to the nozzle, and it mechanically scrapes off the soot layer from the pipe walls.

Chimney brush

How to clean a chimney with a ruff:

Fully open all latches and vents that block draft in your stove or fireplace. Place a container for soot under the chimney at the mouth of the stove or in the fireplace insert - there will be quite a lot of it. In order not to stain the furniture and floors in the room, an open fireplace insert can be curtained with an unnecessary cloth.
Observing safety precautions and using a safety belt, climb to the roof. Remove the cap from the pipe

Carefully insert the cleaning cable into the pipe and try to push it some distance.Rotate the handle on the cable at the same time

If the length of the chimney is more than 3 meters, it is more convenient to do it together - one person directs the cable into the pipe, the second rotates the handle, standing at a certain distance.

If the cable does not pass through the gap of the pipe in any place, it is necessary to determine where it is stuck - at a bend in the pipe or in a straight section. If the pipe in this place does not have turns, most likely, a serious blockage has formed there. It can be pierced with a weight tied to a rope, lowering it into the pipe rather sharply.

It is necessary to clean the chimney using this method until the moment when soot stops pouring from the chimney into the furnace. After cleaning, check the draft with a lit newspaper - it should improve significantly.
It is necessary to clean the chimney using this method until the moment when soot stops pouring from the chimney into the furnace. After cleaning, check the draft with a lit newspaper - it should improve significantly.

It is sometimes impossible to clean a Russian stove with a complex chimney, including several turns at an angle of 90 degrees, with a ruff through a pipe from the roof - the length of such a chimney is quite large, and the ruff stubbornly does not want to go through the turns. In this case, it is possible to combine pipe cleaning with mechanical cleaning of the chimney.

Is it possible to clean a complex winding chimney with a ruff?

Of course you can, to do this, follow these instructions clearly:

1. Inspect the oven carefully. On its side and back walls you will find doors designed for cleaning the chimney. They may be smeared or painted over, but they will need to be opened. Place a bucket or other container under each door.

2. Change the standard nozzle on the ruff to a plastic bottle, cut in half and slightly notched around the circumference so that you get a "chamomile". You can fix it like this: the ends of the wire, acting as a ruff, must be collected in a bundle, passed through a cork with a hole previously made in it and bent. Screw the cork onto the bottle. The plastic brush is much softer than the metal brush and goes through the turns better, and by using different bottle sizes you will be able to gradually clear all the turns.

3. Enter the resulting device into the chimney from the side of the firebox and push it as deep as possible, rotating and from time to time extracting it along with the soot that has fallen into the bottle. Clean the chimney until the amount of soot is reduced to negligible. Also clean the chimney from the side of all doors.

4. Open all dampers and clean the chimney from the roof as described above. If you do this before cleaning the chimney, you can seriously clog it, as there is simply nowhere for soot to fall.
5. Once again, clean the chimney from the side of the firebox. Sweep away soot with a brush, including from latches and views. Close all doors on the rear and side walls and check the draft with a newspaper or a torch. With good draft, light the stove with a small amount of wood. If the doors for cleaning the chimney are smoking, cover them with a solution of clay and sand.

Sometimes, instead of doors for cleaning the chimney, stove-makers install removable bricks. It is not recommended to remove and install them yourself without special skills; it is better to contact specialists to clean such an oven.

How to clean the oven from soot yourself

It is recommended to clean the chimney, grates and wells of the furnace in the summer. Any parts can be cleaned both manually and with special tools. It all depends on how heavily clogged the oven is. Getting down to business, it is necessary to fully open the damper and tightly close the doors of the blower and firebox.

Removal of carbon black from the chimney

To clean the chimney of soot, you can use folk remedies, such as rock salt. She is thrown into the furnace when firewood is already burning in it. The salt will help push the soot out of the chimney, but is unlikely to clean the chimney perfectly. Instead, in order to achieve a better result, it is better to use potato skins.

To remove soot from the chimney, a bucket of cleaners is usually enough. Potato peel is required to be poured directly into the fire. The starch that rises with the evaporated vapor softens the soot, causing it to come out of the chimney on its own.

And yet, the chimney is much better cleaned by special chemicals in the form of powders, liquids or briquettes. They are also laid in the firebox in the process of burning firewood. Burning, chemicals destroy the soot deposited on the walls of the pipe and at the same time do not harm a person. Usually, an anti-lime chemical composition is used as a means for cleaning the chimney.

Soot can be removed mechanically from the chimney. To do this, you need to perform certain actions:

• climb onto the roof using the ladder;
• inspect the pipe walls and decide whether they need to be cleaned, because it is advisable to do this only if the thickness of the deposits is at least 2 mm;
• check if there is debris in the chimney, which must be removed with a stick;
• remove soot in the upper part of the pipe with a scraper;
• in the middle and at the bottom of the chimney, remove soot with a large-diameter ruff.

The master uses a ruff, the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the pipe

Well cleaning

Wells, that is, chimneys in the furnace cavity, are supposed to be cleaned every 3 years. These structural elements are usually located on three sides stove, but not in the place where the stove is installed. The wells are located next to the bricks, lying on an edge and being a kind of doors.

Cleaning of chimneys in the cavity of the furnace is carried out in several stages:

• plaster is removed from the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe wells;
• halves of bricks are taken out;
• wells are cleaned of light gray ash using a scoop;
• the removed bricks are returned to their place and covered with a solution that dries quickly.

Wiping the grates

Cast iron products are brittle, so they must not be hit during cleaning, otherwise cracks will not be avoided. To remove ash and soot from the grate in the furnace, you need to use a thin L-shaped rod

It is important to carry out this work only at the hour when the oven has already cooled down. Ignoring this rule can lead to the destruction of the lattice, which is not able to withstand a sharp temperature drop. Cleaning the oven from soot is required regularly

At the same time, not only the chimney needs to be removed, but also the rest of the structural details. By following the recommendations for cleaning the furnace, it will be possible to extend its life

It is required to clean the furnace from soot regularly. At the same time, not only the chimney needs to be removed, but also the rest of the structural details. By following the recommendations for cleaning the oven, it will be possible to extend its life.

What do buyers say about logs?

According to the manufacturer's official website, Chimney sweep logs show good performance and demonstrate high cleaning quality. The use of products does not require special skills and abilities. This makes the drug especially in demand among buyers.

Homeowners who have already tried the Chimney Sweep speak well of it. The tool copes with the tasks and gives real results.

However, before starting the procedure, you need to carefully examine the chimney system and find out if there are any fatal damages in it. If there are any, they must be eliminated urgently.

To avoid direct contact with the log structure during use, it is recommended to wear work gloves. They will reliably protect the skin of the hands from accidental contact with chemicals.

Chemical log raises soot burnout temperature to record highs. Under such intense thermal exposure, a damaged chimney may crack or begin to collapse.

The disadvantages of the drug include an unpleasant odor that remains in the room for a long time, and the inability of the product to remove large, old soot deposits.

Overview of chimney cleaners

To ensure the efficient operation of the chimney (high-quality draft and economical fuel consumption), it is necessary to regularly clean it from the combustion products accumulated on the inner surface of the walls of the chimney pipe. Today, in addition to the mechanical method of cleaning the chimney, chemical means for cleaning chimneys are very popular. Read the instructions on what kind of firewood to choose and how to heat it.

In the photo, the chimney is covered in soot.

Characteristics

Chemical chimney cleaners are available in the form of briquettes (logs), liquid or powder. As a rule, the composition of chemicals includes metal chloride, or sulfates of nitrogenous compounds.

The agent for cleaning chimneys from soot acts as a catalyst for the activation of oxygen in the air, and, accordingly, a significant decrease in the temperature at which the process of burning soot and soot in the chimney takes place.

Soot cleaner for chimneys in the picture.

Chimney Cleaner Cheerful Chimney Sweep is a dry powder packaged in paper bags. Using this cleanser is simple, just put a bag on hot coals in the firebox. The Cheerful Chimney Sweeper is used to clean chimneys connected to equipment running on solid or liquid fuels. Read the review of manufacturers and photos of wood-burning fireplaces.

Means for cleaning chimneys "Cheerful chimney sweep".

Rutland Chimney Cleaner is used to clean chimneys that remove combustion products from solid fuel heating equipment. Rutland is bars impregnated with chimney cleaner. You can use this tool once a month at the height of the heating season. The Rutland tool is easy to use, you just need to put a log in the firebox on hot charcoal. Rutland is odorless and is usually sold in 1.5 kg cartons.

Rutland chimney cleaner pictured.

How to use?

The process of cleaning chimneys with chemicals is not difficult.The agent is placed on burning coals or thrown into the fire in the combustion chamber. When exposed to high temperatures on the agent, volatile substances are released that have a destructive effect on the deposited soot and soot. Before you start burning cleaning agents in the furnace, you must make sure that the chimney is not clogged with foreign objects.

How to clean?

The most common way to prevent the formation of soot on the inner surface of the walls of the chimney is to use rock salt (salt is poured on firewood while it is burning).

One of the effective ways to clean the chimney from soot and tarry deposits with folk remedies is the use of dried potato peelings. Throw a large amount of potato peelings into a well-heated stove or fireplace. When the cleaning is burned, steam is released, which decomposes the soot well. But keep in mind that the use of potato peelings involves the additional use of a mechanical method for cleaning the chimney. A guide on how to choose wood burning fireplaces for your home can be found here.

Also, folk methods for cleaning the chimney from accumulated soot and tar include the use of aspen and alder firewood, the chimney is cleaned due to the high temperature in the chimney, at which the soot simply burns out (this method should be used only if the soot layer does not exceed 10 mm, and also if you are confident in the reliability of the chimney structure and its ability to withstand high temperatures).

Overview of chimney cleaners An article about a chimney cleaner, describes the characteristics, types of products Cheerful Chimney Sweep and Rutland for cleaning the chimney from soot and tar, how to use it, how to clean it with folk remedies on the video, the price is indicated and where to buy in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Cleaning methods

To clean the chimney in the furnace yourself, you can use several methods:

• resorting to various folk remedies;
• with the help of modern chemistry designed for these purposes;
• calcination of the pipe;
• in the traditional mechanical way, as chimney sweeps do.

The essence of the first 2 methods is as follows: one or another chimney cleaner is placed in a melted sauna stove or solid fuel boiler and simply burned. Under the influence of released active substances, the soot layer decomposes, part of it flies out with smoke, and the other falls down to the bottom of the channel. There is only one drawback of the method: in calm weather after the procedure, black flakes cover the entire yard.

Self-cleaning the chimney from soot by calcination is an unsafe event. Before proceeding with it, you need to make sure that all channels are reliable and tight, otherwise you can easily start a fire. Ignition is the direct combustion of soot in a pipe, achieved due to the high temperature of the combustion products. Dry logs of aspen or white acacia are loaded into the firebox, which give a strong heat when burned.

This means for cleaning chimneys from soot requires the operation of a heat generator or stove in maximum power mode, for this it is necessary to provide the greatest air supply and do not forget to fully open the chimney damper. Gases with temperatures up to 600 ºС pass through the channel, causing the soot to burn.

Why is the chimney clogged

Combustion is a complex physical and chemical process during which a rapid oxidation reaction of combustible substances occurs with the release of a large amount of heat. The original substance, which served as fuel, breaks up into fractions as a result of combustion. Most of it passes into a hot gaseous state and rushes down the chimney, creating traction. Together with gases, particles of unburned substances rush into the chimney, which are deposited in the form of soot and plaque.

Incomplete combustion occurs for two reasons:

• not all substances are combustible;
• due to the lack of oxygen, without which combustion is impossible.

Soot is carbon in an amorphous state. In the chimney, the soot mixes with the oils and resins in the wood and becomes greasy to the touch. This mixture itself is combustible. When soot ignites, its flame reaches a temperature of over 1000°C. This reason alone is enough to regularly clean the entire chimney path.

From the flame in the chimney to the fire in the house is one step

In addition, soot clogs the clearance, which reduces traction. For this reason, combustion deteriorates and heat generation in the furnace decreases. Worse, a narrow gap can create a backdraft effect when the products of incomplete combustion begin to escape into the heated room. This is fraught not only with a fire, but also with the danger of poisoning people with carbon monoxide.

The first signs that the chimney needs cleaning appear long before the obvious negative consequences. You should be concerned if:

• there is a change in the color of the smoke from the pipe from transparent or whitish to dark;
• it has been noticed that instead of pure fire with a cheerful crackle of coals, dark flames appear with smoke from the furnace;
• people with developed hearing will feel a change in the tone of the buzz in the chimney.

Often, viewing windows with plugs are provided in the design of the chimney, they are called revisions, through which you can check the condition of the chimney. In the absence of revisions, the old-fashioned way is suitable: lowering a brick on a rope into the chimney. With a strong blockage, the brick will begin to get stuck. By the way the rope loosens and jerks again, you can feel the condition of the chimney. Modern advanced homeowners use a video camera on a flexible cable.

A clogged chimney is a risk factor and a threat to fire safety. Such a stove should not be operated until the chimney has been completely cleaned.

Homemade devices for mechanical cleaning

It is not necessary to buy a ruff for cleaning the chimney pipe, you can do it yourself:

• From plastic bottles cut into ribbons. Cut off the bottom of several bottles, insert one into one, cut most of the “body” into ribbons, Bend it at different angles. For greater elasticity, some of the bottles can be turned towards. Nail the finished brush to a stick, screw it to a rod, etc.

• You need a piece of cable with at least 10 cores. Aluminum is desirable, but copper is also suitable (it is softer and more expensive). The cross section was not less than 10 mm. The cores from the insulation can not be cleaned, just parted in different directions, like a brush. If the cable is old or free, you can use it that way. But it is useful to put marks on the insulation through the meter. You can clamp this cable into a screwdriver (if the diameter allows).
• Use a toilet brush with stiff bristles. Tie a load at the bottom. If the walls are metal, shreds can be hung around the load. They won't damage the metal.

Cleaning the chimney from below is also possible

In general, you can apply everything that more or less resembles a ruff. It's just that a more effective weapon has not yet been invented. And there is only one cleaning technique: lower it into the pipe and move it up / down. Beforehand, it is desirable to put a container into the oven into which soot will pour. In some cases, several buckets are poured.