My father used to say that wood warms you three times: when you cut it, when you drag it home, and when you burn it. Personally, I would add a fourth: when you clean your fireplace. Cleaning your fireplace can be a chore. But it is necessary to keep your home and family safe from creosote fires. That’s why I never really thought about dancing, knowing that I had to be proactive in taking care of my home and family. Another advantage of doing it yourself is that it saves you money. If you want to tackle the job yourself, then you need to learn how to clean your fireplace yourself.
The first time you need to clean your fireplace is actually before the time it starts burning. You must clean it in the first slide, before start climbing in it. The reason for this is because birds, squirrels and other wild critters love to be inside and nest in your fireplace.
Then after this you need to check the inside of your fireplace every week, or every time you use it. The frequency also depends on the type of wood that you burn inside your fireplace. The rule of thumb is that whenever at least an eighth of an inch of creosote builds up on the walls, it’s time to clean out your fireplace.
Soot and creosote are from burnt wood. Every time you use a stove, soot, which is a black powdery carbon, is produced. Creosote, which is a slippery liquid, also adheres to the interior walls of fireplaces. As each fire is built, soot and creosote continue to accumulate. Creosote is flammable, and every year thousands of fires break out in fireplaces and fireplaces.
To clean your fireplace yourself, you need to wear a pair of blankets or an old pair of pants and a sleeved shirt. You should also wear a hat or scarf to hat or scarf. And don’t forget a brown mask or bandanna to wear over your mouth and nose. A pair of work gloves will help your hands.
You will also need a trouble light, a small wire and a hard brush and a chimney brush. You can purchase all of these at your local home store. A good chimney brush will cost you, but it will pay for itself in no time.
Next, place a thick layer of old newspapers, or use drop cloths to protect the area around your fireplace. The paper or map should extend three to four feet.
The next step is to reach inside the fireplace and place the damper handle. Open the damper and clean the wire with a hard brush. Next, loosen the damper by removing the cotter keys that hold it in place. Place the damper in the middle.
Take a large, old blanket and wet it well with water in a spray bottle. Hang a blanket over the opening of your fireplace. Depending on how your fireplace is constructed, you may be able to cover it with a mantle. Then throw the sides and hold them in gravity again. A damp layer will help keep creosote, soot, and other materials inside your fireplace from entering your home.
Now you need to attach a rope or a small chain block to the end of the chimney brush handle. use the chain as a log. The chainstay obviously makes the brush heavier to handle, but the extra weight helps shed a bit.
Then grab a ladder and head up to the roof of your house with a chimney brush. Place the brush inside the fireplace, then throw it and pick it up several times. Make sure you get there, brush the fireplace.
Finally, now that you have cleaned the fireplace with a brush, you have returned your head to the hearth. Remove the wet blanket from the stove. Carefully clean off the soot and creosote with the Factory Vac® Clean/Dry vacuum. That’s what works best for me.
Once more food is cleaned and out of the way, touch the inside of the oven with a stiff brush. Scrub the sides of the fireplace as far as you can reach. Then replace the metal damper and make the final world area.
The last step in cleaning your fireplace is taking yourself down to your room. Open the door at the bottom of your fireplace and use the Shop Vac® to clean out the soot and creosote. that fell there.
