Chimney Cleaning?

[freeinalaska]

Does it really need cleaning? Efficient woodstoves really don't have that much creosote buildup if burning good seasoned hardwoods.

I've been burning wood for many years and have never had a professional clean ours. We burn a super hot, wide open fire once a week to burn out any buildup that may happen. Every fall I do a self cleaning. I take a cordless drill, attach some stranded and insulated electrical wire or I've used small wire rope, run it down the stove pipe until it comes out inside the stove and run the drill from the roof. The wire spins and beats on the inside of the pipe and cleans it out mighty fine.

[bluetick]

I just had the chimney for the woodstove cleaned yesterday by a professional chimney sweep. Price has gone up since last year - now $155, including tax. I usually just get a fire going during the evenings all winter, after I am in for the night.

Living in a rural area with no fire hydrant, the nearest pond 1/4 mile away, and a volunteer fire department based 5 miles away, I am scared to death of the possibility of a housefire. The house is very old and would go up in flames quickly. I have the chimney cleaned annually.

[wombatcat]

I am also scared to death about a house fire, and since we have never had the chimney cleaned, we don't know for sure how much creosote is there--we would hate make the wrong mistake for the sake of saving money....also, there was a learning curve as we learned how to build good fires and keep them going--so there might be more creosote than there should be, just for that reason--what we are hoping to do is get it done professionally this year, then based on what we learn from that, decide how often to do it ourself or even if we need to....but I think we need to know where we're starting from--$155 doesn't sound too bad....thanks!!!

[comfortablynumb]

ummm..

a chiminey brush and rod kid isnt that much, do it yourself.

[wombatcat]

thanks so much for understanding.

[comfortablynumb]

I wasnt being snotty...

you push the brush down the pipe to the bottom (or as far as it goes, ya might have to go up thru the bottom too) and then pull it out... repeat 2 or 3 times.

sint something you need to be shown really... just a common sense job.

take off the inside pipes and brush them out too. vac out the stove to get out the built up soot and ash in the cracks and vents.

cheap.. easy.

very dirty....

[Quint]

Granddaddy use to just pack the stove full of newspaper once a year and burn the creosote out of the chimney. How he managed to not burn the house down I'll never understand.

I have my fireplace chimney done every 2 or 3 years and could probably go longer according to my chimney sweep. Just doesn't get that dirty with seasoned hardwood.

[katlupe]

Drop a chain down in it and spin it. That's what the fire department does.

Dh cleans ours almost monthly when we are using it. Our house is old too and would go up faster than a trailer and we don't have running water. So we are very careful with our stoves.

[foxtrapper]

There's really nothing to it. As described, a brush and rod kit are all you need. If you can sweep your floor, you can clean a chimney.