Cleaning the chimney from soot with potato peels. How to clean the chimney with your own hands: we choose the better to clean the chimney and the appropriate method. What is harmful soot

Until recently, both in cities and in rural areas there was only one type of heating - stove. Their technical condition was monitored by specially trained people - chimney sweeps. They checked the chimneys for cracks, monitored the draft in the furnace and cleaned the soot. Today, private houses are equipped with a variety of stoves, stoves, fireplaces. You have to serve them with your own hands - clean the chimney and monitor the technical condition.

The device of the chimney, what is its cleaning and how often should it be carried out

The first cleaning of the chimney should be carried out 1.5–2 years after the start of operation of the furnace. During this time, a soot layer of more than 2 mm accumulates in the pipe, which is a guideline for cleaning. In the future, the chimney should be cleaned 1-2 times a season. This is best done in spring and autumn. In order to facilitate this process, it is necessary to apply preventive measures, which will be discussed below.

The chimney is covered with soot during the combustion process. It appears gradually from the products of combustion and layer by layer is deposited on the walls of the pipe, gradually narrowing the passage. And since soot is a very good thermal insulator, the stove channel heats up much weaker and a much larger amount of firewood is required for heating.

A thick layer of soot reduces traction, which means that the amount of condensate increases, which, in turn, contributes to the rapid formation of new layers. Unburned solid particles accumulate in the pipe, which can easily ignite when gas flows rise. This leads to the fastest burning of the pipe walls and increases the risk of fire. Especially in severe frosts, when a large amount of firewood is used to heat the house and the temperature in the furnace is very high, sparks and even small lights fly out of the chimney clogged with soot. And this threatens to fire outbuildings and even neighboring houses.

In the event of a strong blockage, the likelihood of a reverse draft increases - the smoke will partially or completely go into the room and the likelihood of being poisoned by combustion products increases.

Cleaning the chimney consists, first of all, in freeing the surfaces of the pipe from soot, debris (after the summer season there may be small branches, dry leaves, and even bird nests). At the same time, all elements of the furnace are checked and cleaned. Lastly, the firebox and ash pan are cleaned.

With timely cleaning of the chimney, you will significantly reduce the consumption of firewood, you will be sure of your own safety, and the chimney will not need emergency repairs.

Methods and devices for cleaning the chimney with your own hands

There are three main ways to clean the chimney: chemical, biological and mechanical. Biological and chemical methods are rather preventive, preventing the formation of too thick a layer of soot. All these methods can be carried out independently, without resorting to the help of specialists, following certain rules.

Biological (potato peeling, starch, firewood, etc.)

One of the simplest and most common methods, widely used by the people because of the ease of use and the availability of the necessary funds. To a greater extent, it is preventive - it prevents the appearance of a thick layer of soot. For this method, aspen wood, salt, potato peelings, walnut shells, naphthalene, blue mixture are used.

Potato peelings need to be pre-prepared. It will take about half a bucket of well-dried cleanings. They need to be poured directly onto the heat so that they burn out immediately. During combustion, a large amount of starch is formed, which softens the soot. You can apply this method before proceeding with mechanical cleaning - it will be much easier to remove the soot layer.

Rock salt is more of a soot preventative. A small handful is poured on firewood until kindling. Vapors of sodium chloride destroy viscous deposits in the pipe.

Aspen firewood is the most effective remedy. Since aspen has a high combustion temperature, firewood must be used at the end of the firebox. The fumes generated during combustion peel off the soot from the walls of the chimney and, during intense heat, it burns out. Therefore, when using aspen, you need to ensure that sparks do not fly from the chimney. An alternative is birch firewood, previously peeled of bark. The effect will be about the same.

Walnut shells are an excellent chimney cleaner. It has a very high combustion temperature, so you can not use more than two liters in one go. An alternative to aspen wood.

Naphthalene is a good prophylactic. It is enough to throw one tablet into the fire, as the soot will begin to flake off and come out with the smoke. But the smell of naphthalene is very persistent and then it is very difficult to get rid of it.

Blue mixture - easy to make yourself if you have the right ingredients. 5 parts of copper sulphate, 7 parts of saltpeter and 2 parts of coal (coke) are mixed. About 20 grams of the mixture is poured into a preheated oven and the door is tightly closed. This mixture should not be used to clean open lesions.

Chemical method

Like biological, it does not solve the issue of complete cleaning of the chimney and is preventive. The stores sell a large number of a wide variety of compositions for cleaning the chimney: logs, briquettes, tablets, solutions. Principle of operation - the harmless gas released during combustion decomposes combustion products and their components, which could later turn into soot.

In almost all cases, there are detailed instructions for use, dosage. Portion packs are very convenient. As a rule, together with the packaging, they are placed in an oven and burned either separately or together with firewood. If the chimney is heavily clogged, use either several packages at the same time, or several times in a row.

"Log - chimney sweep" - a small bar or briquette, consists of ammonium sulfate, coal wax, phosphorus oxide and several other components. Prevents the formation of carbon deposits and the removal of previously accumulated soot. With constant operation of the furnace for the season, you need to burn only 2 logs. If the stove is heated 1-2 times a week, then one bar is enough.

"Cominichek" - is used only if the soot layer is up to 2 mm. The package contains 5 bags of 15 grams. The active substance is copper chloride. Converts soot to oxide, allowing it to burn at a lower temperature without causing a fire. Since chlorine is included in the composition, it cannot be used for open stoves. When using, close the door tightly and, at the end of the firebox, ventilate the room with a “comic cut”.

PHC - anti-stain chemical composition. The powder is burned together with paper packaging, together with firewood or separately from them. Powder consumption per ton of firewood is 150–200 g.

Since there are a lot of funds and they are produced both in our country and abroad, you can always choose the best option by trying several types.

mechanical method

It is used in cases where the chimney is very heavily clogged. The soot layer, as mentioned earlier, is more than 2 mm. Before proceeding with this type of work, the furnace should be prepared. Preheat using potato peels, aspen wood or walnut shells to soften the soot and peel it off the chimney walls. This will greatly facilitate further work.

Required tools:

Ruff for cleaning the chimney with a diameter 1.2–1.3 times larger than the diameter of a pipe made of plastic or metal;
A flexible cable with a handle (similar to plumbing) or a strong rope;
Hard brush with a long handle (or with the ability to build it up);
A metal weight or core that can be attached to a brush. Must be centered so as not to damage the chimney, and with a diameter 2 times smaller than the diameter of the pipe;
Metal scraper with handle.

The chimney can be cleaned both from above, from the side of the pipe, and from below - if it is a fireplace or an open stove. To perform pipe cleaning work from above, prepare a small ladder that can be mounted on the roof. To prevent falling from the roof, use a safety rope. All tools that may be required, lift to the roof immediately, so as not to go down again.

Shoes should be non-slip, protect your hands with gloves.
Use a respirator to prevent combustion products from entering the respiratory tract.
Start work only in dry calm weather.
Before starting work, do not take drugs that reduce the reaction, and alcohol.

The oven must be completely cool before starting work. The combustion chamber is completely free from unburned logs and ash. Close the furnace, cleaning and ash doors beforehand so that soot cannot enter the room through them. Curtain open fireboxes with a dense, damp cloth, which you will not be sorry to throw away later. The dampers must be opened completely, otherwise soot will fall on them and may lead to a new blockage.

Remove the cap from the chimney pipe to provide access. Carefully inspect the pipe and proceed to cleaning. Begin work with the core attached to the cable. This will help to immediately eliminate large blockages and will show the distance that the chimney can be cleared. If the layer of soot is very large, it is better to immediately use a long-handled scraper to clean the walls and work with it, and then clean the walls using a brush with a core attached to it. Make sure that the core is in the center of the chimney and cannot damage the pipe.

If the stove is with an open firebox, after cleaning from above, proceed to clean the chimney from below. Use a ruff or brush with a long, flexible handle that can be extended.

The combustion chamber is cleaned last. Collect soot with a special vacuum cleaner or sweep with a special brush.

If it so happens that you do not have the opportunity to purchase a special brush, you can make it yourself from a plastic bottle.

Video: how to make a plastic bottle brush

In some regions, it is common to clean the chimney with a chainsaw or a leaf blower (a leaf blower). Of course, in this way it is quite simple to clean the chimney using a special snail nozzle with an air duct. Of course, from the point of view of ecology, this method cannot be called correct.

Video: how to clean a chimney with a chainsaw

Technological elements for cleaning the chimney

In many ways, chimney maintenance can be simplified if cleaning methods are provided at the design stage. As a rule, now chimneys are made of sandwich pipes or metal. It is not always installed strictly vertically, and sometimes serves several stoves in the house at the same time. In this case, cleaning from soot will become more complicated due to the corners. And if a horizontal pipe section comes from the furnace, it is better to use a tee for connection. One of its sides opens with a threaded lid. Through the hole, you can both remove moisture and clean the riser. In some cases, a special removable glass may be provided.

In ovens made of bricks, hatches for cleaning are necessarily provided. In some stoves, there may be several hatches.

Prevention of clogging of the chimney pipe

What needs to be done so that the chimney does not clog so quickly? Proper use of the oven. The rules are simple, but if you follow them, it will simplify care and help you use firewood more economically.

Coniferous wood should not be used for the firebox - they contain a lot of resin, which will remain on the walls of the chimney. Give preference to hardwoods. At the end of the firebox, add aspen logs or any other folk remedies.
Heat the stove only with dry wood - wet ones give a lot of soot.
There must be a cap on the pipe. It will not only protect the pipe from debris, but also from precipitation.
To reduce the accumulation of condensate, the pipe must be insulated.
Do not turn the stove into a place for burning garbage. Plastic, polyethylene, rubber melt and remain in the oven and on its walls. It is better to throw garbage in a container or burn it on the street.
Do not use flammable liquids for ignition.
In severe frost, sometimes a fire occurs due to the fact that the stove is hot. Try not to overheat it.
Timely carry out preventive work, carefully monitor the condition of deposits on the walls.

With proper cleaning and constant adherence to the rules of the firebox, the stove and chimney will last a long time and will not require special care, and sometimes unforeseen repairs.

The efficiency of a wood-burning stove or fireplace has a certain dependence on the cleanliness, serviceability and general condition of the chimney. Every owner must know how to clean the chimney, even if he prefers to use the services of third-party specialists and organizations.

According to experts, if the chimney is properly arranged and equipped, it will be able to keep clean for a long time with careful use of the device for heating.

For example, if you use dry firewood that does not contain a large amount of resins for the fireplace, clean the ash from the blower, do not burn household waste in the fireplace, then the care will consist only in cleaning the cleaning holes located in the room from soot.

However, even with this option, the general condition of the chimney should be checked every 6 months to ensure that it remains good. After all, pipes and chimneys are cleaned not only from soot, but also from debris, cobwebs and other blockages that accidentally get there. As for the question of when and how to clean the chimney pipe, it must be decided upon the fact of its partial clogging with soot, the remains of firewood and other types of fuel, and all kinds of blockages.

Why clean your chimney?

To improve traction

Settling on the walls of the chimney, soot narrows the existing gap over time and interferes with the free passage of smoke. In addition, a dense coating of soot does not allow the walls of the chimney to fully warm up, which is fraught with a decrease in traction, a decrease in the efficiency of the fireplace, and the penetration of smoke into the room.

For safety when using the fireplace

There is a risk of soot burning in the chimney due to high temperatures. Such a development of events is fraught with the onset of cracking of the walls of the chimney, which will gradually lead to its complete destruction. But that's not all. Sparks that will fly out of the chimney can become a source of fire, which is extremely serious. Poor traction performance can also have bad consequences. For example, they can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Ways to clean the chimney

Folk ways

Many owners are looking for ways to clean the chimney with folk remedies at home.

Cleaning the chimney pipe is quite unsafe (to carry out such cleaning you need to climb onto the roof) and very dirty (cleaning the pipe from soot will definitely leave marks on both clothes and body).

The most popular way to resolve the issue is to sprinkle firewood during burning with rock salt. This action is preventive and is used to reduce soot deposits.

To remove existing plaque on the walls of chimneys, you can use potato peels. First you need to heat the fireplace well, then pour potato skins into the fire in large quantities. You can also use potatoes, cut into small pieces (you will need half a bucket-bucket of potatoes). The steam that is released as a result of this action will decompose the soot flying into the pipe. Large accumulations of soot will then fall into the furnace, which must be cleaned after the cleaning process is complete.

It should be noted that such a tool as potato peels is not a full-fledged chimney cleaner, but is one of the tools that help soften soot, contributing to its lagging behind the pipe walls. After the above procedure, it will be necessary to mechanically clean the pipe.

If the farm has aspen firewood, then the question of how to clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies will disappear by itself. It is necessary to take a few armfuls of such firewood and simply burn them. It is worth noting that this method is not absolutely safe. Cleaning the chimney from soot occurs due to a significant increase in temperature in the chimney pipe. Under such conditions, the soot ignites, as a result of which white flakes fly out of the pipe, which cover the roof and the surrounding area near the house. Before you clean the chimney in this way, you should make sure that it will withstand such a temperature load and will not collapse. If there is a large amount of soot in the stove pipe, then it is better to clean it in a way that is safer.

Pipe cleaning mechanically

Meeting a chimney sweep on the streets of the city is a rarity, but this does not mean that the number of representatives of this profession has significantly decreased.

The profession of a chimney sweep in our time is quite in demand. Not every owner has the tool necessary for cleaning the pipe, and even more so, not everyone agrees to do this difficult and unpleasant work on their own. Yes, and only a small percentage of owners of fireplaces, stoves, and boilers have theoretical knowledge on how to clean a chimney pipe.

The chimney sweep is a professional in his field. He will not only perform such work in an excellent way, but will additionally inspect the chimney, identifying possible damage and cracks in it. In addition, only a specialist will be able to adequately assess the level of functioning of the heating device and check the draft.

However, many owners of heating appliances prefer to take care of them on their own. It is extremely important to know how the pipe is cleaned from soot and various contaminants. After all, the work of the fireplace should not be accompanied by constant anxiety and inconvenience.

What to consider when cleaning a chimney

It is important to close all cleaning holes in the room before climbing onto the roof. This is necessary so that soot does not get inside the premises (houses, baths, etc.). The fireplace / stove door, the boiler outlet should also be closed or curtained with a damp cloth.

The chimney pipe should be cleaned only in dry weather with no wind at all. This condition must be observed to ensure your own safety. It is mandatory to use insurance when working on the roof.

If the fireplace or stove has not been used for a long time, then you need to make sure that there are no bird nests. If they are present, then they must be removed through the top of the pipe, and if this is not possible, then pushed down with a stick.

Major cleaning of the chimney is carried out only if the soot layer on its walls is more than 2 mm. If the layer is thinner, then it is recommended to use other cleaning methods described below.

Special attention should be paid to those devices and tools that will be needed to clean the pipe.

The main tool of a chimney sweep is a metal brush, with its diameter exceeding the diameter of the chimney by approximately 20%. It is also possible to use a brush with hard metal bristles designed for cleaning the chimney. It is advisable to use such a brush when working with structures that have a rectangular or square section.

If during operation the ruff is attached to the cable and falls down on it, then the brush is attached to strong and flexible holders, which are connected to each other as the brush is lowered down.

As an additional tool for cleaning pipes, a scraper and a heavy ball-shaped core are used.

Provided that a dense layer of soot is formed in the chimney, it is initially necessary to clean it off with a scraper, and only after that use a special ruff or brush.

It is likely that during the cleaning process, a blockage will be found in the chimney, making it difficult for the tool to pass further. The role of such an obstacle can be an accumulation of debris or a collapsed piece of brickwork. Such a blockage is removed by punching with a heavy shot of steel attached to the cable with a carabiner. The core must be carefully thrown in the center of the chimney hole so as not to touch the walls with it.

An important clarification: previously, a core with a diameter of 85 mm was used as standard, but today the circumstances have changed. Due to the fact that chimneys can have a fairly large cross-sectional area, it is recommended to use a core with a diameter that will cover more than 2/3 of the chimney cross-section.

Also, during the cleaning of the chimney, the core can be used not only as a means to eliminate blockages in the chimney, but also as a load for a ruff or brush. The core, ruff and cable can be connected using durable carabiners that have the ability to change the design by removing an unnecessary section from it.

It is worth remembering that the use of sports weights and similar items as the core is strongly discouraged. The fact is that they have a displaced center of gravity. They can get stuck in the chimney, turning over while flying. And to remove such items from the chimney channel is an additional cost of time and effort.
Vlad Zhitin, expert

Open-type fireplaces with straight chimneys should be cleaned from below - from the side of the firebox. For this purpose, metal brushes on an extendable (composite) handle are used.

After cleaning the chimney, carefully open all the cleaning holes in the house and remove the dirt that has accumulated in them with a dustpan and brush. You can also do this with a special spoon for cleaning soot. It is advisable to remove soot residues with a vacuum cleaner.

The final and final touch is the cleaning of the firebox itself.

Chimney cleaning with chemicals

Periodic preventive maintenance is encouraged to prevent soot from settling on the chimney pipe. Such prevention is carried out with the help of chemicals added to the firebox at the time when firewood is burning there. The form of release of such funds is very different: briquettes, liquid, powder. The principle of their operation is quite simple. During combustion, gas is released from these substances (it is absolutely harmless to humans), which destroys the structure of blockages and deposits on the walls of the chimney and contributes to their shedding down already in crushed form.

Below is a brief description of the most common chimney cleaning chemicals.

Anti-scale chemical composition (PCC). Available in powder form. It is necessary to burn the product along with the packaging, adding it to the firewood during their combustion. It can also be burned separately from firewood. PHC has a clearly defined usage rate - 150-200 g per each ton of fuel.

"Comic". This is a chemical agent for cleaning chimney (stove, fireplace) pipes, developed by a Czech manufacturer. The form of sale is packages, each of which contains 5 bags weighing 14 g. One such package is enough for prophylaxis for three months. The tool demonstrates the greatest efficiency when cleaning small layers of soot (the layer thickness should be no more than 2 mm). The removal of soot and soot occurs due to the conversion of soot into an instantly combustible oxide (catalytic reaction and its consequences).

The method of application is quite simple. "Kominichek" (one bag) must be thrown on burning coals or firewood and the door closed. High temperature promotes the release of a chemical substance from the granules that dissolves soot in the furnace and chimney.

Log "Chimney sweep". The tool is a small briquette or bar, which, when burned, releases substances that dry out deposits on the walls of the chimney pipe. As a result of this impact, the deposits crumble into the furnace.

Chimney Cleaner Chimney Sweep is the most popular chemical chimney cleaner. Its main purpose is the regular cleaning of smoke channels for the purpose of prevention. The use of this product helps to reduce the risk of creosote deposits, reduces the risk of soot fire. Thanks to these effects, the service life of the chimney is significantly increased.

Log "Chimney sweep" can be used in any type of built-in heaters, stoves, boilers that operate on liquid and solid fuels. It is also possible to use it in fireplace inserts and stoves operating on coal and wood.

When using the fireplace up to two days a week for prevention, you will need to burn only one log every 6 months. With daily use, the number of logs will have to be doubled. When using a wood-burning stove for a long period of time, it is recommended to burn one Chimney Sweep log in it every two months.

In fireplaces and stoves that have serious dimensions, it is necessary to burn two logs in turn (before putting a new log, you need to wait until the previous one is completely burned).

This tool demonstrates the greatest efficiency in the fight against soot deposits in brick chimneys.

Before you start using the tool, you should make sure that the chimney is not clogged with various debris and third-party objects. It is best to burn the Chimney Sweep log in this way: take it out of the package (leave the wrapper) and put it on the coals left from the previous firebox. You can set fire to a log, or a wrapper. The essence of that will not change.

Active additives, which are components of the log, continue to act for one to two weeks after the log is burned. All this time, soot will continue to fall into the firebox without remaining on the walls of the chimney. Two weeks after using the log, it is necessary to clean the elements of the fireplace and separately the chimney.

When using any chemical product intended for cleaning the chimney, it is necessary to follow the instructions that come with the product exactly.

Cleaning quality control

Chemical methods for cleaning chimneys often do not inspire confidence in people. There is an understanding that the quality of such cleaning is noticeably inferior to the quality that a professional chimney sweep can provide. In addition, upon completion of his work, the specialist always conducts a quality control of his work and a general analysis of the state of the chimney. For this, special tools are used, for example, mirrors.

Serious companies working in this area (various service centers, etc.) use special video cameras with a backlight function to control quality. With their help, you can fully assess the quality of work and eliminate shortcomings, if any.

There are certain rules for using a stove or fireplace that help extend the period of their full operation.

Do not use firewood obtained from coniferous trees as fuel. The reason for this is the high content of resin in them, the deposits of which remain on the walls of the chimney.
Do not heat the stove or fireplace with damp wood or firewood from freshly felled trees. High humidity promotes increased deposits of soot and water vapor.
Do not burn garbage. This is especially true for products made of plastic and other synthetic materials. Items intended for that purpose should be used as fuel.
Among all types of firewood, dry deciduous firewood is the best option for a firebox. After the firebox, it is desirable to additionally burn a small amount of aspen firewood. They help burn soot out of the chimney.

Now you know the basic options for cleaning chimney pipes. It should be remembered that additional inspection is necessary during such work. And don't forget about prevention.

How do you clean your chimney? In the ways described above or do you use something special? Leave your answers in the comments!

The patency of smoke channels is of decisive importance for the normal operation of heating systems. This is especially important for solid fuel thermal units. Chimneys tend to become clogged with combustion products, which reduces fuel efficiency and increases the likelihood of situations that threaten not only the integrity of property, but also the lives of people living in the house.

How and how to clean the chimney from soot

Heating in a private house is a vital system that affects not only comfortable living, but often the property and life of residents. A special role is played by the system for removing fuel combustion products from the room - the chimney. Its inner surface is gradually contaminated with condensate and soot, while the cross-section of the chimney channel decreases, the draft decreases, and the complete removal of smoke from the room is disturbed.

Over time, the chimney becomes clogged with soot, and its ability to remove combustion products decreases.

Why does the chimney get dirty

Clogging of the smoke channel occurs during the combustion of fuel, when vaporous and solid products are released from it, carried out by the flow of furnace gases. But under certain conditions, they do not completely fly out into the pipe. This happens under the following circumstances:

Burning raw wood. Fuel with a moisture content above 24% contains an increased amount of intracellular moisture, which actively evaporates as it burns. These vapors rise along with the furnace gases into the chimney. In a cold or insufficiently heated channel, they mix with cooled air, as a result of which condensate settles on its walls. And this is not just some water, because the vapor contains oxidation products, so the precipitate is an acid. They do not just flow down the walls of the pipe, a significant part of them lingers on the walls, depositing solid combustion products from the smoke, while carbon deposits form on the walls, reducing the cross section of the smoke channel.
When raw firewood is burned, excess moisture is released from them, which eventually settles on the walls of the chimney and becomes a source of carbon deposits.
Use of prohibited fuel. Of course, there are no direct contraindications, but woodworking waste consisting of wood with fillers in the form of binders cannot be used to fire the furnace. Such materials include waste plywood, chipboard and fiberboard. Such fuel emits a large amount of tar in the smoke, which intensively settle on the walls of the chimney. Resinous wood - pine or spruce - has a similar effect.
Cold chimney. Moisture condensation on the walls occurs at a certain temperature in the channel. This state of gases is called the "dew point". If such conditions are created inside the smoke channel, condensate settles on its walls in an active mode, provoking the accumulation of soot. To get rid of this phenomenon, it is necessary to reliably insulate the pipe, reducing its heat transfer to the surrounding space. After that, the chimney warms up, and the dew point rises higher, leaving the space inside the pipe.
The presence of horizontal sections of the pipe. The greatest amount of soot is formed on the bends of the chimney, therefore, without special need, it is better not to use this method of laying. If no other solution is possible, shims should be installed on the pivoting elbows, which can be opened and free the knee from soot buildup.
If you need to make a horizontal section on the chimney, the transition to it must be done using a branch with a special cleaning hole (revision)
Rough walls of the smoke channel. When constructing a chimney, it is necessary to mop the channel to improve the quality of its surface. Soot is deposited primarily on the irregularities of the chimney.
Furnace furnace with household waste. Such fuel is even more detrimental to the chimney than the use of plywood and other scraps. It always contains remnants of plastic or polyethylene packaging, which releases a lot of chemicals when burned. In this case, the chimney is guaranteed to grow soot faster than the end of the heating season.

Signs of a clogged chimney

When the flue gas duct becomes clogged, it will be immediately visible. The main signs of a clogged channel will be the following phenomena:

What to do if the chimney is clogged

Before the start of the heating season, it is imperative to inspect the chimney from the inside for blockages. In the warm season, birds with a nest can settle in it or debris blown into the chimney by the wind can appear. To avoid this, the chimney must be equipped with a mesh cap at the installation stage to prevent such situations.

In such a case, the house should always have a backup heating unit in the form of a heater or an electric heater built into the heating system.

Having provided yourself with warmth with its help in the cold season, you can thoroughly consider the situation and think about options for getting out of it.

The presence of draft in the furnace must be checked every time the furnace is ignited - the flame must deviate towards the chimney

How to clean a chimney

The meaning of this operation is to timely clean the walls from soot deposits and debris that has got inside (during the off-season period). When cleaning, you need to check all sections of the chimney and the stove itself. The last step is to clean the ash pan and the firebox. Timely cleaning of the chimney reduces fuel consumption and makes the operation of the furnace safe.

In practice, three main cleaning methods are used, two of which are preventive:

Chemical and biological methods. They are used as a preventive measure using compounds that soften soot and lead to its partial removal from the smoke channel.
Mechanical. It is produced by direct impact on the soot layer with various tools in order to remove it.

If you use such tools correctly and in a timely manner, you can avoid involving a third-party specialist in cleaning the chimney.

Biological methods of cleaning the chimney

All biological methods are based on adding some substances to a burning furnace. Common products include the following:

potato peelings. This is an old folk remedy for the prevention of soot deposits, the simplest and always available. The peel must be prepared in advance, accumulating at least half a bucket. It must be dried and brought into the furnace at the end of the burning of the bookmark. When burned, potatoes release starch, which softens the soot layer well. It happens that it simply falls down in layers or pieces, part of it is carried out along with the furnace gases. This operation is also recommended before mechanical cleaning;
rock salt. The method is used when igniting the furnace. The compound formed when the salt is heated softens the soot layer well. A tablespoon of salt should be poured over the fuel tab;
aspen wood. Firewood from a tree of this breed has a high calorific value, so they are laid at the end of the firebox. Hot furnace gases simply burn soot directly on the walls of the chimney. The danger of the method lies in the fact that large deposits of soot during combustion at a high intrinsic temperature can destroy the chimney and cause a serious fire. Therefore, this method should be used regularly, laying aspen firewood in small portions. For the same purpose, you can use birch firewood peeled from the bark;
walnut shell. The use of this tool is also associated with a high temperature of their combustion. Therefore, they can serve as an alternative to aspen firewood. But the shell can be used in an amount of no more than two liters at a time. Otherwise, overheating of the chimney is possible with predictable consequences.

Photo gallery: folk remedies for cleaning the chimney

Walnut shells cannot be burned in large quantities - it can overheat the chimney Burning dried peelings destroys the soot layer due to the release of starch Rock salt, when heated, releases substances that soften soot on the walls of the chimney Aspen wood burns soot on the walls of the chimney due to a very high combustion temperature

Soot removal chemicals

There are several such products, and they can be divided into two groups: household products and special chemicals. The first group includes:

Naphthalene. This is an effective and quite reliable tool. Under its influence, soot exfoliates and is taken out into the furnace. It is placed in the oven on the burning firewood. A significant drawback is the acrid unpleasant odor remaining in the room. Therefore, it is not used in open hearths and fireplaces.
Blue blend. It's easy to make your own if you have a few common ingredients on hand. Need to mix:
- five parts of copper sulfate;
- seven parts of saltpeter;
- two parts of medium fraction coke.

Special chemicals are used to clean chimneys also for preventive purposes. Given the existing demand, the industry produces a variety of formulations designed specifically to combat soot. The release form can be briquettes, like logs, powders or solutions. Their action is based on the decomposition of smoke even in the furnace into components that do not form soot.

The convenience is that the methods of their use are described in detail in the instructions for use, and they are divided into portions. You can burn these products together with the packaging, which is also very convenient. The following products are popular:

There are quite a few remedies for soot on the market, so by testing you can choose the best option for yourself.

Photo gallery: chemicals for cleaning the chimney

Cheerful chimney sweep tablets will help get rid of soot in the chimney no worse than a professional chimney sweeper Blue mixture must be prepared independently from three not the most common components This product is recommended to be used only in closed combustion chambers Naphthalene leaves behind an unpleasant odor that will disappear within a few days

Video: chimney cleaning with special chemicals

Mechanical cleaning methods

Mechanical methods are radical and are recommended for use at least twice a year. They are produced from the top of the pipe with various brushes or nozzles for power tools, and the final cleaning is performed from below from the hearth, fireplace or furnace furnace.

Chimney sweeps use special ruffs on a long cable

As preparatory measures, before cleaning a thick (from two millimeters) layer of soot, potato peelings or other listed means are burned.

In this case, the following materials and tools may be needed:

To clean the pipe from above, you need to use a roof ladder, well fixed on the roof . Under any conditions, you need a reliable safety rope.

Work at height can only be carried out in dry, calm weather. Before climbing to the roof, you should not take drugs that reduce the reaction, and even more so alcoholic beverages.

Before starting work, the oven must be cooled down. Clean the furnace space from unburned fuel residues and ash. Close the firebox door, blower, and hob covers tightly and hang with a wet rag to prevent soot from entering the room. The gate must be opened completely to avoid re-clogging of the channel with crumbling soot.

The chimney pipe must be freed from the head, after which:

Video: cleaning the chimney from the side of the room

Ruff with your own hands

If for some reason there was no brush at hand, it can be made “on the go” from a plastic bottle. To do this, you need to cut several tiers of strips up to 12-15 millimeters wide on the body so that they bend vertically. To make the device heavier, sand can be poured to the bottom.

A good chimney brush can be made from a plastic bottle

Stainless steel pipe cleaning

A feature of the product is the high quality of the inner surface of the chimney. This prevents a significant amount of soot from settling on the walls. Naturally, this is true for a properly made chimney, subject to the rules for firing a furnace. If a stable soot has formed, it is urgent to clean it. To do this, use the following methods:

In order not to conduct additional "experiments", you need to heat the stove only with suitable fuel - well-dried hardwood firewood. At the end of each firebox, you need to add one aspen log for prevention.

Video: stainless steel pipe cleaning

Soot removal from stainless steel sandwich pipes

Cleaning the inner sandwich pipe, if used correctly, is very rarely needed. Nevertheless, if such a need arises, you can use an elongated brush made of thin pile. The flexible compound hose is rotated by an electric drill, cleaning is done through a tee from below. Fine bristles of the ruff do not damage the surface of the pipe, effectively cleaning the surface.

Such a chimney is easy to dismantle and clean each pipe individually.

Special cases of cleaning the chimney

Some chimney cleaning situations require separate consideration.

How to clean a chimney pipe in a private house

Briefly, the entire process of cleaning the chimney has already been described above. To what has been said, it is only necessary to add that with a strong clogging of the smoke channel, the first operation is to break through the soot with a core without additional devices. Only then are brushes of different sizes and designs consistently used.

When performing work, care should be taken to create a safe working environment.

When working at height, be sure to buckle up with a safety cable.

Video: how to clean a chimney in a private house

Bath chimney cleaning

The chimney in the bath is usually simpler. And most often it is made of stainless pipes, which requires special attention to its cleaning. In order not to negate its main advantage - the high quality of the inner surface - it should be cleaned only with soft plastic or brushes made from natural materials. The easiest way to manage is with straight pipelines, and if there are elbows - we recall that there should be no more than two of them - you may have to dismantle the chimney if it does not have special windows for cleaning during installation.

Otherwise, preventive measures and cleaning are carried out in the same way.

Cleaning the chimney pipe from tar

Considering the composition of flue gases, you need to pay attention to two main components - this is water vapor from the fuel and a vapor of difficult-to-ignite creosote. Mixing and settling on the walls of the smoke channel, they form a resin that is difficult to remove due to its viscosity and good adhesion to various types of surfaces.

The only effective way to deal with tar deposits is to prevent its formation. For this, various means are used that are produced specifically for this case.

HANSA effectively protects the walls of the chimney from the formation of tar

For example, the known composition of HANSA is a fine crystalline substance. Part of it turns wood into resin and water vapor, and the second, reacting with the substance of the resin, contributes to its decomposition and combustion at the temperature in the furnace. Remains of resin on the walls turn into a brittle crystalline composition, crumbling into the furnace.

This composition is placed inside the burning furnace. The frequency of use at the beginning of the operation of the thermal unit is daily, then you can switch to use once a week.

Curved chimney cleaning

The bends of the smoke channel are always a forced measure caused by the structural features of the building. However, they need to be cleaned periodically. For this purpose, elements are provided in the design of the pipeline, using which this operation can be performed easily and simply. These are special hatches, when opened, it becomes possible to access the straight section of the bend. The length of the inclined sections is not recommended to be made larger than a meter. The number of bends on one pipe should not exceed two.

If there is no window for cleaning on the outlet elbow, then the chimney will have to be disassembled

How to clean a gas stove chimney

The reason for cleaning the chimney of the gas column is its banal clogging with a deterioration in draft. In a city apartment, this is all the more dangerous because the threat arises for many people at the same time. One of the signs of traction deterioration is the “popping” of the column igniter.

The process of cleaning the exhaust pipe from a gas unit is practically no different from such an operation with conventional chimneys. The same ruff is used. Recently, vacuum cleaners of a special design are often used, which reliably clean the surface of the pipe and collect pollution products. In difficult cases, when the layers cannot be removed with a brush or vacuum cleaner, special chemicals are used to soften and remove them. Considering that the use of prophylactic agents on the column pipe is impossible, urgent measures should be taken if signs of clogging are found.

It must be admitted that the success of using solid fuel furnace equipment to the greatest extent depends on the correct operation of the units and the careful selection of fuel for it. In addition, it is necessary to regularly use preventive measures and know how to get rid of problems with clogged chimneys. Then stoves and fireplaces will delight you with fertile warmth in the house for a long time. I wish you success!

When using any solid fuel, products of incomplete combustion accumulate in the chimney, which settle on the walls in the form of a soft coating. If you do not clean it in time, the clearance will decrease, which will significantly worsen traction. And so much so that the smoke goes into the room. In the worst case, the soot can catch fire, which is fraught with the destruction of the pipe or even a fire. Cleaning the chimney is practically the only way to avoid this. It is necessary to inspect the condition of the pipe twice a year - before and after the heating season. And how often you have to clean it depends on whether you use preventive chimney cleaning methods or not.

This is the result of a soot fire.

There are two types of chimney cleaning type:

Chimney sweeps have been cleaning soot in this way for centuries. Cleaning is carried out from the roof. A special projectile is lowered into the pipe - a core, to the center of which a flexible cable is welded / attached. Above the core there is a brush that crushes soot, and the core is a weighting element that simultaneously checks the patency of the pipe. When working, you need to be careful: if the traction is good, knocked down soot and other debris will fly into your face. Therefore, first put on goggles and a respirator, and also tie yourself to a pipe: with a sudden release in the face, a person involuntarily makes a sharp movement. How it can end on the roof, you can probably imagine.

This design - a ruff with a core on a cable - can be done independently, but the main snag is in the right load. It should be round and centered. No ordinary weights, heavy pieces of iron are suitable. They work for the time being, and then the tied load becomes “by surprise” in the pipe and no efforts can get it out of there. Often, in order to extract the projectile, disassembly of a fragment of the chimney is required. If you are going to clean the chimney yourself, either make or buy the “right projectile” that under no circumstances will get stuck in the chimney. Taping a brush, making it from metal or synthetic bristles - these are already details that usually do not cause difficulties.

Sometimes the pipe is too high to be reached even from the roof. In this case, the chimney is cleaned from below. If the chimney is metal and there is a cleaning glass, it is unscrewed and a ruff on a flexible rod is filled into the pipe. In some cases, not rods are used, but rigid wire. If there is no glass, maybe there is a cleaning hole, if there is none, then you will either have to disassemble the beginning of the chimney, or clean it through the firebox, which is completely inconvenient.

There is one more thing: if the pipe is metal, brushing is not enough - a large amount of plaque remains on the walls. In order for the cleaning to be of high quality, instead of a brush, a lump of rags is wound onto a wire or rod. Such cleaning of the chimney leaves behind almost perfectly clean walls.

Homemade chimney brush

One option is to make a cleaning brush out of polypropylene pipes. Pipes are cut into fragments of approximately 1.5 meters. Threaded fittings are installed on the ends. A metal brush for a grinder is attached to one of them.

Previously, the wire on the brush is fluffed with pliers or pliers. It turns out a home-made cleaning telescopic rod for the chimney.

How to make a chimney cleaner from a plastic bottle, see the video.

How to clean a very high or curved chimney

Sometimes the pipe rises very high above the ridge. Not to call a special vehicle with a lifting platform every time to clean the chimney? The issue is resolved with the help of a very long cable, in the middle of which a brush of a suitable diameter is attached.

A small load is tied to the end of the cable, thrown into the pipe, pulled out from the other end. The cable remains inside, and its second end hangs outside. When it becomes necessary to shake the soot, they simply pull one end, then the other, moving the brush tied to the cable. The total length of the cable is three pipe heights.

In the same way, the problem of a pipe with a bend is solved - you only have to somehow drag the cable through the knee for the first time, and then you only need to pull the ends of the cable.

Soot cleaning chemicals

Any chemical means are only preventive measures and a way to make mechanical cleaning more rare. You can cope without mechanical removal of plaque only if you have a stainless steel or ceramic chimney, and then, with the regular use of one or more products from this category.

Keep in mind that if you haven't cleaned your chimney for a long time, and you start using one of the chemicals, there is a chance that you will completely "plug" the draft. These substances do not remove or dissolve deposits, but only soften them. Softened soot and soot either fly away in the form of flakes into the pipe, or fall down. If the stove is reversible, with long curved smoke channels, soot can clog the gap. It will be necessary to open the cleaning windows, remove the soot and everything that has fallen in there. If the pipe is straight, after using these products, it is necessary to clean the firebox - within a few days, the fallen sediment will pour into it.

Folk chemicals

Let's start with "folk" means for dissolving soot. Even our grandmothers periodically sprinkled a certain amount of salt on burning firewood. So that at the same time soot flies into the chimney, and does not pour in, the chimney is very well heated, the fireman at full power for a while. Then half a kilogram-kilogram of salt is poured into the fire and they continue to heat for another hour and a half. If the pipe is hot enough, gray or black flakes will start flying into the pipe. For several days, then the remains can pour inward, but the bulk burns out in the pipe.

Many are well acquainted with the effects of potato starch. In the same way, with a well-heated stove, they pour on firewood near a bucket of potato peelings (you can chopped potatoes, you can starch). The effect is almost the same, with the only difference that almost everything falls inside.

Another option for “folk” chimney cleaners is to burn a few aluminum cans. In this case, the fire must be really hot: firewood with a high heat capacity is needed. Then aluminum really burns - the can disappears in 5-7 minutes. If it just darkens, there will be no effect.

store preparations

There are a variety of chimney cleaners available in stores. Some of them are produced in the form of packaged powder, others - in the form of logs or briquettes. Read the instructions before buying. There are preparations intended for open fireboxes - such as a fireplace, there are - for closed ones, such as bath or heating stoves. It is not recommended to interchange them - after all, chemistry ...

The range of chemicals for cleaning the chimney is constantly updated, but there are drugs that have existed for more than a dozen years. Their impact has already been well studied. Below we will talk about the most popular and common.

The composition of these funds, of course, is not disclosed, the principle of operation is rather poorly described: under the influence of gases released during combustion (safe for humans), soot dries up, burns out, becomes brittle and flies out into the pipe or crumbles down. Review the log for cleaning the chimney "Saginet Chimney Sweep" in the video.

Thermal chimney cleaning methods

The action of this method is based on the fact that soot is a high-calorie combustible substance. The temperature in the chimney is brought to the point where it flares up and burns out. The problem is that the burning temperature of soot is about 1100°C and few chimneys and fire cuts (when passing through the ceiling or roof) are able to withstand such heating.

Its one very unpleasant and dangerous feature is that if a lot of soot has accumulated, the moment of ignition is very similar to an explosion. Almost the same sound is heard, and the air wave is palpable. So, not weak shock load is added to the extremely high temperatures. There were times when even the coarse stoves fell apart. So this method is a dangerous undertaking.

Thermal cleaning is implemented simply: take dry aspen firewood and heat the stove. Their burning temperature is very high, and after a while the soot flares up. If aspen is heated periodically, the deposits simply do not have time to be deposited in sufficient quantities to cause any tangible harm during combustion. But on a clogged chimney, this method is dangerous to use.

Unfortunately, quite often they think about cleaning the chimney when the draft already disappears and the reverse appears - the smoke simply goes into the room. But this is already an extreme degree of clogging of the chimney. But even at the beginning of the problem, you are already breathing not only smoke that seems safe (we all go to barbecues), but also dangerous carbon monoxide. And the soot that accumulates on the walls of the chimney can even catch fire and lead to a fire!

That is why the profession of a chimney sweep has long existed and revered. And today's owners of private houses and baths are not at all afraid of cleaning the chimney - today a wide variety of special brushes are sold for this purpose, with a long handle or telescopic, round in the form of a brush with a load on a cable or more intricate ones. And believe me, there is nothing tricky in this matter!

When is it time to clean?

It will not be possible to completely do without cleaning the chimney, no matter what material and what design it is. Indeed, over time, due to soot, the passage in the chimneys narrows and the so-called reverse draft effect occurs, when the smoke no longer enters the street, but into the room. If you wait a little more time, then any furnace will simply become unusable. Not to mention that reverse draft is dangerous even for people living inside the house!

When approaching the issue of cleaning the chimney, the following factors must be considered:

Downtime, namely how long there was no cleaning.
What is the design of the chimney, how smooth are its walls and what are the lines of its operation.
What kind of fuel was used, whether plastic bottles or similar garbage were thrown into the firebox.
Was raw wood used?
Were there pine or spruce among the firewood, because from them resinous substances settle on the wall of the chimney.

To notice that your chimney needs cleaning, you can independently by the following signs:

Smoke color change. Ideally, if almost transparent, barely noticeable white smoke comes out into the street, and it’s bad if it becomes dark - this indicates the presence of a large amount of soot.
Flame color change. The color of the fire in the furnace also signals problems: if it is light orange and the firewood crackles, then everything is in order. And if the flame turns dark orange, almost orange, this is a sign that the chimney needs to be cleaned.
And, finally, the simplest and most logical way remains - a preventive inspection of the chimney. It’s good if a professional master can do this, but even you can notice problems. For example, professional chimney sweeps lower a special load into the chimney along the diameter of the pipe, and if it passes easily, everything is in order, if it rests, then it will have to be cleaned.

Moreover, the situation with soot can reach such a critical point when pollution completely blocks the chimney and ice plugs appear. And even worse - coking, when soot accumulates on the chippers and burns out there to large solid fractions, similar to coal. Such fractions clog the chimney and block the draft. And in order to remove all this, just a brush with a load will not be enough, you will have to use a special jack to raise the chimney and clean the stove. That is why it is so important to make all sections of the chimney straight. And on rare bends, install tees with a cleaning system.

In total, today there are three types of methods for cleaning the chimney: mechanical, with the help of special devices that need to penetrate the pipe, biological, when natural ingredients are used, and chemical, when cleaning is done using industrial special preparations. Let's dwell on each of them in more detail.

Mechanical cleaning of the chimney: only in the warm season

As a rule, ordinary owners of stoves and fireplaces clean their chimney once, before each heating season, and it's good if this is enough. And the mechanical way is the oldest and even today it makes sense:

You can manually clean the chimney both from the inside of the house, from below, and from above, directly from the roof. And for each of the methods there is a tool.

If you have chosen the brush that is used from above, you need to tie a rope to it and hook a load on it, and only after that run it through the chimney through the roof. This will pass along the entire chimney and will hook soot from the walls with it. It is only important to lower the brush carefully and gradually, slowly, so that the soot is collected qualitatively and at the same time the load does not damage the chimney itself. In the same way, lower and raise the ruff several times until it becomes noticeable that the soot has been cleaned and the blockage has been broken.

Usually such a brush is enough for up to three heating seasons. But this method has its drawbacks:

Firstly, you will need a lot of time for all this, at least an hour;
Secondly, if you need to clean the chimney, you will not always be able to get out onto the roof, especially when it snows and the wind is strong;
And, finally, with such a device it is quite difficult to clean the chimney elbows and hard-to-reach places, or the chimney itself is designed in such a way that it is generally impossible to clean it from the outside, through the roof.

And the method of cleaning the chimney from below, from the room, is much safer for a person. You can safely do all the necessary work and not risk your life. Simply take a brush, place it on a flexible holder and push it through a heater or a special revision hole.

In addition, from below, with the help of long flexible holders, soot is easy to clean even in high bends:

So, for example, a brush with a telescopic holder is good because it is convenient to use it on the roof: you just need to insert one part into another, gradually lowering the brush down, and disassemble it in reverse order when lifting up:

Here is a step-by-step illustration of what is needed to mechanically clean the chimney with a brush and weight:

Cleaning by folk methods: both in snow and in rain

Today, many are wondering: how to clean the chimney from soot with folk remedies in the middle of winter, without the need for mechanical cleaning, safely and reliably?

The most famous biological methods (they are usually called folk methods) are cleaning with potato peels. This method avoids the rough mechanical removal of soot from the walls of the chimney and is ideal for those areas where the heating season is long enough, because then you do not have to stop the furnace from burning for a long time.

The second way is dry aspen wood, which burns so fast and hot that it burns all the soot in the chimney. But you need to use this method carefully so as not to actually lead to a fire.

The third relatively cheap and reliable method to extend the life of the chimney during the heating season is to sprinkle wood with salt. With each kindling, the salt binds soot and does not allow it to settle on the walls of the chimney.

You will be surprised, but even the usual, long-known in Russia, cleaning the chimney with potato peels is actually quite an effective method:

Just a little tip: if you want to clean your chimney with raw potato skins, you need to peel at least half a bucket of them. When the peel is burned, starch will remain from it, which will corrode the soot, and it will simply crumble down. After that, all the ashes will simply need to be removed from the furnace.

Dry Cleaning: Caution Needed!

But it happens that soot is difficult to clean, especially if old wood was used, and then you have to resort to a chemical method. The advantage of this method is that it will not take your time or your energy.

A variety of special products for cleaning chimneys today pleases the eye: liquids, briquettes, special powders. Their secret is that such substances are ignited in a heating device and they emit active gases, which soot is afraid of. Under their influence, it becomes fragile and begins to fall off. Moreover, some of the small particles simply fly out with the smoke, while the rest falls down and is already removed along with the ash.

Powders are simply thrown into the furnace without unpacking, directly with firewood, and there should be a lot of firewood itself. You only need to drop one sachet every two to three weeks. The only limitation of this method is that it makes sense to use powder products only if the soot on the walls of the chimney is not more than 2 millimeters. But, if you use such a powder all the time, cleaning the chimneys will not be needed at all:

But if you have a deeper problem, then you will have to use a log - this is a chemical substance in the form of a briquette, which is enough to put in the furnace once every two months, also in a package. It is used when the firewood has already burned out in order to set it on fire separately. As part of such a log, wooden files, urea, sodium sulfate, coal wax, ammonium sulfate and amorphous silicon.

Such a composition of active substances is able to remove all the accumulated soot in the chimney in just one time. After you burn the chemical log inside the firebox, for another two weeks you will have soot falling from the walls of the chimney, and it will just need to be removed.

Very convenient: just put a log on the fire, and chemical gases corrode soot not only on the surface of the walls of the chimney, but also inside the heater itself, even on the heat exchanger and the internal chimney. And in its own way, it even prevents the appearance of new soot. It is this method that allows you to remove soot in the most inaccessible places of bends and knees. And, most importantly, such cleaning can be done at any time of the year - even with an active winter firebox. The only point: if the chimney has not been cleaned for a long time, a congestion is clearly felt and there is almost no draft, then at first you will still have to use a brush.

Here is a clear example of how to clean a chimney with modern chemicals:

Professional chimney cleaning: fast, reliable and expensive

Strange as it may sound, all over the world the profession of a chimney sweep exists and is still appreciated. You will be interested to know that the traditional chimney sweep cylinder has always been the privilege of only the master. And to become one, it was necessary to serve as an apprentice for more than one year - this specialty is so complicated.

In recent years, the profession of a chimney sweep has been on the verge of extinction, and only relatively recently has it become sharply in demand. It's all about fires due to poor-quality installation of chimneys and their operation. A modern house is so expensive today that it is wiser to hire a specialist than to rely on "maybe". Indeed, it is much more logical to call a professional chimney sweep before the start of the heating season, and not a fire truck in the middle of winter.

For a long time, the All-Russian Voluntary Fire Society was engaged in cleaning the chimney, but today more private companies already offer such services. After all, the correct operation of modern chimneys requires periodic revision, cleaning and prevention. So there was such a thing as professional chimney cleaning, when special equipment is brought for such a purpose. For example, a special vacuum cleaner that simply sucks soot out of the chimney through the firebox. And then you don’t need to drag it through the whole room (and the soot is volatile and poorly washed off the furniture).

Therefore, to this day, professional cleaning is simply indispensable in the most neglected cases, when:

the chimney is covered with a dense layer of hard soot (especially from wet firewood);
the walls of the chimney are old and damaged, and soot tightly clings to them;
you have no desire to do such menial work.

In practice, it looks like this:

For example, in the professional cleaning of chimneys of private houses, such special devices are used:

Modern high-speed installations cope with their task quickly enough, which completely clean the chimney in just an hour:

How to make self-cleaning tools

Special devices for cleaning the chimney from soot are sold in a regular building supermarket or specialty store, or you can make it yourself.

Let's compare a metal brush with a plastic one. Let's start with the fact that a metal brush, of course, will retain its working shape longer, but with particularly intensive cleaning it can scratch the chimney from the inside. Modern plastic brushes are soft, scratch the chimney much less, although they do not last long and at the same time easily break, losing their working shape. That is why there is an unspoken rule among summer residents: take a metal brush for a brick chimney, and plastic for a metal one. Basically, these are the following devices:

Plastic brush: short-lived, but gentle on the chimney

Making a plastic brush is as easy as shelling pears:

If you are going to build such a brush for cleaning the chimney, then all the work will take you no more than 15 minutes.

So, the usual chimney brush is a strong base with a brush, threaded through a metal wire with a load on the chain. To all this, you will need a rope along which the brush will need to be lowered into the chimney. Instead of a load and a rope, it is also quite enough to use a special holder. At least then the brush will not get stuck in the chimney and will not have to be pulled out later.

Plastic bottle brush: at no cost

Moreover, you can even make a homemade ruff from an ordinary plastic bottle (at least a few). Just 2-3 of these brushes is enough for one season. So, here's how to make such a bottle brush:

Step 1. Make round holes in the center of the lid.
Step 2. Cut the walls of the bottles into strips along, about 1.5 or 2 centimeters wide.
Step 3. Make a hole in the bottom of the bottle with a heated nail and thread a 5 mm thick wire through it.
Step 4. Now just insert one bottle into another through the cut strips and attach a thick wire to one end.
Step 5. Put two plastic bottles on, press and fix them so that it is convenient to tie them with plastic wire.
Step 6. Spread the cut strips of plastic evenly in a circle and secure the steel cable as it is.

The only difficulty in such manufacture is to make sure that the load and the rope (cable) are exactly in the center, and the ruff does not warp during use.

Hard round brush: the use of improvised materials

Another great option is to make such a brush from a disc brush for a grinder. Such a brush is much stronger than the previous options and will cope even with the soot itself. It is only important that the diameter of the brush is equal to the diameter of the chimney, because its bristles are hard and bend poorly:

To such a brush, you need to hang a load with a weight of about 5 kg on a steel cable, behind which you will pull the brush along the chimney. Just in case, attach another cable to the load, which will help another person from inside the room to stretch the stuck brush. It is important that the load at the same time be at least a third less than the chimney, otherwise it will catch on and if you have to tinker.

To clean the chimney with such home-made devices, you need to do this:

Step 1. Climb onto the roof, remove the damper from the chimney and lower such a brush into the chimney to the very end.
Step 2. Start pulling the brush back now.
Step 3. Lower the brush down again and pull it out again.
Step 4. All this must be done within a few minutes, keep in mind that below, inside the room, soot will pour abundantly and it must also be removed.

As you can see, everything is simple!

Asymmetric wire brush: for difficult sections of the chimney

If your chimney does not have a large length, knees, bends and is not very clogged (for example, we are talking about a chimney in a seasonal bath), then such simple devices are also suitable for its one-time cleaning:

Telescopic brush: for work from the room

Usually, as a gesture, flexible meter sticks go well, which are twisted into each other and are also called telescopic, in other words, prefabricated. Working with it is quite simple:

Step 1. Screw the brush onto the first handle, stick it straight through the heater, push it through and clean one meter in this way.
Step 2. The next step to the end of the handle that you are still holding and which is sticking out of the chimney, screw the second one and push the brush another meter up the chimney.
Step 4. Repeat this whole process until you have completely cleared the entire chimney.

See how easy it is in practice:

The telescopic brush is able to penetrate the chimney very deeply:

Such a brush is significantly more expensive than the previous option, but the advantage is that such sticks usually do not break and serve for a long time. In addition, with the help of such a rigid handle it is easier to push the blockage in the chimney. In addition, this method is quite difficult to clean the soot in the knees of the chimney bends.

As for the choice of the size of the brush, everything is simple here: you need to select one according to the diameter of the chimney, preferably equal to it or 12 cm larger, so that the brush can easily catch on, and not slide along the walls, slightly not reaching them:

Let's summarize: no matter what device you use to clean your chimney yourself, the main thing is to do this cleaning regularly.