When a chimney pipe in a bathhouse is clogged due to a blockage, a number of unpleasant consequences can occur - poor draft, prolonged temperature build-up, and even fires.
Therefore, it is necessary to clean the pipe regularly; fortunately, there are many effective ways to do this.
Contents of the article
Why does the chimney become clogged?
There are several reasons why pipes in a bathhouse become clogged, this could be:
- soot and soot deposits;
- condensate formed on the inner walls of the pipes;
- foreign objects falling into the pipe.
When soot accumulates on the inner surface of the chimney pipes, clogging occurs, and the draft force is sauna stove decreases significantly.
The soot layer can “grow” by 1.5-2 cm over the course of a year. It all depends on the characteristics of the fuel used.
You will have to clean soot from pipes much more often if you use coniferous wood for kindling.
Condensation and soot deposits in most cases lead to almost complete blocking of the chimney.
Clogging occurs due to the heating of the bathhouse with wood with high acidity. Condensate forms resinous deposits on the pipe walls, the thickness of which in some cases reaches 2.5 cm.
The chimney can be cleaned using a special chimney sweeper when lighting the stove. In this case, it will be almost impossible to clean the chimney mechanically - the resinous condensate will simply be smeared on the inner walls of the pipes.
If foreign objects get into the pipes, cleaning them is necessary immediately, as the smoke will stop coming out and will go back into the room.
This may be harmful to your health. Cleaning the chimney will be quite difficult, but possible.
To do this, you should use a long stick or pole, with which you can push a foreign object inside. The stick can be equipped with a hook, which will allow you to clear the blockage more effectively.
It is worth noting that thorough and regular cleaning of stove pipes from deposits (soot) in the bathhouse is necessary even when using expensive modular stoves.
Cleaning methods
Most effective methods, with a guide to which it will be possible to clean the pipes, the following are considered:
- mechanical;
- folk;
- chemical.
The easiest way to clean the smoke vent of a bathhouse from soot is with a regular nylon brush equipped with hard bristles.
The nylon lint presses well against the inner surface and is distinguished by high degree flexibility.
This product will help you without any hassle. inner surface DIY bath pipe.
However, before cleaning the inside of the chimney, it is important to correct selection such a brush.
In this case, a nylon product will be most suitable - such a brush can easily penetrate the most inaccessible areas, and cleaning will not take much time.
It is important to remember that the brush handle has a high degree of flexibility to better management movements.
Traditional methods
You can also clean the chimney in a bathhouse using traditional methods. For example, using potato peelings.
To do this, you need to throw a bucket or half a bucket of potato peelings into the previously heated oven.
Cleaning will be carried out due to the fact that during the combustion of the material starch will be released, which will effectively contribute to the destruction of soot deposits.
After 2-3 days, unnecessary sediment will completely disappear from the inner walls. For preventive purposes, tie a brick and a pipe brush to a strong rope and further clean the pipe in the classic way.
Another way is to clean the chimney using aspen firewood. For this purpose, aspen wood is placed in the stove, and it is properly lit.
Such raw materials provide quite high temperature pressure. During the kindling process, it is important to open all existing doors and latches and throw in new logs from time to time.
As a result, the soot will begin to burn, and the stove will emit a characteristic hum. Perhaps fire will come from the chimney, and the entire area around the bathhouse will be covered with soot.
It should be remembered that such cleaning is carried out only if the pipe is not designed for a temperature of more than 1100°C, at which the soot burns out.
You can get rid of sediment without much effort and use a regular garden watering hose. To do this, a glass is removed from the bottom of the chimney, and a hose with maximum rigidity is inserted from above or below.
You can clean the inner surface using reciprocating movements, as a result of which all the sediment will end up at the bottom.
To enhance the effect, you can attach a cut plastic bottle or brush to one end of the hose - this will help you get rid of plaque with ease and without any special material costs.
Application of chemical cleaning method (video)
Chemical method
This method involves the use of various chemically active substances. They are produced in the form of special powders, briquettes or liquids.
This method is especially good for preventive removal of deposits and is characterized by high convenience and low labor intensity.
When implementing this method, during the combustion process, wood is added to the firebox required quantity chemically active substances.
When burned, they will initiate the release of gases that are not capable of harming humans. Gases can effectively destroy the internal structure of deposits, which will fall down.
The most popular chemicals for eliminating soot deposits in the chimney are anti-carbon dioxide chemical composition(PHK), log-chimney sweeper and a product called Kominichek.
PCP is sold in the form of a powder, which must be burned in a package along with firewood or charcoal. Following the instructions, you need to ensure that the powder consumption does not exceed 150-200 grams per kindling.
Kominchek is a product that is produced in the Czech Republic. It is packaged in bags containing only 15 grams of active substance.
When carrying out preventive maintenance, one package of this chemical agent may last for more than 3 months.
Kominchek is most effective if the thickness of the soot deposit does not exceed 2 mm. During the resulting catalytic reaction, all deposits become oxides and burn without residue.
A log chimney sweep is considered the most popular means for removing soot from masonry chimneys.
The product is presented in the form of briquettes or bars, which release active compounds during the combustion process.
As a result of their influence, the creosote sediment on the inner walls of the pipes dries out and falls into the firebox. Chimney sweep logs are also highly recommended for preventive purposes.
Making your own brush
In order to clean the chimney pipe in a bathhouse, it is not necessary to purchase a finished product; you can save money and make a special brush yourself. For this you will need:
- synthetic round broom;
- steel cable for the entire length of the chimney;
- stud and washers with 8 mm thread.
After acquiring all the components, the bristles of the plastic broom are unbent in different directions. Due to the fact that it has a certain elasticity and rigidity, physical effort will be required to bend it.
After which the fixing nut and washer are screwed on. It is important to know that the tighter the washer is tightened, the more the brush pile will diverge in different directions.
After this, a pre-prepared steel cable is attached to the ruff using a bracket. Then it will be necessary to measure the diameter of the chimney and cut the pile taking into account its size.
To achieve high precision You must first try on the trimmings of the ruff fibers and make a round template with the appropriate diameter from cardboard. At the end, any load is securely attached to the cable. Its weight must be at least 2 kg.
Operating procedure
Cleaning the chimney can be done on your own; for this you can use either special sets of brushes with composite handles or a brush made by yourself.
First of all, it is necessary to remove all loose parts from the stove and free the room in the bathhouse from foreign and interfering objects.
The brush is screwed to the cable along with the load. If the tool is factory-made, then the brush is attached to the first link compound handle.
The tool is carefully inserted into the part of the chimney that is located above the firebox. It is necessary to wrap a blanket or other prepared fabric around the handle and press it with the help of weights to the edges of the firebox opening.
The brush is pushed along the chimney until there is a noticeable weakening of the resistance.
This means that the tool exits . It is not recommended to do rotational movements brush - this can lead to twisting of the cable and unwinding of the compound handle.
The product must be pushed until the blockage is removed, and you can feel how everything moves more freely in the pipe. After the work, you will need to remove ash and soot from the firebox.
Cleaning a pipe in a bathhouse will not be difficult if it is straight without bends and of short length. Long chimneys with bends are more difficult to free from soot. Here you will need to resort to complex chemical or mechanical methods. Sometimes traditional methods help. However, first you need to find out why the pipe becomes quickly clogged.
Why does the chimney become clogged?
If, after cleaning, the pipe in the bathhouse soon becomes clogged again, you should think about the mistakes made in operating the stove. The chimney itself is not capable of coking quickly. Soot deposition occurs during fuel combustion. Solid particles of combustion products are removed through the chimney along with the smoke. With a number unfavorable conditions all of them do not evaporate, but settle on the walls of the chimney in the form of soot accumulation.
Rapid pipe clogging occurs for the following reasons:
How to determine when it's time to clean
A clogged sauna chimney will immediately make itself felt. You don’t need to be an expert here, but you should be wary if the following signs occur:
- The draft in the sauna stove has decreased. First you need to check the damper. If it is completely open and there is no traction, it is time to clean the pipe.
- The firewood burns well, but the flame gradually fades. The chimney is partially clogged.
- Ignition of fuel becomes more difficult. If the chimney is clogged, it is difficult to light even dry wood. The smoke has nowhere to go and extinguishes the flame.
- The color of the flame became dull orange. If there is good draft in the sauna stove, the flames stretch towards the chimney channel and have a bright color of red, orange, and blue.
- After lighting the stove, the bathhouse was filled with a pungent smell. In the absence of draft, the fumes enter the room. It can be easily identified by its watery eyes.
Important! If one of the reasons is observed, the chimney of the bathhouse must be urgently cleaned.
How to clean a pipe in a bathhouse
The procedure for cleaning a chimney in a bathhouse involves freeing the channel from soot and accidentally penetrated debris. After servicing the pipes, the firebox and furnace vent are put in order. You can clean the chimney of a bathhouse yourself using chemical, mechanical, and folk remedies. If actions are unsuccessful, a specialized team is invited.
Mechanical method
A chimney sweep is rarely seen these days, but the profession has not lost its relevance. Mechanical cleaning of the bath pipe is considered a radical method, which is recommended to be used twice a year. Cleaning the chimney from soot starts from the street side and ends with the firebox.
For work, a mandatory set of tools is used:
- Brush with flexible bristles. The diameter of the device is selected 2 times larger than the cross-section of the bath chimney.
- Rope for fixing the brush and immersing it inside the pipe. For chimneys with bends, it is better to use a cable. A ruff is attached to one end, and a handle for turning is attached to the other end.
- Steel load with a diameter of up to 50% of the cross-section of the bathhouse chimney. The weight is tied below the ruff for free movement down the pipe.
Auxiliary tools for cleaning the chimney include brushes and scrapers with long handles.
Mechanical cleaning of the pipe is carried out in dry, windless weather. Will need ladder and a roof hatch if you have to climb gable roof baths By flat roof It is convenient to walk without a wooden manhole.
Before starting work, the stove in the bathhouse must cool down. The damper in the room is fully opened so that the collapsed soot flows through the pipe into the firebox. The entire oven is covered with a damp cloth to prevent contamination of the bath with black soot.
Mechanical cleaning of the pipe is performed in the following sequence:
The final work is to clean the firebox and ash chamber from soot. After removing the soot, good draft will appear in the furnace.
Advice! The presence of traction is checked with a paper strip or a burning match.
If a flame or the edge of a piece of paper pulls into the ash pan, the draft through the chimney is excellent.
Chemical method
A simple way to get rid of soot is based on burning chemicals in a firebox. Conventionally, they are divided into household and specialized substances. The first include:
- Naphthalene used to be sold in bags. Grandmothers put them in the closet to kill moths. A substance with a pungent odor and is highly flammable. Naphthalene should be burned with caution in small doses.
- The blue mixture is prepared independently from three components: copper sulfate, saltpeter, coke. The proportions are 5:7:2 in the listed sequence.
It is more convenient to use factory-made chemicals. The packaging contains instructions; the briquettes are packaged in portions for single use. The most popular are: “Log Chimney Sweep”, “Komichek”, “PHK”. There are other preparations for chimneys. It is optimal to select them for a bath empirically.
The video tells more about the use of chemicals:
Vacuum cleaning
Professional cleaning of pipes in a bathhouse with a vacuum is performed special equipment. The nozzle of the device is immersed inside the chimney. A running motor, similar to a vacuum cleaner, creates a strong air flow. Soot flies out into the street from the chimney under high pressure.
The advantage is effective cleaning. The vacuum expels soot from all secluded places on turns and bends, where it is difficult to reach with a brush. The disadvantage of this method is dirt. The roof of the bathhouse and nearby neighboring buildings are covered with black soot. In addition, the device is expensive. It makes sense to buy equipment as a group for several yards or to use the services of hired workers.
How to clean a chimney in a bathhouse: folk methods
The chimney pipe of a bathhouse is not always clogged to a critical condition. In many cases, folk methods help get rid of soot.
Cleaning with water
The method is effective for metal pipes. Brickwork on clay will be washed away by water. The essence of cleaning is to uniformly wet solid deposits. A small amount of water is poured from the street into the pipe along the walls. When the dirty liquid begins to drip into the firebox, light a low fire. During combustion, continue to add water in small portions. Wet heated carbon deposits soften. When the wood burns out, a bucket of water is poured into the chimney. The soot along with the liquid will flow through the firebox into the ash pit. What remains is the unpleasant procedure of scooping out the slurry.
Burning potato peelings
A more humane method is based on burning potato peels in a sauna oven. You will need about half a bucket of cleaning. They are pre-dried and placed in the firebox after the loaded firewood has burned out. The starch released during combustion softens the soot. Soot falls into the firebox in layers.
Heating the stove with aspen wood
Soot tends to burn when exposed to high temperatures. Another folk method is based on this phenomenon. The sauna stove is heated with ordinary wood. When the pipe warms up, the firebox is loaded with aspen logs. When burned, firewood produces hot gases that burn soot.
Attention! Large portion Aspen wood can lead to a fire or destruction of the bathhouse chimney.
Burning aluminum cans
Beer or aluminum cans, when burned, release substances that destroy soot. One container burns for approximately 9 minutes. Aluminum should burn, not blacken or melt. You can achieve metal combustion by loading heat-intensive firewood.
How to clean a pipe from soot in a bathhouse with your own hands
Cleaning the chimney pipe of a bathhouse is not a difficult task, but it is necessary to observe the order of work and accuracy.
Chimney inspection
Cleaning begins with an inspection. Based on the results obtained, a suitable method is selected. If the sauna chimney is equipped with inspection hatches, they are all opened. Soot accumulation at connecting joints metal pipe indicates their depressurization. The chimney will first have to be disassembled, each element cleaned and reassembled, treating each joint with heat-resistant paste.
Making your own pipe cleaning brush
If you don’t have a factory-made brush at hand, you can easily make one from a PET bottle. The diameter of the bottle is selected to approximate the cross-section of the pipe. The container must fit freely into the channel. The bottom of the bottle is cut off, the body is cut halfway into strips 1.5 cm wide, and folded over the sides. A rope is threaded through the neck, the load and the bottle itself are secured so that it does not move. The ruff is ready.
Important! Brushes with metal bristles should not be used to clean steel chimneys.
Primary cleaning
The chimney pipe of the bathhouse begins to be cleaned from the street. The first step is to dismantle the head. Thick soot build-ups are scraped off and thrown onto the ground or into a bucket. Clean the head itself. If the bathhouse has not been used for a long time, nests of birds, wasps, and wild bees can be found inside the chimney channel. All items are removed using hooks or other devices.
Soot removal
Based on the inspection results, one of the existing cleaning methods is selected. It is important to know that manufacturers of metal chimneys do not recommend burning them. Only applicable here mechanical method, but without the use of steel scrapers and brushes.
How to clean a brick chimney in a bathhouse
All are applicable for a brick channel existing methods. Filling water using the traditional method is excluded. Brushes will work even with metal bristles, but caution is needed. Scratched walls indicate increased channel roughness. Soot will get caught on burrs and potholes, and the bathhouse pipe will clog faster. It is optimal to blow out a brick pipe using a vacuum method or clean it by burning chemicals.
Prevention
Preventive measures help extend the life of a bathhouse chimney. It is enough to burn 1-2 times a year chemical drug, potato peelings, aluminum cans. Salt, similarly, when burned, destroys carbon deposits well.
The best fuel for a sauna stove is wood from deciduous trees. The logs are dried for at least 1 year under covered sheds. Such firewood never produces much soot.
You cannot burn garbage, plastic, or waste from repairs in the stove. A thrown spray can will explode in a fire, destroying the firebox and damaging the chimney. Do not light wet wood with diesel fuel or gasoline. It is unacceptable to completely load the firebox with logs. Great heat and flame will cause the soot to ignite.
Conclusion
It is easier to clean a pipe in a bathhouse in warm, dry weather. Usually the spring-autumn period is chosen. In winter, people climb onto the roof of the bathhouse if there is an urgent need, if the stove does not burn.
July 25, 2016Specialization: Capital construction work(laying a foundation, erecting walls, constructing a roof, etc.). Internal construction work (laying internal communications, rough and fine finishing). Hobbies: mobile communications, high technology, computer equipment, programming.
As it turned out, there was a bathhouse in the relatives’ yard, which they had not used for a long time, since the chimney in the stove was clogged. Luckily, I knew how to deal with this problem myself, so I quickly got to work and got the furnace working again. As a reward, I took a steam bath in the steam room and collected very valuable information.
The result of all this was the instructions for cleaning chimney pipes, which I bring to your attention.
Why do you need clean smoke exhaust ducts?
Many in childhood saw how their grandfathers and great-grandfathers cleaned the pipe from soot, but not everyone knows why this not very pleasant operation is necessary. Therefore, I will work a little as a lecturer so that you have something to tell your children on long winter evenings, rocking in a rocking chair by the fireplace.
So, upon combustion solid fuel, in addition to thermal energy and hot gases, soot is formed in the furnace. Upstream flows thermal air it rises up the chimney and gradually settles on the walls of the chimney.
As you work heating device the soot layer becomes thicker. And in the end, all this can lead to very unpleasant consequences:
- the channel for removing gases formed during combustion is greatly narrowed, which reduces the draft in the pipe;
- soot adhered to the walls of the chimney damages the surface of the pipe and reduces the service life of the device;
- the efficiency of the stove (thermal energy production) decreases, that is, to maintain the desired temperature in the room you will have to use more firewood, coal, fuel briquettes or whatever you have;
- the likelihood of ignition of soot deposits inside the stove chimney increases.
Only cleaning the smoke exhaust duct will help you get rid of all the troubles. It is only important to determine exactly when you need to start this not the most pleasant procedure. This is what I will talk about next.
When you can no longer put off this unpleasant task
In principle, based on my own experience, I can tell you that if a fireplace or wood-burning stove was built by an experienced craftsman and he met all the requirements, you will need to worry about how to clean the chimney from soot no more than once every few years.
Especially if you use high-quality fuel. For example, if, in addition to firewood, you throw various garbage, plastic bottles, plastic bags and other plastic items into the firebox, you do not need to count on a clean chimney.
I can also advise you not to use damp wood for heating, especially pine or spruce wood.
Birch logs that have been in your woodpile for at least 2 years from the date of harvesting are most suitable for the firebox.
So, I’ll tell you what signs indicate the need for urgent chimney cleaning:
- Smoke color change. A clean chimney produces clean, light and transparent smoke. If soot has accumulated there, it will change its color to a darker one. And the smoke itself will become denser.
- Changing the shade of the open flame in the firebox. If the draft in the pipe is normal and the chimney is clean, the firewood burns with a light orange flame. An orange-colored fire will indicate the need to clean the chimney.
Be that as it may, I advise you to perform preventive cleaning of the pipe once every 6 months: before the start of the cold season and after it ends. This allows you not only to remove soot in a timely manner, but also to get rid of clogging of the smoke exhaust channel with cobwebs, bird nests, fallen leaves, and so on.
Based on the signs outlined above, you will definitely determine that you need to get to work. But we’ll figure out how to do this below.
Pipe cleaning methods
There are many ways to clean soot from a pipe. You can use both folk remedies and advice, as well as the achievements of the modern chemical industry. Yes, no one canceled and mechanical method, that is, you can easily work as a chimney sweep.
In my practice, I had to use all available methods, so I can safely talk about each of them in more detail.
Method 1 – Using Grandma’s Remedies
There is no need to philosophize here. Our grandparents have long known that they need to burn in a stove to get rid of soot. I won’t say that these methods are very effective, but they have a right to exist.
Here are a few tools you can use:
- Rock salt. Regular table salt should be poured onto burning wood or coal.
This method is quite common, but not particularly effective. My grandmother often poured salt into the stove, but she did this not so much to get rid of soot deposits in the smoke exhaust duct, but to prevent its accumulation. Therefore, I won’t dwell for long, I’ll tell you about another method.
- Potato skins or potato tubers themselves. The quantity is determined by the size of the firebox in the stove, but, as a rule, about a bucket of such waste was enough for me. They need to be poured into an already burning fire.
The essence of the method is that when organic matter burns, starch is released from potatoes, which tends to soften soot deposits on the chimney. After this, the waste layers fall into the lower part of the pipe, from where they are removed through a specially made hole (it was provided when laying the furnace).
- Firewood from aspen. There's not much to say about the technology itself. You need to chop wood from aspen logs and then light a fire in the stove.
Here's the thing. Aspen firewood burns at a very high temperature, so chimney hot gases enter, which burn soot deposits. This method is quite dangerous, so I advise you to take some precautions:
- make sure that the chimney material can withstand high temperatures;
- check that soot deposits in the channel are not so large as to ignite.
But in principle, no one is stopping you from buying special chemicals for cleaning soot from stoves. Their price is low, and their effectiveness is proven by practical experience. At least mine. Therefore, the story about them will go further.
Method 2 – Call on science to help
Modern industry produces a lot of products specifically designed for removing soot from the chimney. They can be supplied as:
- powders;
- liquids;
- fuel briquettes.
They are added to the firebox during fuel combustion. Chemical elements contained in the preparations do not cause harm to human health, but have a destructive effect on soot deposits, causing it to collapse into the lower part of the chimney.
Supplements should be used as deposits accumulate or from time to time, as a preventive measure.
I have described the most popular means for cleaning chimneys from soot in the table, which I suggest you familiarize yourself with.
| Name | Description |
| Anti-carbon chemical composition | A special loose powder that must be poured directly onto the firewood while it is burning. This is very effective remedy, which allows you to quickly get rid of carbon deposits in the smoke exhaust channel. It can also be used for prevention. In this case, the powder consumption is 200 g for every ton of fuel. |
| Kominichek | Soot remover made in Czech Republic. It is also supplied in powder form, which contains a catalyst that allows the soot to burn out at a safely low temperature. However, the powder is only suitable for removing a not too thick layer of carbon deposits. |
| Log chimney sweep | The most popular method in our country for cleaning chimneys from soot. It can be used to clean pipes of furnaces and boilers operating not only on solid fuel, but also on fuel. Effectively removes soot accumulation and can be used for prevention. In my case, to keep the chimney of the fireplace in the country clean, one log is enough, which I burn every month. |
Considering that most likely you will also use the Chimney Sweep Log, I’ll tell you how to clean soot in a chimney using it:
- First of all, you need to make sure that the smoke exhaust channel is not completely clogged with soot, debris or foreign objects.
- You can burn the fuel briquette either with the main fuel or completely independently.
- To achieve maximum efficiency, I burn wood in the fireplace, after which I place the briquette on hot charcoal (like a shish kebab, but not on skewers).
- Before use, you need to remove the packaging of the log, but not the wrapper itself in which the substance is wrapped.
- Usually the log ignites on its own, but if for some reason this does not happen, light the wrapper on both sides yourself.
The soot-eating chemical itself continues to act for about 14 days. During this entire time, lumps of soot may collapse from the chimney into the firebox or to the bottom of the smoke exhaust channel. It needs to be constantly removed from there.
In conclusion of this particular section, I would like to mention one feature that not everyone knows about. When burned, the “chimney sweeper log” produces gases with a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, which can melt a steel chimney pipe. Therefore, the substance can be used in furnaces with stone and ceramic pipes.
Method 3 – we climb the pipe ourselves
I think you are all familiar folk wisdom that you can only do a good job with your own hands. This is exactly what I was guided by when I started cleaning the pipes at a bathhouse in the village. In this case, you get rid of not only soot accumulation, but also debris in the channel.
At the end of the work, you will see for yourself how efficiently and smoke-free the stove will operate. I won’t tell you how I took a steam bath in the bathhouse, otherwise you’ll become jealous.
I will only tell you about the scheme of work when cleaning a chimney from internal soot accumulations. The sequence of actions is as follows:
- First, we close the holes in the chimneys, which are specially designed for cleaning stoves from soot accumulation, with doors or bricks. If this is not done, you will then be tortured to wash the interior of the bathhouse (or whatever you have there) from the black unpleasant coating.
If you are cleaning a fireplace with an open firebox, I advise you to curtain it with a damp cloth to, again, avoid a day of cleaning the living room.
- Then we pretend to be Carlson and go up to the roof. Since you don’t have a motor, I advise you to come up with something as insurance so as not to fall down in the midst of the process. Believe me, no one wants to take you to the traumatology department.
By the way, if it is raining, it is also better to avoid climbing onto the roof. You will either be struck by lightning or slip on the roof. You and your loved ones are unlikely to like both.
- First of all, you need to inspect the pipe from above. If soot accumulation does not exceed 2 mm, there is no need to complicate your life. Go to the store, buy some pipe cleaner and fire it up in the oven. This will be more than enough.
You also need to see if a foreign object is blocking the pipe. This can often be a bird's nest or fallen leaves. In this case, the plug must either be pulled up or pushed down to be removed through the door.
- If, as in my case, there is a lot of soot, we clean it with a special scraper. Then it can be replaced with a special brush, which is sold in a specialized store.
To achieve maximum efficiency, I recommend measuring the diameter of the pipe in advance and purchasing a tool whose diameter is slightly larger than the dimensions of the smoke exhaust duct. You will get a kind of brush, similar to the one your mother used to wash milk bottles when she was a child.
- One more thing. During my work, it turned out that some kind of plug formed inside the pipe, which interfered with cleaning. In this case, you need to use a special weight on a chain, which will break through the blockage and bring it down.
In this case, I do not recommend using a sports weight with a handle. Its center of gravity is shifted, so it may get stuck inside the pipe channel and you will not be able to pull it out. You will have to partially disassemble the smoke duct.
- If you are cleaning not a stove, but a stove, you can partially free the smoke channel from soot by working from bottom to top. For this purpose, special brushes with a long and durable handle are sold. It grows in length, so you can reach very deep inside the pipe.
- At the end of the cleaning, you need to remove the fallen soot from the firebox and from the pipe through doors specially provided for this purpose. Don’t forget to clean the vent, there is also a lot of soot that falls there and needs to be removed.
At this point, cleaning the chimney could be considered complete. if not for one important stage– quality control of work. You can safely entrust it to your significant other, unless, of course, she is afraid to climb onto the roof.
Work quality control
At the end of the work, it is necessary to check the quality of the work performed and, most importantly, the condition of the chimney itself. This can be done visually, but it is better to rent a special endoscope camera, with which you can see the pipe along its entire length.
If cracks or defects in the surface of the chimney are found within direct reach, they must be eliminated. You can do this as follows:
- dilute clean clay with water and coat cracks and crevices with it;
- after this layer has dried, you need to make a clay-sand solution and carefully rub over all other defects with it;
- The last stage is whitewashing the treated areas with lime or painting with water-based emulsion.
If in some places you were unable to clean the chimney, you will have to resort to partial disassembly of the stove, since soot residues in the smoke exhaust channel can cause serious trouble.
Conclusion
As you can see, there is nothing difficult in cleaning a pipe from soot. The main thing is to decide to do this dirty and unpleasant work. But in my case, a reward awaited me in the form of a pleasant time in the bathhouse. I suggest you watch the video in this article, where there is a lot of information about the design and operation of furnaces.
And one more thing. I would be very grateful if you would share in the comments to this material your own secrets and tips on how best to clean soot from pipes. Maybe next time I won't have to spend so much time getting the furnace back up and running.
Those who like to take a steam bath in their own bathhouse often have a question about how to clean the chimney in the bathhouse in the most efficient way. in an efficient way at minimal cost.
If this is not done in a timely manner, you will soon notice a significant decrease in draft and incomplete combustion of wood in the stove, which can result not only in the failure of the chimney itself, but also in the outbreak of a fire.
Regular cleaning of the chimney from soot is necessary even when modern modular systems are installed in the bathhouse.
The accumulation of soot on the walls of the chimney is a serious problem that today can be dealt with without outside help.
This situation is also relevant for fireplaces equipped with their own chimney and installed in the kitchen of a house or apartment.
In most cases, cleaning is carried out using special devices and products, which today are presented in a large assortment in specialized stores.
Some owners resort to traditional methods, allowing you to get rid of soot in the chimney. How to clean a chimney is described in detail in the video below.
Chemical cleaning methods
Clogging of the chimney, including in the kitchen, occurs due to the fact that the smoke contains small solid particles that settle on the walls of the channel and are held together by water vapor generated as a result of the combustion process.
The formation of soot in the chimney from a stove in a bathhouse or kitchen, as well as from a fireplace in an apartment, contributes to a significant deterioration in draft and, as a result, the inability to operate stove equipment.
The chimney can also become clogged from the accidental entry of leaves and other debris into the chimney or from collapsing brickwork.
Before cleaning a chimney pipe in a bathhouse or kitchen, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with each method separately and choose the most effective one.
So, a fairly old and time-tested method of cleaning a chimney (including in the kitchen) from soot, which our ancestors used, is burning the stove with dry aspen wood.
When this type of wood burns, the flame temperature reaches quite high levels, which promotes burning of plaque and cleaning of the channel.
In addition, you can try burning potato peelings, the smoke of which loosens the soot deposits and makes it easy to clean it off the surface.
Nowadays, in specialized stores you can purchase special chemical compounds that facilitate quick and effective cleaning of chimneys in a bathhouse.
They are released in different forms, ranging from powders and tablets to liquids and briquettes. These products are placed together with firewood in the stove and completely burned.
During their combustion, they emit smoke saturated with chemicals, which promotes the decomposition of resins, as a result of which small particles of soot are carried out with the air flow, and large ones fall down.
Typically, when burning data chemical compositions the color of the flame becomes blue or green. This means that the product is effective.
This prevention should be carried out at least once a month, before the chimney has time to become completely clogged with soot.
Mechanical cleaning methods
Chemical compounds are not always effective when cleaning a chimney in a bathhouse or kitchen.
All sorts of debris can get into the pipe, which will interfere with the formation of draft and interfere with the combustion of special chemicals.
The pipe can be cleaned using brushes, scrapers and ruffs that have various sizes and shape.
In addition, in some cases, a special core with a cable attached to it may be required, with which you can break through fairly dense blockages.
All these cleaning tools smoke channels You can either purchase it in a store or make it yourself.
It is best to start cleaning the chimney from the top of the pipe, gradually working your way down. Carry out cleaning through equipped cleaning doors.
Lastly, the firebox itself and the ash pan adjacent to it are cleaned.
Before starting all work on cleaning the chimney on the roof of the house, the ladder is well secured. You should also open all the dampers and, conversely, tightly close the openings of the firebox and ash pan.
In addition, the head of the chimney is first dismantled. All work must be performed wearing a respirator.
It is a cable, at one end of which there is a handle for rotation, and at the other - a special nozzle, the diameter of which should be slightly larger than the diameter of the pipe itself.
The cable is moved along the smoke channel by rotating the handle as carefully as possible.
If the brush's progress stalls, it means it has encountered a dense blockage that will have to be broken through using a core.
It should be lowered into the pipe with sharp movements, without touching its walls, otherwise it can break brickwork. After removing the blockage, continue cleaning with a flexible brush.
After the pipe is completely cleaned, it is necessary to remove soot through special cleaning doors.
In most cases, several such doors are installed along the entire length of the smoke duct.
First, the channel is cleared of soot that has fallen from above, after which, using a scraper and a brush, its walls are cleaned, gradually moving downward, where the firebox is located.
Some stoves have a straight chimney structure with no cleanout doors. In this case, the soot removed from the channel walls falls into the furnace.
At the final stage, you should thoroughly clean the ash pan and firebox. To do this, you can use a vacuum cleaner, which is first recommended to be equipped with a disposable paper garbage bag.
At the end of the work, you should light the stove and check the presence and quality of draft. If everything went well, then the previously removed head is mounted on the top of the pipe.
To ensure that the chimney from the stove or fireplace gets clogged as little as possible, it is recommended to use only hardwood firewood.
Use conifers It is dangerous because when they burn, they release an increased amount of resin, which tends to settle in a dense layer on the walls of the smoke channel in the form of a viscous mass.
It is also undesirable to use even a small amount of diesel fuel to light the stove, which contributes to the formation of a dense deposit on the chimney.
All wood that is intended to be burned in a stove or fireplace must be thoroughly dried.
When burning, wet wood releases wet steam, which not only contributes to the accumulation of soot and soot on the walls of the chimney, but also destroys the chimney itself.
It is worth completely abandoning the burning of all kinds of rags in the stove, plastic bags, rubber products, as well as plastic bottles and other similar debris.
The fact is that combustion products of various synthetic materials They form a very dense coating on the walls of the smoke channel, which is extremely difficult to clean off.
In addition, when burned, these materials emit smoke, which is hazardous to the health of both people and animals.
As a preventive measure, at the end of each heating of the stove, it is recommended to burn several aspen logs in it or generously sprinkle the remains of smoldering firewood with salt.
This will help prevent excessive soot settling on the smoke duct. In any case, plaque forms in the chimney over time, regardless of the firewood used and the observance of preventive measures.
You should make it a rule to regularly inspect it and, if necessary, clean it.
Cleaning chimneys of combustion products and soot should be approached with full responsibility.
The oven will not be able to function properly if it is clogged, and this can lead to serious consequences, including a fire.
In the event that you cannot cope with cleaning the smoke duct on your own, it is recommended to seek help from the appropriate specialists.
How to properly clean a smoke duct in various ways, described in detail in the video posted above.
As experts on human souls said, in the old days the profession of a chimney sweep was the most emotional and controversial. On the one hand, he constantly looked down on the city and its inhabitants and was surrounded by the romance of roofs, space and light, on the other hand, he was constantly busy in dirty, dusty, unprestigious work. This is why so many chimney sweeps fell to their deaths. Who knows, maybe this is not a banal failure to comply with safety regulations at high-altitude work, but an elementary torment of the soul and taking one’s own life. But let's not talk about sad things. We are faced with the task of how to clean a chimney quickly, safely, effectively and without any lyricism or tragedy. Let's read.
A smoke exhaust system is an indispensable element of any sauna stove, with the possible exception of an electric one. The combustion of any fuel is accompanied by the generation of thermal energy and the formation of flue and flue gases that have an elevated temperature, a certain exhaust rate and contain combustion products, solid and gaseous.
The design of the chimney varies. It can be direct-flow, and a slide valve can serve to regulate the draft, or it can be absent as a structural element. A direct-flow chimney, especially if its channel has a minimum of turns, is characterized by high draft and, as a consequence, the speed of smoke passing through it. As a result, combustion products do not have time to sufficiently attach to its walls and do not reduce its original cross-section. Seems like an ideal option? Not really. This option, from the point of view of heating engineering, is very irrational and uneconomical.
Outgoing flue gases have significant thermal energy potential and it would be reasonable to “press” them as much as possible in this regard. Therefore, in practice, more complex designs of furnaces appeared, equipped with labyrinth chimneys, which had many turns and counter passages, however, the length of such channels was several times higher relative to the direct-flow one, so thermal energy they took away almost completely from the smoke. Difficult, but economical. How to clean a chimney in such a stove is a separate story. The Dutch were more successful than others in constructing complex stoves; in old-time usage even the term appeared - Dutch stove. And, naturally, the Dutch stove makers and chimney sweeps were the most advanced.
Why is soot harmful?
Let's define the concepts. Soot is a collection of various deposits on the inner wall of the smoke duct and chimney, which exist in solid form, of varying structure and consistency and which consist of combustion products that, for various reasons, could not be removed into the atmosphere by the smoke removal system of the furnace. Why is she insidious?
- Most soot is flammable and its ignition in the channel can lead to a number of negative consequences, from destruction of the integrity of the chimney, up to fire.
- Soot deposits reduce the nominal cross-section of the chimney, thereby changing the structural characteristics of the stove, both in terms of heating efficiency and fuel efficiency results.
- If the stove has a labyrinth smoke removal system, then soot deposits reduce the thermal conductivity of the contact surfaces, making heat transfer less effective.
- The uncontrolled emission of soot from the chimney creates uncomfortable conditions in the surrounding area, from drying washed clothes to evening promenades in light-colored clothes.
- Finally, the presence of a large amount of soot in the chimney, in principle, can change the nature of fuel combustion in the stove, initiating the phenomenon of backdraft and overturning air jet, up to education carbon monoxide- a terrible and insidious enemy.
Therefore, the question of how to clean a chimney in a sauna stove should arise periodically, at least once a year.
It is obvious that the source fuel directly affects the amount of volatile substances produced in the flue gases. It is especially worth paying attention to raw materials from the so-called “risk group”. Its use provokes the formation of soot deposits by several orders of magnitude relative to normal standard fuel, namely:
- Wet firewood, that is, wood with a moisture content above 21%;
- Wooden parts, used structures, with applied layers protective compounds, resins, varnishes, paints, waxes;
- Firewood from high-resinous coniferous trees, in particular European pine and spruce;
- Burning waste in a firebox, especially those containing polymer plastic inclusions, in the form of disposable tableware, plastic bottles, etc. In an actively functioning bathhouse, with an extensive relaxation room, this is very important. Especially in winter, isn't it?
A word from Experienced! To be fair, it is worth saying that even when burning conditionally qualified fuel, the chimney may have a tendency to retain volatile substances. It depends on the material of the chimney. Brick, especially low-quality brick, has a very significant surface roughness. In this regard, metal chimneys have good properties, especially those made of heat-resistant stainless steel with a polished surface of the internal section. The only factor that can provoke smoke capture by the contact wall is the formation of condensation. The antidote is to insulate the pipe channel of this type with heat-resistant insulators, in order to prevent the formation of a conditional “dew point” even for a short time.
Worth pointing out external signs, by which the stove system lets you know that the question of how to clean the chimney from soot is already on its way:
- When burning, the fuel in the furnace has flame rims colored reddish-violet. This fact suggests that due to insufficient thrust, there is not enough oxygen to oxidize the fuel, so carbon is oxidized to monoxide rather than dioxide.
- Rich, colored smoke comes out of the chimney. dark color, while involuntary “soot emissions” are sometimes recorded.
- There is a drop in the calorific value and efficiency of the stove, which affects the speed and quality of heating of the bath room.
Methods for removing soot deposits
Cleaning a pipe from soot can be done by various methods and methods, which, conditionally, can be divided into several key ones: mechanical, thermal, chemical. Let's take a closer look at them.
Mechanical chimney cleaning
Here we will look at the possibilities of how to clean a pipe in a bathhouse using direct mechanical impact to her channel. Perhaps this method is one of the oldest and probably the most effective. The famous image of a chimney sweep with a long rope brush on his shoulder is from here.
Chimneys with a direct-flow pipe are well suited for this type of cleaning. The cleaning operation begins from the bottom, and after finishing the cleaning is accessible. Thus, the sections move upward to the roof, where work continues, only in the opposite direction. And if from below, we used long brushes or kvachas, fixed rigidly to a holder, then from above you can use a long, flexible, durable synthetic cord, at the end of which a brush with a weighting agent is attached. The whole operation boils down to pulling the tool along the entire length of the channel, knocking off soot build-ups.
Attention! All work at height must be carried out in accordance with all height rules, with the use of safety equipment and the involvement of an assistant.
At the end of the operation, all debris is removed from the drive at the lowest point. Obviously, such work is most effective on direct-flow systems, but how to clean the chimney of soot in a furnace with labyrinth channels? You can also use a good old brush here. However, the furnace system must be equipped with special inspection windows, which are closed with a fire-resistant door with locking fittings during the non-service period. Naturally, such openings must be tightly closed to prevent smoke leaks and “draft leaks.” If the design of the stove is so complex or it was not equipped with inspection windows at the time, then the task of how to clean a chimney in a bathhouse becomes somewhat more complicated, although there are no impossible tasks.
Thermal cleaning
Its essence comes down to several things:
- Bringing the furnace operation to maximum power mode with maximum fuel loading and opening the gate valves and blower to the maximum flow area. The rapid outflow of highly heated flue gases will loosen and tear off the soot cakes, and carry them into the atmosphere or fall out at the mouth of the soot collector.
- The use of fuel that produces an even, long, hot flame. The maximum draft carries its tongues into the smoke channels, where the soot either burns out or undergoes destructuring and falls into the soot collector.
It is reasonable that in in this case A dilemma arises, so how to clean the pipe in the bathhouse, what to use as a suitable fuel?
Ancient bathhouse practice shows that in the Russian North and in Finland, where resinous European spruce was used in large quantities as firewood, it was necessary to fire aspen logs every 4 - 5 fires of the bathhouse with spruce logs. Moreover, the logs were chosen to be as long as possible, which implied a deep “overflow” of the flame into the smoke channel.
In the steppe south, where there was no aspen to be found, and chimneys still needed to be cleaned, the problem of how to clean soot from a pipe in a bathhouse was solved somewhat differently. Here, dried stalks of sunflower and corn were used as long-flame fuel. Sometimes a different approach was used. The fuel was not long-flame, but high-calorie. In our case, walnut shells or, in the absence of such, dry husks of seeds, which were collected at the nearest rural oil mill, were good. Of course, one did not expect a long flame from such fuel, but it guaranteed a high temperature and flow rate of flue gases.
Describing the thermal approach to solving the problem of how to clean a chimney from soot, it is worth mentioning another one, which is quite barbaric and unsafe. It appeared in the second half of the 1950s of the last century and quickly spread throughout the entire territory of the former Soviet Union. The stove of the bathhouse was melted and diesel fuel was poured into the chimney from above, trying to supply it so that it sufficiently wets the walls of the chimney. The use of diesel fuel in solving the problem of how to clean a chimney from soot in a bathhouse can be explained by its availability, good wettability and lower explosion hazard compared to gasoline.
Firstly, let us immediately warn you that in the question of how to clean soot from a pipe in a bathhouse folk remedies, this is not our method and approach. It is known that in relation to gasoline, and in relation to diesel fuel, it is not the liquid fraction itself that explodes, but its vapor, and it is easy to obtain a sufficient concentration in such a funny way. Secondly, if the integrity of the smoke channel is in question, then the burning liquid can easily find a small passage in the brick seam and begin to burn not the soot, but the space under the roof. In general, if you have a craving for extreme sports in your blood, and an ineradicable desire in your soul to become famous for centuries through U-Tube, then you can, of course, try it, but our editors personally would not recommend it.
On the other hand, if you think about how to clean a pipe in a bathhouse from soot using folk remedies, you can do it easier and, at least, safer. If potatoes are truly your second bread, do not throw away the peelings, but carefully collect and dry them. Having accelerated the sauna stove to the required temperature, they begin to add dry husks as fuel. Some homegrown experts are beginning to explain the effectiveness of this remedy amazing ability starch contained in potatoes reacts with soot and removes it to the root.
A thoughtful reader may ask the question: “comrades, how much starch is needed for the reaction to take place? What if the housewife is the standard of frugality, and in her scraps not only is there no starch left, but you can read a newspaper through them? What if potatoes themselves generally contain small amounts of starch?” In general, the operating principle of this method can be safely classified as thermal: the more cleanings, the thinner and drier they are, the higher the flame and the effect. And no chemistry.
However, sometimes you still can’t do without chemistry.
Chemical cleaning
About how to clean a chimney pipe through certain chemical reactions.
Actually, in our articles we have repeatedly said that a bathhouse is a stronghold of naturalness, environmental friendliness and sanitary cleanliness, however, about how to clean chimney, in especially severe cases, without the use of modern cleaning products, no one has yet thought of it.
Let's start with a chemical substance, but it does not pose any danger in principle. From ordinary water. If you or your predecessors have heated the stove to such a state that the smoke channel is completely blocked by soot, then you can try the “steam cake” cleaning method. The stove is heated until the smoke channel, at least in its lower part, reaches a temperature sufficient for reliable evaporation of water.
Next, 2.5 - 3 liters are simultaneously poured into the heated chimney clean water, which, having evaporated, squeezes out all the soot in a voluminous steam cloud, God forbid, not together with the bricks. The method is also quite barbaric and, let’s face it, the method is quite controversial. But some fans like it, perhaps not so much for its effectiveness as for its entertainment value; sometimes the entire street gathers to watch such an attraction. Decide for yourself whether it is suitable for you as a practical solution to the problem of how to clean a pipe in a bathhouse.
Important! This method causes a very severe alternating thermal load on the pipe body. If it is metal, then this is one thing, but if the chimney is brick, then you can provoke the destruction of the seams, or even the brick itself, from thermal shock.
Expectations similar to previous ones can be guaranteed by the method of cleaning a pipe in a bathhouse from soot using naphthalene. A one-time 25-30 grams of naphthalene is added to a well-ignited fuel tank. In this case, it is imperative to check the smoke duct for integrity, absence of spills and cracks. The second condition should be considered strict adherence to the bookmark norm. Too much leads to an outbreak, albeit a non-nuclear one, but still.
TO chemical method, it is a bit of a stretch to consider using such a common household reagent as table salt. How to clean a chimney in a bathhouse using it? To do this, it is necessary to periodically add salt while heating the bath, scattering it evenly, in an amount of 15 - 25 grams over the entire volume of loaded fuel. Let's put it this way. This method is rather not a panacea for how to clean a pipe in a bathhouse from soot, but preventative measure preventing the formation of soot deposits. And the point is not in the mythical ability of “salt molecules to react with something, with something,” but in applied and effective way will reduce the humidity of burned wood. And wet firewood, as we know, is the enemy of a clean chimney.
Application of innovative means
In this section, we’ll talk about how to clean soot from a pipe in a bathhouse, not using antediluvian means, but using the achievements of modern industry as assistants.
The Germans, Austrians and Czechs were the most successful in this. And, if the cost of developing the first two, let’s say, is a little expensive, then Czech products are quite affordable to purchase. There are several such means:
- Cleaning pellets;
- Cleaning logs and briquettes;
- Cleansing powders.
Regarding powders, it is difficult to say what exactly is included in their recipe, since well-protected trade secrets are the key to the prosperity and well-being of an enterprise. But the ability of pellets, briquettes and logs is based on a special pre-processing products that guarantee: low humidity, high calorie content or in other words - calorific value, and as a consequence, the generation of exhaust gases with a high speed of passage through the smoke channels and, moreover, of a certain composition that is capable of reacting with the soot plug, loosening it and destroying it to the maximum extent. These qualities underlie the mechanism of such action as cleaning a chimney in a bathhouse.
Conclusion
A clean chimney is the key to long and trouble-free operation of not only the stove system, but the bathhouse as a whole. In this material, we have outlined the main methods and methods of dealing with soot deposits, and it’s up to you to choose how to clean the chimney in a bathhouse specifically. Based on your own capabilities and current circumstances. The main thing is to do it quickly, efficiently and cleanly.
