Regular cleaning of soot from chimneys of stoves and fireplaces is a mandatory procedure, regardless of the frequency of use of the heating device. Modern chemicals, time-tested folk remedies and special mechanical methods.

Choice of the most effective methodology depends on the level of contamination of the chimney ducts and the desire of the homeowners to do everything themselves or, in the full sense of the word, without getting their hands dirty, entrust the work to professionals.

Are you planning to get rid of the burning yourself, but don’t know which method to use? We will help you decide on your tactics. The article provides detailed review the most effective methods, the reasons for the rapid clogging of the chimney are indicated and the timing of cleaning activities is indicated.

Clogging of chimney ducts is a natural process that occurs as a result of combustion. Only part of the fuel, breaking down into fractions, acquires a gaseous form and is released into the atmosphere as an emission.

Other fragments with a heavier, denser structure take the form of soot deposits and settle on inner surface pipeline, over time significantly worsening its throughput.

The chimney pipe coming out of the roof must be covered with a special windproof cap. Then, during the seasonal downtime, a bird or wasp nest will not be built there, and in winter, leaves, branches, ice and other foreign elements will not get inside

The use of firewood from coniferous species trees. Viscous resinous substances, contained in excess in the composition, form a powerful adhesive base and help retain soot deposits on it.

Such contamination is difficult to clean with preparations and requires careful removal using mechanical devices.

Household waste, packaging containers, leftovers old furniture, textiles and other items that are not a fuel resource by definition, during combustion they release caustic ether complexes, heavy carcinogens and tarry compounds.

Therefore, burning such human waste in the furnace of a stove or fireplace has a negative impact on work heating equipment any class.

All of them, in the form of a dense, viscous sediment, cover the inner surface of the pipes and create conditions for retaining soot, soot and soot. The channel through which gaseous elements escape into the atmosphere narrows to a minimum, the draft overturns, and part of the smoke enters the living room.

The temperature in the room drops, and the use of heating equipment becomes dangerous due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

They accelerate the clogging of the chimney channel with deposits of firewood from recently cut, damp forest.

If the current humidity of a log exceeds 12%, throwing it into the firebox immediately is strictly prohibited. It must be thoroughly dried in a warm room for at least 1 week.

Damp logs reduce the level of heat transfer by 35%, quickly clog the smoke exhaust system, and eventually cause it to fail.

Method #3 – aspen firewood to remove soot

Firing a stove or fireplace with aspen wood is a simple and quite effective cleaning procedure. Its convenience lies in the fact that no additional actions need to be performed. All you need to do is place the wood in the firebox, light the fire and wait for it to burn completely.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

An interesting way to clean pipes that does not require climbing onto the roof - simple, modern and effective.

Regular cleaning of chimney pipes and channels is a very necessary and useful procedure. It has a beneficial effect on general condition heating system, restores the traction properties of equipment and contributes to economical resource consumption.

Preventive measures can be carried out independently as needed, strictly adhering to the instructions for the drugs and safety regulations. In case of blockages or other more serious problems, it is better to use the services of experienced specialists.

Do you have personal experience cleaning a stove or fireplace chimney? Please tell readers what soot removal method you used. Leave comments, ask questions and participate in discussions - the feedback form is located below.

If you heat your house with coal, wood or all kinds of briquettes, you probably wondered how you can clean a chimney in a private house? In this article we will analyze all the possible methods, as well as the reasons why clogging occurs?

There are several reasons why the draft in the stove at home may be lost and it will stop functioning properly.

Before the heating season, the owner of the house did not clean the stove from the soot and dust that had accumulated during the warm season.
The vortex “fracture” has not been cleared.
The pipe itself in the house is not sealed; it drags in a cold stream along with street dirt.
There is no umbrella on the house.
Birds or wind-blown debris got in.

Do not forget that the most ordinary firewood leaves soot on the walls of the chimney duct that is many times greater than that from coal. That is why it is recommended to periodically “throw” a chimney sweep log into the fire, which allows you to slightly clean the pipes in the house. Firewood can leave a significant layer of soot, so don’t be too zealous with burning wood.

How do you know when your chimney needs to be cleaned?

It is easy to understand that you are about to need to clean the chimneys of stoves and fireplaces from soot if you notice that the draft has disappeared or combustible gases are entering the house. It will also clearly make it clear that enough smoke has accumulated on the walls of the chimney duct after burning the fuel; particles of wind-blown debris have appeared on the walls inside the house and in the bathrooms adjacent to the duct. This occurs due to blockage of the output channel.

How to properly clean a chimney?

In the old days, people cleaned stoves with sodium chloride or table salt - these are the so-called folk remedies. Nowadays you rarely see someone in a village cleaning “wells” in this way.
To know how to clean correctly and which method will be most effective, you need to determine the cause of the blockage, the density and size of the soot layer (or the presence of the object). It will depend on this which method will be correct and advisable to clean it?

Manual mechanical cleaning

Of the advantages of this particular cleaning method, it is worth mentioning in full environmental safety. Various chemicals are not used, and the only drawback of the work is that there is a danger of falling from a height while carrying out the work.

Chimney cleaning tool - rope with core and brush

Cleaning a chimney with your own hands will require you to have a certain tool. So, mechanical cleaning chimneys can be made using the following devices:

Kettlebells. Due to its heavy weight, it penetrates large layers of soot. It is recommended to additionally attach some scratching devices to it in order to increase the efficiency of pipe cleaning.
Hard brushes. Take additional care of long handle so that you can penetrate into remote corners.
Ruff. By the way, you can make it yourself. Special stainless steel devices with weights and chain are sold. Of course, using a plastic bottle will not replace a professional “device,” but you will be able to achieve even minor results.
When using a ruff or brush, do not forget about protective equipment. Buy:
- Respirator.
- Glasses.
- Gloves.
- Safety rope.

Traditional methods of chimney cleaning

Potato peelings - folk way chimney cleaning

People learned to clean a chimney with their own hands back in ancient times, using various folk methods. You can clean the “well” yourself using:

Aspen firewood. Peculiarities:
- a lot of energy is released;
- temperature perfectly cleans brick and stainless steel chimneys.
Potato peelings.
Prepare about one bucket of peelings and dry them thoroughly. Flood the oven with a high-calorie product and place dried peelings on top. Subsequently, hot steam containing starch will soften the soot, heavy briquettes will fall, and the light briquettes will evaporate away.
Table salt.
Pour a couple of glasses of salt onto the fire; when combined with air, an environment is formed in which soot will not accumulate.
Chainsaws.
This chainsaw cleaning method is not recommended due to its dangers. You need to climb onto the roof and insert the intake valve into the chimney and start the saw motor. It is better to attach a special exhaust pipe to stay clean and direct the soot to a specific area.

How to clean a chimney using chemicals?

First on the list we will consider the drug PHC, a fairly strong remedy.

NOTE: There is no need to unpack the packaging, it is burned entirely.
Second remedy folk use. Includes composition copper sulfate, saltpeter and crushed coal. This powder needs to be sprinkled on red coals, in the process a reaction is formed due to which the soot “slides” from the walls of the chimney.

Rounding out the top three chemical reagents capable of peeling off soot from the walls. Just like in the first case, it is not necessary to unpack the packaging. It must be put into the fire in this form; during combustion, active substances are released that are excellent at fighting soot growths.

Preventing chimney clogging

Pipes and chimney wells must be cleaned periodically, despite good draft. After the winter season, it is recommended to do a complete inspection of the stove using any of the methods listed above. The presented chemical preparations will allow the soot to be peeled off, after which its large fractions can be easily removed during preventative cleaning.
For prevention, you can also use salty solutions, especially if you have a solid fuel stove. It also easily allows you to get rid of a small layer of soot, which is divided into small and large particles that settle at the bottom of the chimney.

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How to clean a chimney pipe on our own and without special costs

In the old days, cleaning a chimney pipe was a common, ordinary task for any owner. After all, there was a wood-burning stove in every home and the subtleties of this process were passed down from generation to generation. Now these skills are known only to a narrow circle of professionals, whose services are quite expensive. However, there is nothing particularly difficult in this activity. In this article I will talk about how to clean up a chimney with your own hands using traditional devices, as well as accessible old-fashioned cleaning recipes.

Indirect signs of a clogged chimney

You should not be negligent in cleaning the chimney, because a pipe overgrown with soot or even clogged can lead to the fact that at some point carbon monoxide, which has neither color nor odor, will go indoors. And this is no longer just a mild poisoning with a headache, but a real mortal danger for you and your family.

The first thing you should pay attention to is traction. Any person who regularly has to light a stove or light a fireplace knows that in addition to the firebox itself, stoves have a vent that provides air flow and a damper on the pipe. This damper is needed to adjust the cross-section of the chimney; without it, the lion's share of the heat will literally fly out into the chimney.
The position of the damper is usually determined by eye, experimentally. So, if to ignite the stove you need to open the damper more than usual, it means that the cross-section of the pipe has become smaller and it needs to be cleaned;

Another indirect sign of the need for such cleaning may be the color of the smoke.. When wood burns, the smoke is usually light, almost white, and at high burning intensity it can even be transparent. If dark smoke is pouring out of your chimney, and patches of soot appear on the roof and in the yard, then it’s time to get down to business;
You can also determine if the system is clogged by the color of the flame.. IN normal conditions the fire will be light yellow. If the burning intensity has dropped and the flame has become bright orange, it means that the fuel is not burning out completely, therefore, the stove needs to be cleaned.

Methods for cleaning a chimney

Over thousands of years of existence stove heating in the treasury of folk wisdom there are many in various ways. Didn't stand aside modern science, a number of formulations are currently being produced to solve this problem.

What does the modern market offer us?

The simplest, although not very cheap way Cleaning fireplaces and stoves involves using a variety of chemical mixtures that can, to one degree or another, actively destroy soot deposits in chimneys and fireboxes:

The domestic company "Dymovoy" produces a whole series similar devices. A cleaning box is considered a serious preventative measure against soot. This is normal carton, with a flammable chemical inside, which must be placed in the firebox and set on fire.
The whole process lasts about one and a half hours. After this, within 2 weeks, the soot will actively fall off and pour into the firebox or burn inside the channel, poured through the chimney;

If the cardboard box does not help, there is a more radical remedy, the so-called “Smoke” log. This is a briquette of compressed chemicals, decorated to look like an ordinary log. The developers claim that this is one of the most powerful tools. In addition to practical benefits, the burning of such a log is accompanied by interesting visual effects, it gives an original flame with a pronounced turquoise tint, children will simply be delighted with such cleaning;

The product line of this well-known manufacturer also includes special cleaning pellets designed to prevent clogging of pellet heating boilers and stoves. To maintain normal operation of the boiler, the instructions require mixing a ten kilogram package of the product with a ton of regular pellets. To clean conventional stoves with such pellets, it is necessary to burn a kilogram of this chemical in the firebox for 5 days;

Approximately the same line of products is offered by the concern, which operates under the widespread brand “Chimney Sweep”. This brand is the result of cooperation between our manufacturers and the famous German company"Hansa" If you believe the advertising, then their products are capable of destroying not only layers of soot, but also reacting with creosote, which is the basis of a dense and viscous substrate under a layer of this very soot;

The products of the Czech company Kominichek have gained popularity among Russians for quite some time now. One package contains 5 sachets of the mixture, 14 g each. Used at the rate of 1 sachet per 1 kg of firewood.

The advantage of such a mixture is its reasonable price, as well as the ability to decompose soot even at relatively low temperatures. low temperatures. But the product has a pungent odor, which is why it can only be used in tightly closed fireboxes; it is not suitable for open fireplaces;

Moreover, one of the most available funds is anti-carbon chemical composition or PHC. The compound is effective, but quite aggressive; no more than 150g of powder is used for 1 ton of fuel. It is sold and used in the same way as Kominichek, in paper bags that are burned without opening.

This entire powerful arsenal of modern chemistry, according to the manufacturers themselves, is more designed to prevent chimney clogging. If the thickness of the carbon deposits in your pipe does not exceed 20 mm, then the chemistry will cope with it. Large congestions can only be removed mechanically, that is, with your own hands.

Traditional methods of cleaning pipes

Fortunately, not all of the grandfather’s recipes were irretrievably lost and in the treasury of folk wisdom, there are still many effective recommendations left. Personally, I trust folk methods more than aggressive chemistry:

The simplest remedy is regular table salt. It is poured onto burning coals and as it evaporates, it gradually destroys the soot layer. There are two opinions on when exactly you need to add salt. I was taught that you should sprinkle salt on the smoldering coals of a dying furnace.
At the same time, I have met masters who, on the contrary, claim that salt should be poured over high heat. Apparently the truth, as always, is in the middle. After all, no matter what you pour, at the moment of maximum combustion the thrust will be maximum, therefore, most of the composition will simply fly out through the pipe;

In parallel with salt, I use potatoes, or rather potato peelings, to soften and destroy the soot layer. They are thrown closer to the end of the firebox and, according to the rules, must burn out completely. Destruction occurs due to the absorption of starch into a loose layer of soot. The method is completely safe and requires virtually no costs;

One of the common ancient methods of preventing a chimney in the past was to periodically heat it with dry firewood from aspen, alder or birch, and this firewood must be cleared of bark. During such a fire, the dampers must be periodically gradually closed and opened completely.
As a result, when you close the valve, the temperature rises, and when you open it completely, you get maximum draft. Such “swings” lead to complete burnout of the layers. But for old stoves this is dangerous, as the walls of the chimney may crack;

Light soot deposits can be destroyed by naphthalene vapors. According to experienced cleaners, it is supposedly enough to burn one tablet in the firebox for 3-4 days in a row and within two weeks after that all the soot will burn out and the channel will become clean.
But I have doubts about the safety of this method. Firstly, naphthalene is a rather harmful and smelly compound, and no matter how hard you try, some of the vapor will end up in the room anyway. And secondly, at high concentrations, naphthalene vapors are considered explosive;

There is another radical method: cleaning the chimney with boiling water. As a rule, it is used for serious blockages, as a temporary measure until you get around to cleaning it mechanically. It’s simple, three liters of boiling water is poured into the pipe of a heated stove, the steam shock simply knocks the plug out, plus the structure of the entire layer is disrupted and part of the soot burns;
If we talk exclusively about cleaning stoves, then you can use a mixture of copper sulfate crystals (5 parts) with saltpeter (7 parts) and coal or coke powder (2 parts).
Such a product is burned at the moment of maximum temperature in the firebox. For 100 kg of fuel, 20 g of powder is enough. But please note that for fireplaces this remedy not suitable;

I don’t know how true this is, but I was assured that periodically burning aluminum cans, for example, beer cans, in the firebox, cleans the chimney perfectly. Only thin aluminum should not melt, but burn. You can achieve this effect only if you heat the stove with good coal or coke; you won’t get this temperature with firewood.

All traditional cleaning methods are good only as a preventive measure or preparation for general mechanical cleaning with your own hands. So there is no need to place high hopes on them.

Cleaning the pipe yourself

Cleaning pipes and chimneys with chemical or old-fashioned methods, of course, a good thing, but as I already mentioned, in case of large blockages, you can only clean up the mess manually. And the first thing you should take care of is the tool.

What you need to clean your pipe yourself

The most common, one might say classic, chimney sweep tool is a wide brush. To be honest, despite the development of scientific and technological progress, the same way chimney pipes in private houses were cleaned with pipe cleaners and brushes 100 years ago, they are cleaned to this day.

Of course, to be fair, it should be noted that in addition to metal brushes, their plastic counterparts are now actively used. By the way, chimneys made of stainless steel can be cleaned, but with plastic brushes or metal bristles you will completely ruin the structure, but such pipes cost serious money.

The design of this device is extremely simple. A round core weighing from 2 to 5 kg is fastened to a brush with horizontally oriented bristles from below with a carabiner, and from above this whole miracle of design is suspended on a cable or rope. Such brushes can be round or square, but in any case, they must be at least 20% wider than the chimney.

The lower core does not have to be round, it can be cone-shaped, oval, in general, anything, the main thing is that the weight is well centered, otherwise it may jam in the channel. That is why you cannot hang sports weights or dumbbells here.

Another useful device is a scraper; it itself resembles an ordinary chisel screwed to a long stick. To be honest, when I was faced with the problem of cleaning a chimney at the dacha, and there were no special tools at hand, I did just that, screwed a carpenter’s chisel with wire to a long pole, in my case to a bamboo rod.

A complete set for high-quality chimney cleaning consists of three main devices. I have already talked about the brush with a core. In addition to this, you will need approximately the same brush, only attached to an elastic metal or fiberglass cable. The same device, only with a different nozzle, is used to pierce sewer pipes.

The fact is that a straight chimney, that is, going vertically upward from the combustion chamber, is rare. Usually between the camera and vertical pipe the so-called “coarse” is installed in stoves and fireplaces; it is needed to increase heat transfer.

In this segment, the gases heated in the furnace move along a broken trajectory, in other words, like a snake. So, in all the problem points of this snake, technological windows are made, through which the chimney channel is cleaned. A flexible but elastic cable with a brush is exactly what is needed to clean hard to reach places chimney, from below through technological windows.

In modern private houses with low storeys, the stove or fireplace chimney turns out to be quite long and severe blockage One brush on the cable may not be enough. In order for you to be able to clean the entire length of the chimney with a scraper, it would be a good idea to purchase a set of extendable meter rods made of fiberglass.

Of course, a factory-made specialized tool is a convenient thing. And although the price of this set is relatively affordable, our person allocates funds for such purchases last, and before that he will definitely try to make something with his own hands.

Here are a couple of recipes for such homemade products from my own experience. At first I tried to make a brush with a bristle from millimeter steel wire. I cut pieces of wire slightly wider than the chimney and in the middle I wrapped them in one ring around a stud with an 8 mm thread. Then, I tightened it all with nuts through washers.

Of course, such a device scrapes off soot quite well. But 1 mm steel wire is quite tough and not every brick pipe can withstand such a test. At home, this number still passed on the new chimney, but the old chimney at the dacha was almost crumbling from steel bristles. Therefore, I do not advise you to step on this rake; it is better to use the following recipe.

Plastic brooms are now on sale. So I decided to make the second brush from such a broom. Most of all I had to tinker with the disassembly, because those who did it apparently did not expect that they would disassemble it.

Then everything is simple. The broom's crown turned out to be a soldered monolith. In the center of this monolith, I drilled a hole the diameter of a metal pin, after which I put wide washers on both sides and tightened them with nuts. Under the pressure of the washers, the durable synthetic pile parted and assumed a horizontal position.

The weight was smelted from lead. I made a clay mold, inserted a pin with a ring at the end into the center and filled the mold with lead. I also screwed rings on both sides of the homemade brush. And he connected all these segments with carbines.

One of my friends “fished” from the Internet a scheme for making a brush from plastic bottles. There you need to cut off the bottom of two bottles and, not reaching the neck, lengthwise, cut the walls of the bottles into petals. Then, towards each other, so that the necks “look” in different directions, these two segments are placed on a stud and tightened with bolts.

All this was beautiful, cheap and attractive while this brush was being made, but when they tried to clean out dense carbon deposits with it, it turned out that this device was of little use. This “brush” is too weak to scrape off old carbon deposits.

There is another scheme for assembling a homemade brush. It will work well, but you will have to tinker with its creation. Thick steel rope disassembled into wires is used as bristles.

The hardest thing to disassemble is the rope itself. Such items are knitted on special machines and can take quite a long time to disassemble. You need to work slowly, wearing thick gloves, otherwise you will prick your fingers. The threads are tied there tightly, so that it is unlikely to be possible to disassemble with bare hands; it is better to use pliers.

When the rope is disassembled, a nut is screwed onto a threaded steel stud, a wide metal washer is put on it, on top of which the same washer is put only made of thick, dense rubber.

The wire is laid out from the center in a circle, after which another one is put on top rubber gasket with a wide iron washer. Manufacturing is completed by tightening these two washers on both sides.

Chimney cleaning technique

First of all, remember that all work at height is dangerous. Believe me, it only seems from below that there is nothing terrible on the roof of a two-story house; in fact, a fall can lead to serious consequences, even death.

The first thing you need to take care of is insurance; the more reliable it is, the better. In addition, it is customary to clean pipes in calm, dry weather. Decide for yourself whether you should wear thick overalls and gloves, but a respirator and goggles definitely won’t be superfluous.

Before starting work, first clean the firebox. In general, before I climb onto the roof, I “steam” the pipe for a week traditional methods. Usually potato peelings and table salt are enough.

Immediately before starting active cleaning, the doors, ash pans and technological windows of the furnace must be closed and preferably covered with a damp cloth. We simply cover the fireplace opening with a thick, damp cloth.

Before you run a brush with a weight or a scraper into the pipe, make sure that there is nothing there other than soot. If the stove has not been heated for more than two weeks, birds may make nests or take up residence in the chimney. bats. In addition, old brick pipes can crumble from the inside, and it is better to immediately notice a displaced brick and try to fix it, rather than turn it out with a brush and drop it down.

I warn you right away that cleaning a chimney is hard work and you will have to sweat a lot. First, lower one cannonball on a rope to the entire depth of the pipe, without a brush. Make sure it moves freely and doesn't get caught on anything. After this, you can attach the brush and, using a back and forth motion, from top to bottom, slowly clean the chimney.

If the core does not pass, then you need to use a scraper. In general, it is believed that the diameter of the core should be at least 2/3 of the cross-sectional dimensions of the pipe.

Of course, the brush can also be screwed to a long rod. But if with the core you expend effort only to lift it up, it will go down on its own, under the weight of the core, then in the case of a barbell you will have to spend 2 times more energy.

All the soot you clean off will naturally fall to the bottom. So don't wait until the pipe is filled with debris. Periodically you need to climb off the roof and clean out the soot through the service window.

When you are done with the pipe, start cleaning with a flexible cable with a brush at the end, “rough”. The firebox and vent are the last to be cleaned, despite the fact that you already cleaned them at the beginning, by this moment they will be dirty again.

Preventing blockages

Cleaning chimney pipes will be needed much less often if you adhere to the basic rules for operating stoves and fireplaces. First of all, forget about burning raw wood, especially softwood. Coniferous trees contain a large amount of resins.

These resins, dissolved in water vapor, are heavy compounds, so they will immediately settle on the walls of the chimney, forming a dense coating that is difficult to clean off. At the same time, dry wood, even coniferous species, does not pose a great danger to stoves and fireplaces.

Another problem modern stoves is the disposal of waste in the firebox. Old rags and paper, of course, do not pose a great danger, but synthetics and plastic bottles, sooner or later may lead to the fact that you will have to completely rebuild your oven. And I’m not even talking about those harmful carcinogens that will literally irrigate you and your family in the yard.

The table below contains some standards for the operation of furnace equipment.

Name of event and type of equipment	Frequency of preventive maintenance
Inspection of furnace structures and equipment for them	Immediately after commissioning. And also after carrying out any preventive measures
Checking stove structures, boilers and fireplaces operating according to the season	Once before the start of the heating season
Checking chimneys in gas and solid fuel stoves and boilers	Within 2 years after commissioning, it is checked at least 2 times a year, then the frequency of checks can be reduced
Inspection of brick pipes, regardless of the type of fuel and system design	Visual inspection once every 3 months
Inspection of smooth-walled metal, heat-resistant concrete, asbestos-cement, and ceramic chimneys	1 time per year
Heating or heating-cooking stoves, as well as solid fuel boilers	Checked 3 times a year. Before and after the end of the heating season, as well as in the middle of the season at the discretion of the owners

Naturally, the above standards are valid for regular operation of stoves, boilers and fireplaces. During periodic use, say in a country house, bird nests and plugs from fallen leaves pose a great danger to the chimney.

Conclusion

As you can see, although cleaning a chimney pipe yourself is a physically difficult task, it is not particularly difficult from a technical standpoint. True, we should not forget that regular prevention can significantly reduce the frequency of DIY cleaning.

July 30, 2016

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Stove heating is still popular in country houses. But along with the use of stoves, the problem of cleaning the chimney riser from soot and other deposits arises. You can use the services of professional chimney sweeps, or you can save money and clean the chimney yourself. The main thing is to know how and with what to do it.

Professional cleaning of chimneys

Causes and dangers of clogging stove chimneys

When fuel burns, soot and soot are always formed. Most of it is carried out by traction. But a certain amount settles on the inner surface of the chimney. The main causes of clogged chimneys:

Weak draft in the riser. Incomplete combustion of fuel leads to abundant soot formation.
Use of resinous wood species. Resins mix with soot, forming a dense mixture that is difficult to remove.
Burning household waste and plastics in a furnace. The substances released during this process also contribute to the deposition of soot on interior walls kah.

If you do not clean the chimney of soot in time, its heavy deposits will not only impair the operation of the stove, but can also become a source of danger for people living in the house. Here's what happens when large deposits form in a stove chimney:

Craving decreases. This leads not only to possible smoke, but also to the accelerated formation of new soot.
Under unfavorable weather conditions, a “thrust stall” may occur. In this case, smoke from the firebox will go into the room. There is a danger of fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
Soot combustion in the chimney. This will lead to the destruction of the internal walls of the pipe from overheating, and if there is a large amount of soot, it will lead to a fire.

Soot fire in a chimney

In addition to these real dangers, long breaks in cleaning chimney allow deposits to coke. After this, it will be much more difficult to remove them from the walls.

Folk remedies for soot removal

For for a long time Using stoves, methods have been developed to help remove small layers of soot in the pipe and prevent their further growth. The use of these products will make it possible to clean the chimney in the stove of a private house yourself without much effort and expense. Under their influence, the soot lags behind the walls of the chimney and either flies out along with the smoke, or crumbles into the firebox.

How do chemical chimney cleaners work?

Rock salt

It is useful to sprinkle a few tablespoons onto the prepared wood before lighting the stove. Vapors from burnt salt soften the soot that has already settled on the walls of the pipe and do not allow new layers to take hold.

Potato peelings

Potatoes are rich in starch, which, when burned, also releases substances that help separate soot from the walls of the chimney. One kindling can burn up to 5 kg of this product. It is not necessary to use peelings; spoiled tubers will also work. But it’s better to dry all the material in advance so that excess moisture did not worsen the combustion process. Instead of potatoes, you can use legumes - peas, soybeans - or buckwheat and rice grains. They also contain starch.

Walnut shells

Has the same effect on soot deposits. The only problem is that it is difficult to stock up on large quantities of this product.

Naphthalene

It must be used in a well-heated oven. The powder is thrown into a hot furnace, but released during combustion bad smell may enter a heated room. For this reason, it cannot be used to clean pipes leading from the fireplace.

Aspen firewood

Their action is based on a different principle. Aspen is inherent high temperature combustion. The hot air from them does not soften the soot, but burns it. But the use of high-temperature firewood when the pipe is heavily overgrown is dangerous, since the ignition of a large amount of soot can cause a fire.

But for a fresh thin layer and as a preventive measure, aspen cleaning is quite effective.

Alder and birch firewood also have a similar effect. But birch, and especially its birch bark, emit a large amount of soot when burned. Therefore, aspen remedy is preferable.

Modern chemistry for soot removal

The action of various reagents is based on the same principle as folk remedies - converting soot into a structure that is unable to adhere to the walls of the chimney. But industrial product for cleaning stove chimneys contains a whole set of pre-prepared substances that act on soot. Therefore, its action is especially effective. Of the numerous reagents of this kind, the following can be noted.

PHC

This abbreviation denotes an anti-carbon chemical composition. Available in powder form, packaged in paper bags. There is no need to pour it onto the firewood prepared for kindling; you can throw an unopened bag on it. The consumption of the product is minimal - 200 g is enough for 1 ton of firewood.

Kominichek

Czech product for removing thin layers of soot and soot. Also available in bags. The manufacturer recommends using it at least 1 – 2 times a month.

Log chimney sweep

It is a pressed briquette of sawdust and wax with the addition of several chemical reagents. Available in a standard version - 25 cm long and a short version - 15 cm for small-sized stoves. It burns without the formation of soot, and loosens what is already on the walls until it falls out. For preventive cleaning of the chimney, it is recommended to use 2 – 3 logs per heating season.

Briquettes “Log-chimney sweep”

Hansa

A powder product that acts not only on soot and soot, but also allows you to clean the walls of tar and other dense deposits. Under its action, solid layers are transformed into small crystals, which fall down due to air movement.

Powder chemicals for cleaning chimneys

However, it is necessary to understand that only folk remedies and industrial chemicals are not able to completely clean the chimney of large accumulations of soot. They are good against fresh, thin layers, useful for preventing soot from sticking to the walls and as a preliminary remedy before fully cleaning the entire chimney.

Mechanical methods for removing soot

Traditional chimney cleaning from the roof side and using simple tools is still the best way to free everything smoke channel from various deposits, and in case of serious blockages of the chimney - the only effective method.

Chimney sweep on the roof

Cleaning stove chimney DIY is impossible without several tools that can be purchased in specialized stores. But some of them are easy to do yourself. These include:

chains or strong ropes for lowering cleaning devices into the chimney channel;
heavy weights for breaking through thick layers of soot;
various brushes with weights for cleaning the chimney from the roof side;
the same brushes, but attached to a flexible cable for carrying out work from inside the house;
Scrapers and brushes with hard bristles on a long handle for removing particularly stubborn dirt.

Forms and methods of attaching pipe cleaners

Before carrying out direct cleaning of the chimney, the following preparatory measures are necessary:

It is advisable to heat the stove using folk or chemical agent to soften soot,
after cooling, cover the stove sheet with a damp cloth to prevent soot falling from the chimney from escaping through the cracks,
close the firebox and ash doors tightly,
open the gate completely.

To carry out cleaning work, you must climb onto the roof along with the necessary equipment. Next steps depend on the degree of soot overgrowing of the chimney:

In case of thick layers of carbon deposits on the internal walls, primary collapse is carried out. To do this, use a weight without additional cleaners. At the same time, you must not allow it to swing, since a heavy object can damage the walls of the pipe.
The main cleaning is carried out using metal brushes attached to a rope or chain along with a weighting agent.
Protrusions, growths and areas with dense layers of carbon deposits are processed with scrapers on long handles.
Finish cleaning is carried out with long-hair brushes.

After carrying out these actions, it is necessary to remove the soot that has fallen down from the furnace firebox.

Straight chimneys can be easily cleaned in this way. But if there are curved sections in the chimneys, they can be cleaned from below on the side of the firebox or through special doors in the riser. It is especially convenient to do this in a fireplace chimney.

Cleaning the chimney from below with a brush on a flexible cable

There are alternative ways to remove soot. One of them - vacuum cleaning - is based on creating a powerful draft at the upper end of the pipe. For this purpose, special installations or improvised mechanisms are used to replace them - vacuum cleaners, fans, chainsaws. Under their influence, soot is blown out of the chimney.

Vacuum cleaning of a chimney using a chainsaw

Some craftsmen use firecrackers that explode inside the chimney to collapse a large layer of soot.

Particular attention should be paid to the smoothness of the inner surface of the chimney. It will be difficult for soot to cling to it, and it will either fly out or fall down.

At the stove design stage, you can consider the option of using a lined chimney. In it brickwork creates a pipe frame, and in inner part a separate sleeve made of galvanized steel, stainless steel or ceramic is inserted.

For an already built chimney, it is useful to do the following:

if possible, hardwood firewood;
do not put polyethylene, plastic and household waste into the firebox;
do not use damp firewood;
at the end of each firebox, burn 2 - 3 aspen or alder logs to quickly destroy fresh soot;
carry out mechanical cleaning before the start of each heating season;
If you use the oven regularly, use chemicals every month.

If signs of a clogged chimney appear, it is important not to delay cleaning, but to immediately call a chimney sweep or begin working on your own. Removing old carbon deposits will be both more difficult and more expensive.

Many people who live in private houses are interested in how to clean a chimney using folk remedies. Due to the accumulation of soot, smoke does not come out well, and this can lead to poisoning of people. This is why pipes need to be cleared of smoke. There are many store-bought products that can help cope with this problem. But you can also use proven folk remedies, and there are a lot of them. The most safe method is conventional mechanical cleaning using special devices.

Many people who live in private houses are interested in how to clean a chimney using folk remedies

Store products

New store-bought chemicals are constantly appearing that are used to clean chimneys. One of the most common is a special log. Sazhinet and Chimney Sweep products are suitable. Cleaning the chimney with their help will be very simple and fast. Certain chemical compounds are added to the combustible mass, and then briquettes are formed. The compositions of this type of product are not very different. It is recommended to use the log as a preventive measure, then you will have to use brushes much less often.

The next group of products are special chemicals with anti-carbon properties. Thanks to them, cleansing will be not only fast, but also effective. These products are available in powder form. They are packaged in buckets, jars and bags. Measuring spoons included. They must be rationed strictly according to the amount of firewood. Do not increase the dosage.

New store-bought chemicals are constantly appearing that are used to clean chimneys.

The most popular options:

Cheerful chimney sweep. Cleaning the chimney will be carried out much less frequently and easier if you use this composition as a preventive measure. It must be periodically burned along with firewood.
H.G. This is a Dutch product that is used to clean fireplaces and stoves. Removes already formed plaque. Sold in powder form, which is packaged in a jar. Experts advise using it once every six months. The dosage is 2 scoops per firewood. You need to thoroughly heat the oven first.
A professional chimney sweep. This product is sold in packages. For a one-time procedure, you will need to burn 3 bags at once. If soot has already formed and there are problems with traction, then it is best to use 6 bags at once. They should be placed in burning wood half an hour before the end of heating. After everything has burned out, there is no need to clean the firebox - you should heat the stove several more times along with the remaining wood.
Chimney sweep There are more than 10 compounds with this name, but the manufacturers are different. It is imperative to take into account the dosage and rules of use, which are written on the packaging.
Kominichek. This is a Czech product. Used as a preventive measure. It needs to be poured onto coal or firewood towards the end of the procedure.
Hansa. This is a universal tool. Can be used for any type of pipes and firebox. Can be used with any type of fuel - both coal and wood are suitable. You need to take 1-2 scoops of the substance while laying firewood. Repeat the procedure until the chimney is completely clean. As a preventive measure, it is recommended to use it once per 4 fireboxes.

Folk remedies

You can always use folk remedies that have been tested for centuries.

You can clean the pipe in the bathhouse using a regular rock salt. It should be sprinkled on fuel. A small amount is enough. This method is the simplest and most popular. Moreover, it is accessible to everyone. But it is suitable only if there is little soot, or as a preventive treatment to clean heating systems. Salt prevents soot from forming in the chimney.

To get rid of soot, you need to perform the following algorithm of actions:

Take regular potato peelings and dry them thoroughly first. It should be approximately 5 kg (this is the simplest remedy).
Warm up the heating device thoroughly.
Pour the cleaning into the firebox. During their combustion, starch is released, which has a destructive effect on soot and soot.
Wait a few days after cleaning the oven. During this time, the plaque from the walls will disappear.
It is recommended to use a special brush, which has a curved handle, to clean the pipe walls.

Oddly enough, aluminum cans also help. This non-standard method, but its effectiveness has already been proven by time. They just need to be burned. Carry out the procedure once per 10 fireboxes. This technique is only suitable for those devices that operate on solid fuel.

You can clean a pipe in a bathhouse using regular rock salt.

To clean the pipes, you must first remove the glass, which is located in the lower zone of the chimney, then place the water pressure device as high as possible. To do this, you can use a tight type hose or connections with wire. Strong water pressure is required to remove soot. The burning residue will simply be washed off the walls.