How To Clean Your Chimney From Inside

Measure your chimney flue.

How to clean your chimney from inside.

If you re not experienced working on the roof of a house or if your roof is particularly steep hire a professional or consider the bottom up method of cleaning the chimney from the fireplace. How to clean your chimney. You can clean a chimney top down from the roof or from the bottom up inside the house. Why clean your own chimney.

First take a good look at the inside of the flue. Drop cloths and plastic tarps to seal off the area from all the dust protect yourself with the appropriate gear protective goggles a dust mask a sturdy ladder and purchase the right types of chimney brushes for the job. Stay safe by practicing good ladder safety and by having an assistant monitor you when you are on the roof. While it s a very good idea to have the chimney inspected by a csia professional serious diyers can do some maintenance themselves.

Measure the sides of your chimney from the bottom through the fireplace. Here are the steps for cleaning your chimney yourself. Also wear protective equipment such as a dust mask and eye protection while cleaning a chimney. If you find a 1 8 in.

You could also climb up a ladder and measure it from the top. You may choose to call in a chimney sweep or clean the chimney by yourself. If the chimney has not been cleaned in a long time it is wise to have a chimney sweep do the first cleaning. How to clean your chimney.

To save yourself the time of cleaning up a mess later take proper steps to protect the inside of your home think. There isn t a simple rule of thumb on how often to clean your chimney such as cleaning after 50 uses or one year. The chimney should be cool and no fire should be present. A quick way to tell if your chimney needs cleaning is to run the point of your fireplace poker along the inside of your chimney liner.

Or more layer of buildup the thickness of a nickel call a chimney sweep. It will be either square or round 6 or 8 determine the height of the chimney. Determine the size and shape of the flue. First you remove the creosote that has built up on the inside of the chimney walls.

But it s still an important task as a smoky fire without enough oxygen emits lots of unburned tar vapors called creosote that can condense inside the fireplace flue and stick to it possibly leading to a chimney fire.