Previously, when stove heating was in all houses, there were no problems with cleaning the chimney. The head of the family knew exactly how, with what and when to clean it, and the profession of a chimney sweep was at a premium.

Over time, boilers replaced stoves, and today only a few can guess why the fire stops igniting, and when the fire is kindled, the smoke does not come out. But the biggest problem is not even in this - but in the fact that carbon monoxide, without passing through a contaminated pipe, begins to concentrate in the room, which creates a direct threat to the life and health of households. In order for you to avoid such problems, we will tell you how to clean the chimney from soot at home and why it gets dirty at all.

Why is the chimney clogged

First you need to understand that during long-term operation, any chimney is clogged, even made according to technology and from the right materials. In any case, it is necessary to clean the chimney at least once every 1-3 years, depending on the intensity of operation.

Much more often, soot accumulates in the depths of the chimney pipe due to a violation of the design or manufacturing technology. So, for example, the following main reasons can be distinguished:

• improper pipe laying and remains of masonry mortar on the inside;
• violation of the operation of the stove or fireplace;
• the chimney is made of low-quality material;
• the absence of a protective umbrella on the chimney, in connection with which birds fly into it, debris, leaves, etc. get into it;
• violation of the size of the lumen of the chimney pipe.

Improper operation of the stove or fireplace means using wood with a high concentration of tar as fuel or burning "chemical" garbage - polyethylene, plastic, rubber.

• Often the reason for the rapid clogging of the chimney is poor-quality material that was used in masonry - both brick and masonry mortar. This leads to chips, falling off parts that get stuck in the chimney and so on.
• The narrowing of the clearance of the chimney, caused by one of the reasons, or several in combination, violates the draft during ignition, does not allow smoke to come out, and increases the time for warming up the walls of the chimney.

If you notice such signs, it's time to clean the chimney. In addition to the fact that, as mentioned earlier, carbon monoxide accumulates in the room, with an increase in soot deposits, at some point they light up and a fire starts.

How to remove soot

Of course, there are narrow specialists on the labor market who clean pipes using various chemical and mechanical methods, but the price of their services is quite high. The average rate depends on the type heater(stove, sauna stove, fireplace or barbecue) and ranges from 9 to 12 thousand rubles for a one-time service. It is clear that it is much cheaper to independently figure out how to clean the chimney from soot at home, and not deal a crushing blow to the family budget.

The easiest household chimney cleaning methods

Potato peelings

Oddly enough, but this is an excellent tool in the fight against small (!!!) soot deposits.

By itself, the potato does not remove soot from the pipe, but softens it, which makes it possible to quickly and easily clean it off mechanically.

For this method, prepare 0.5 buckets of dry potato peelings or finely chopped potatoes, also pre-dried. When the firewood burns out and the coals remain smoldering, throw potato peels on them. When burned, they release starch vapor, which softens the soot to an acceptable state.

Salt

It is, rather, a preventive method that is recommended to be used every time a fireplace or stove is lit. Salt is poured onto burning firewood and the released chemical elements prevent soot from settling on the walls of the chimney. Of course, over time, it still settles, but not in such quantity and not so viscous.

Chimney Sweep Logs

You can buy a special log in a stove store or use birch firewood. If possible, you can buy aspen logs, they have the same effect.

It is necessary to remove the bark from birch logs.

These firewood a short time increase the temperature in the furnace to a maximum, after which the soot is simply torn to shreds. This is a good way, but requires the constant presence of a person. If enough soot has accumulated, such a powerful fire from an aspen or birch is quite capable of setting it on fire. Don't be lazy and stay close to the fireplace all the time until the wood burns out.

Chemical methods for cleaning soot

These are much more effective ways to deal with even significant soot deposits.

There are the following proven effective drugs:

• A mixture of saltpeter, copper sulfate and coke in equal parts. The composition is poured onto smoldering coals, during combustion, a number of chemical elements are released that provoke the shedding of a significant amount of soot.

The maximum dosage is 200 grams of the finished composition.

• PCC (anti-scaling chemical composition) is a very effective soot control compound that must be burned directly in the package.

Be sure to read the instructions - the effect of the drug is so strong that it can even provoke cracking of the chimney pipe. It is strictly forbidden to violate the dosage.

• Kominichek is a Czech preparation for combating a small layer of soot deposits (2-3 mm). One package is enough to clean a standard chimney for 2-3 months. With regular operation of the stove or fireplace, it is recommended to use the composition at least 3 times a year.

The active substance is copper chloride CuCl2, so during use it is necessary to arrange a very good draft in the room and, if possible, not be present in it.

• Log-chimney sweep - natural birch or aspen log, additionally impregnated with CuCl2. Burning, it releases a number of chemical elements that provoke the exfoliation of creosote sediments - tar deposits.

Given that these drugs are also an expensive pleasure, they should be used no more than once a year or two. It is much easier and cheaper to undertake a number of preventive measures and clean the pipe mechanically.

Methods for mechanical cleaning of the chimney

You get the tools necessary for such work only once, so in the future this method will not be costly.

So, you will need:

• special different-sized ruffs

• kettlebell on a strong rope

• hard brushes

• gaff (with hard hook)

In addition to the basic tools, you will need a respirator, thick cloth gloves and goggles.

All stoves are cleaned from above, and fireplaces - from below.

The cleaning of the oven, including the bathhouse, is carried out in the same way as before the milk container was washed with a brush. With gentle circular movements, scrape off the soot that falls to the bottom of the well. Choose a tool depending on the thickness of the canal. Initially, you can burn the wood with pure salt or potato peels to soften the soot and make it easier to work. Then use ruffs or brushes and, as necessary, a ramrod or gaff.

For cleaning activities, choose a sunny, calm day. Be sure to secure yourself near the pipe to eliminate the risk of injury.

The fireplace is cleaned mainly with hard brushes with long handles from below.

Be sure, after the pipe is cleaned, clean the bottom of the well as well - remove all the soot that has fallen off the walls with a poker and a shovel and throw it away.

Self-cleaning the chimney from soot and soot is not such a difficult task as it might seem at first. Yes, this is a lengthy process, especially if you have not encountered this before. The most important thing is to take a series of preventive measures, and alternately use the previously mentioned methods. Optimal time for cleaning - early autumn, when there are still fine days.

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

How and how to clean the chimney from soot

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

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

Why does the chimney get dirty

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

Signs of a clogged chimney

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

What to do if the chimney is clogged

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

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

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

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

How to clean a chimney

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

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

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

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

Biological methods of cleaning the chimney

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

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

Photo gallery: folk remedies for cleaning the chimney

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

Soot removal chemicals

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

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

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

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

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

Photo gallery: chemicals for cleaning the chimney

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

Video: chimney cleaning with special chemicals

Mechanical cleaning methods

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

Chimney sweeps use special ruffs on a long cable

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video: cleaning the chimney from the side of the room

Ruff with your own hands

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

A good chimney brush can be made from a plastic bottle

Stainless steel pipe cleaning

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

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

Video: stainless steel pipe cleaning

Soot removal from stainless steel sandwich pipes

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

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

Special cases of cleaning the chimney

Some chimney cleaning situations require separate consideration.

How to clean a chimney pipe in a private house

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

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

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

Video: how to clean a chimney in a private house

Bath chimney cleaning

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

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

Cleaning the chimney pipe from tar

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

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

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

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

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

Curved chimney cleaning

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

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

How to clean a gas stove chimney

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

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

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

Stove heating is still very early to write off - it is still actively used by a huge number of people around the world, in cities and in rural areas, in poor regions and in quite wealthy and prosperous countries. Moreover, to some extent, we can say that home autonomous heating facilities are experiencing a “rebirth”, since both stoves and fireplaces are rapidly becoming fashionable, and few suburban construction a modern mansion does without them.

To get at your disposal the desired or a fireplace is not all. Such structures are always objects of increased danger, and therefore it is extremely important to be able to operate them correctly. With the procedure for firing stoves in everyday use, with the types of firewood needed for them - the owners get acquainted with this rather quickly. But what is surprising is that a negligible number of owners know how to clean the chimney with their own hands, and even fewer did it in practice.

This situation is by no means normal. The safety of operation of stoves and fireplaces in residential premises for a good half depends on the serviceability and correct operation of the chimney system. Forgetting this, negligent owners endanger life and health and own, and their relatives, risk the safety of housing and acquired property.

A bit of theory and history

What causes chimney clogs

Why do growths form on the walls of the pipe that require regular cleaning?

The first factor is due to the most banal reasons - the burning of wood itself. This is a rather complex physical and chemical process consisting of several stages. Depending on the type of stoves (fireplaces, boilers), on the location and configuration of the internal channels for removing combustion products, on the design, on the type of firewood used and their quality (or other fuel), both the number and completeness of the combustion stages (flame phase or smoldering phase), which can change one or the other several times.

- So, in the smoldering mode, they mostly burn out t solid components - coals. In this case, gaseous products can be too low in concentration - this happens at the beginning of the furnace, until they reach optimal temperatures, and the process of release of combustible pyrolysis gases has not yet been launched "to the full". These combustion gases quickly condense, so combustion at this stage is accompanied by the release of thick white smoke.

- In the mode of active flame combustion, it is the pyrolysis gases that become the main source of heat. As the temperature rises, the color of the flame changes (to close to bright white), and the smoke becomes almost invisible. But gradually their concentration decreases, and with one laying of firewood, the stormy flame is soon replaced again by the smoldering stage, for the reason that the gases have already left, and there are less and less combustible substances.

Be that as it may, a lot of combustion products go into the chimney in any case. Mostly with incomplete combustion, they become soot (small carbon particles), complex organic compounds, resins, carbon monoxide (carbon monoxide). Almost all of these products are combustible, and under certain conditions can even form explosive mixtures.

In stage complete combustion the content of organic matter in the smoke is sharply reduced, and water vapor, carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide become the main products at the inlet.

• From the point of view of clogging of chimney pipes biggest problems constitutes smoke, maximally saturated with incompletely burned carbon residues (ash), heavy resins. Therefore, it is very important to know how to choose the optimal ones correctly - far from any wood is suitable for these purposes, both in terms of its specific heat transfer and biochemical composition, that is, in terms of the concentration of heavy resinous substances. Increased resinousness is always distinguished by firewood from coniferous species and wood. By the way, not only this feature makes them undesirable for domestic use - just look at the table to see how much they lose both in terms of density and heat transfer to firewood from deciduous trees.

wood species	Density limit wood (kg/dm³)	Average density accepted for calculations (kg/dm³)	Working volumetric calorific value of wood (kcal/dm³)
Oak	0,690-1,03	0.81	3240
Ash	0,520-0,950	0.75	3000
Rowan (tree)	0,690-0,890	0.73	2920
Apple tree	0,660-0,840	0.72	2880
Beech	0,620-0,820	0.68	2720
Acacia	0,580-0,850	0.67	2680
Elm	0,560-0,820	0.66	2640
Larch	0,470-0,560	0.66	2640
Maple	0,470-0,560	0.65	2600
Birch	0,510-0,770	0.65	2600
Pear	0,610-0,730	0.65	2600
Chestnut	0,600-0,720	0.65	2600
Cedar	0,560-0,580	0.57	2280
Pine	0,310-0,760	0.52	2080
Linden	0,440-0,800	0.51	2040
Alder	0,470-0,580	0.5	2000
Aspen	0,460-0,550	0.47	1880
Willow	0,490-0,590	0.46	1840
Spruce	0,370-0,750	0.45	1800
Willow	0,420-0,500	0.45	1800
Hazelnut	0,420-0,450	0.43	1720
Fir	0,350-0,600	0.41	1640
Poplar	0,390-0,590	0.4	1600

Resinous substances enter with smoke on the inner surfaces of the pipe, becoming an excellent “adhesive substrate” for sticking soot layers.

• But that's not all. A considerable danger is fraught with the regular use of freshly cut, damp or improperly stored firewood. high humidity wood is the cause of abundant condensate on the walls of the pipe, on which they also “fit” very well rising up tiny soot particles.

Raw firewood, and even coniferous species - you can’t think of anything worse for a stove!

• Everything would be nothing, but in our time, many homeowners also consider the stove as a “universal waste disposal unit”. It means that a large number of household waste is sent to the furnace. It turns out that a huge amount of polymers, food waste, and other substances pass through the oven, which, when burned, give whole “bouquets” of a wide variety of fats, resins, esters, non-combustible solid particles, which very quickly lead to overgrowth of the pipe lumen.

• A factor stimulating frequent clogging of the chimney may be poor-quality work performed by the stove-maker. Narrowing of the pipe channel, too many turns or wrong angle, grout residues on the inner wall surface - etc. - all this provokes the growth of soot waste in such places. In addition, poor thermal insulation of the chimney or ill-conceived, inconsistent ordinal wall thickness of the pipe can lead to excessively abundant condensation - and this is another step towards an emergency.
• It is impossible to exclude the possibility that in a pipe unprotected from above by a cap in summer period When the stove is not in use, some birds decided to make nests. In addition, random debris, such as fallen leaves, can get into the pipe. With such trifles, it would seem, sometimes it is quite difficult to grow punchable plugs.
• Soot accumulating on the walls can, under the influence of any external reasons, peel off in a whole piece and fall down. If the fragment is large enough, it often happens that it gets skewed in the cavity of the pipe, and then a full-fledged blockage quickly grows on the basis of this “jumper”.

What is the danger of clogging chimney pipes

There are many reasons, but no matter which of them the clogging is caused, it is fraught with many very serious threats:

• Constricted the gaps in the chimney sharply reduce draft, and therefore the reverse movement of smoke is very likely - indoors, from the combustion chamber. In addition to the fact that smoke is unpleasant in itself, the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning increases dramatically.
• Low draft leads to an increase in the volume of condensate on the inner surfaces of the pipe, that is, further clogging of the chimney can go even faster, like an avalanche.

• A thick layer of soot is strong enough thermal insulator, which prevents the furnace channels from heating up to the desired temperature. Such a situation - always, without exception, leads to a drop in the efficiency of the heating device, to an excessive consumption of the fuel used.
• Soot is unburned solid residue, but this does not mean that they are non-combustible. On the contrary, a thick layer of soot deposits, under certain conditions, can easily catch fire, for example, from sparks rising with a stream of gases. This leads not only to the burning of the walls of the pipe - the vulnerability of the whole house increases sharply. This situation is one of the main causes of fires in buildings equipped with stoves.

An eerie picture - a sheaf of red-hot sparks from a chimney

• A chimney overgrown with soot becomes a real fire threat for neighboring buildings - “fiery tails” very often fly out of such an uncleaned pipe - sheaves of red-hot soot solid particles.

Such situations are described without any exaggeration. All these troubles can occur in a complex, almost simultaneously, and the consequences are sometimes the most tragic. That is why you should never forget about regular inspections and cleanings.

How often do you need to clean

Cleaning a pipe heavily “overgrown” with soot deposits is an extremely difficult task. The best thing is not to bring it to this, but to regularly inspect and preventive cleaning of the chimney.

Name of preventive measure and type of equipment	Frequency of work
Preventive inspections of the condition of the chimney and flue ducts ovens
Checking any equipment	Immediately after installation, before commissioning, or after any repair work has been carried out
Checking any equipment operating on a seasonal basis	Right before the start of the heating season
Checking chimney systems gas ovens and boilers	At least twice a year during the first two years of operation, then at least once a year.
Examination brick chimneys- regardless of the type of furnace or boiler
Checking asbestos-cement, heat-resistant concrete or ceramic chimneys	At least once a year
Chimneys of heating and heating-cooking stoves	At least three times a year - before the start of the heating season, during it, and at the end
Cleaning of chimney channels in pipes - as deficiencies are identified during inspections, and in addition, during the period of active operation:
In heating and heating-cooking furnaces	At least once every three months
In continuous furnaces	At least once every two months
In constantly used kitchen ovens	At least once a month
In regions where severe winters with low temperatures are typical, the tops of chimneys are checked at least twice a month to prevent ice crust from freezing and blocking.

The fact that it is necessary to do this is probably already clear to everyone. But who will do it?

Where to find a chimney sweep?

But this is a problem in our time, and no small one. Chimney sweeps - professionals, in the understanding that has been invested in this concept for several centuries, there are not so many left.

By the way, the need for the emergence of such specialization in the Middle Ages is directly related to the massive city fires that from time to time shook many densely populated European cities and literally destroyed them to the ground. There was an awareness of the direct relationship between the risk of fires and the condition of chimneys, an understanding of the importance of qualified maintenance of furnaces and pipes. And already in the XVII ÷ XVIII centuries first, in the German principalities, and then in other countries of Northern Europe, guilds (workshops) of specialists - chimney sweeps - appeared. And in Denmark, for example, it was even carried out by royal decree, which once again proves the importance attached to their work.

By the way, this is one of those professions with which the greatest number of all kinds of superstitions, signs and prejudices, urban legends and amazing implausible stories are associated.

On the one hand, the chimney sweeps, always smeared from head to toe with soot, seemed to be like outcasts who were even forbidden to move along the sidewalks for the “clean public”. But on the other hand, all representatives of this profession have always been distinguished by a rather elegant look - a fitted short jacket with invariably shiny buttons and a wide leather belt, and a mandatory headdress - a top hat. Rumor has it that, perhaps, the tradition of wearing a top hat came not only from the desire to look "impressive" - ​​it was just that a lot of fixtures and accessories necessary for work were placed in this voluminous high headdress. In addition, it could serve as good cushioning when, for example, a brick falls on the head.

The activities of chimney sweeps sometimes evoked some mystical feelings - they were often credited with being close to "evil spirits", they frightened naughty children, they often appeared in folklore works - legends, songs, ballads, etc. Feature- very often the plot was based on the fact that under the mask of a chimney sweep smeared with soot, some kind of exile or a once lost child of "blue blood" is hiding.

With all the wariness towards the representatives of this profession, they were treated, rather, very respectfully. And in many countries, it is still believed that touching a chimney sweep, while soiling your finger with soot, is a sure sign of imminent good luck.

In many cities of Central and Northern Europe, monuments to chimney sweeps have been erected. These specialists are in high demand there even now. There are even special schools, which, by the way, take several years to study and include, in addition to narrow technological areas, many special related disciplines, including mathematics, physics, the basics of architecture, ecology, and even economics.

True, the “armament” of a modern chimney sweep is much richer than before. And most importantly, devices have appeared that allow telemetric inspection of pipe channels in order to quickly find the main areas of contamination and remotely control the process of their cleaning.

And where to find a good specialist in our area?

• Well, first, you can search in regional periodicals in the sections of announcements for the provision of services. By the way, competent specialists– chimney sweeps are highly valued and their names and contacts must be known locally.
• Secondly, in many cities, regional centers and etc.. specialized firms have been created and are operating - enterprises engaged in servicing furnace and boiler equipment. For sure, one of the types of services provided is the revision, repair and cleaning of chimneys.
• And thirdly, if all this is not available in local conditions, or if there is simply no desire to attract someone from the outside, you will have to learn the basic cleaning techniques on your own.

Mechanical manual cleaning of chimneys

For a long time, the main method of servicing chimneys was their mechanical cleaning, and, therefore, brushes, brushes, heavy cores on cables, scrapers, brooms and other devices became the main tools of chimney sweeps. Tellingly, all these tools and technological methods of working with them have not undergone any special fundamental changes to this day.

Roof side cleaning

cleaning tool

So, to clean the chimney channel from above, from the side of the roof, it is usually used rope(cable), on which are fixed (tied or fastened carabiners) hard brushes for cleaning the walls from soot and a massive weighting agent - traditionally, a cast-iron core with an eye was used for this.

Classic chimney sweep tool - rope with a core and a brush

The heavy load (core) performs a dual function. Under the influence of its gravity brush-ruff (one or even several) moves in the chimney channel from top to bottom. But with severe blockages, the chimney sweep first breaks through the channel with the core, using it as a percussion tool. Only after the patency of the canal is achieved, brushes can be used.

The round shape of the core is very convenient in the sense that the risk of jamming in any tight, soot-covered sections of the chimney is minimal. However, this is not a dogma at all, and craftsmen in the manufacture homemade tool use other available weights. The main thing is that the suspended object is well centered, so that it does not get skewed anywhere.

Brushes are fastened above the core, in one or two tiers.

Modern brushes can be made of plastic or have a long metal bristle. (Metal brushes are strictly forbidden to be used on chimneys mounted on stainless steel pipes). They differ in shape: most of them are round, but you can find special brushes for a rectangular chimney.

The top and bottom of the brushes are equipped with rings for assembling them into general design- for attaching a cable or other elements of the circuit - additional brushes and a core.

There are models and long brushes designed for quick and high-quality cleaning of straight cylindrical chimneys. Plastic or metal pile in such products can be arranged in a spiral.

If desired, in specialized stores you can find ready-made “chimney sweep kits”. They are completed for a certain diameter of the chimney and include all the elements necessary for cleaning from above - a rope (cable), a weight, a set of brushes and carabiners.

If such a device is assembled independently, then the brush can be purchased at the store. But, apparently, there are situations when it is not possible to buy it for some reason at the moment. If the chimney needs urgent cleaning, but there is no brush, you can make it yourself, using old plastic bottles as the starting material.

Miniature	Description of the work process
	An ordinary plastic bottle is taken, cut in two so that top part was about 150 mm in height. Incisions are made on the walls in increments of approximately 15 mm. The length of the cuts depends on the diameter of the chimney to be cleaned. You need to orient yourself so that with the bent petals the diameter of the resulting brush is over size chimney by 30 - 40 mm.
	A hole is drilled in the cork (in the center) through which the rope will pass.
	After the petals are cut and bent, the cork is drilled and screwed into place, it turns out something like this homemade brush. It is necessary to make two such brushes - they will be located symmetrically, towards each other.
	Any massive object can be used as a load (in this case, an old bronze doorknob). The weight of the load must allow the brush to pass down through the chimney channel.
	A strong cord is securely tied to the load, and then threaded through the hole in the plugs of both brushes.
	In order for the lower and upper brushes with the "pile" directed towards each other to be located at a distance from each other (from 150 to 200 mm), a glass of the appropriate height must be inserted inside this prefabricated ruff. To do this, a cylinder is cut out from the rest of the bottle, cut lengthwise, and installed between the brushes. It is given a diameter about half that of the brushes, after which it is fixed with an ordinary stationery stapler. Then it remains to tie a fixing knot over the cork of the upper brush - and the tool is almost ready for work!

This approach, by the way, is quite justified in country houses, where the furnace is not fired so often, and buying professional tool or calling a specialist is simply unprofitable. And a homemade brush can one-time cope with the task no worse than a factory one. Yes, and it is not necessary to store it - you can always cut a new one in a few minutes.

Video: another option for making a homemade "ruff"

How to clean

• Before starting cleaning, be sure to close all inspection hatches on the chimney. It is necessary to provide for some measures that will not allow the cleaned soot to fall out of the stove or fireplace on the floor and on interior items in the rooms. For example, a hearth or a combustion chamber is additionally hung with a wet cloth.
• Cleaning from the side of the roof must be carried out with the obligatory observance of special precautions, especially if the roof has a steep slope. Fall insurance is provided. On the feet must be closed shoes with non-slip soles. Be sure to wear safety goggles to protect your eyes from soot or other particles. Hands are protected with gloves. It is advisable, probably, to cover the skin of the face and hair, since the soot is rather difficult to wash off. Do not carry out such work in rain or strong winds. Naturally, it is strictly forbidden to start such operations in a not quite sober state, tired, under the influence of certain drugs.

• Cleaning begins with the removal of the umbrella (or other pipe head). They inspect the entire visible part of the channel, if necessary, with a scraper, broom, and other improvised tools, clean it from debris and deposits.
• Next, a test pass is made by the core. If large layers come across, then the load should help to cope with them - chop them off so that they crumble down.
• After the load has shown the patency of the channel to the desired depth, brushes are installed above the core, and the process of cleaning the walls from soot begins. The principle is simple, the work is rather tedious and dirty. The bottom of the brush moves under the weight of the load, and up - when pulled with a rope. Slowly, in small sections, the walls are being cleaned from the top and to the fullest possible depth.
• From time to time, the inspection chambers on the chimney are checked - they are cleaned of soot that has fallen from above. Their complete cleaning will be carried out at the end of the work.

Instead of a cable with a load, more and more often in our time, long flexible shafts with a brush wound on them or prefabricated rods are used. These tools are more versatile, as they allow cleaning chimneys from below, from the side of the stove (fireplace). Let's take a look at them below.

Cleaning the chimney from the stove

A tool with a load is only effective until the first major turn - even at a 45 ° angle, the passage will be problematic, and with a rectangular one, it is guaranteed to stall.

For cleaning, if the constitution of the furnace is thought out, there should be special vents and hatches, which allow cleaning tools to be brought into the pipe cavity without resorting to disassembling it. But only gravity here is no longer an assistant, but quite the contrary. And in order to push the brush inside the chimney, it must be mounted on a rigid and at the same time flexible support.

For small areas, up to 3 - 5 meters, you can purchase a special set in the store - one or more brushes and a flexible fiberglass rod with a handle at the end.

Such a device is quite multifunctional. They are used, changing only brushes of different diameters, for cleaning ventilation systems, small sections of chimneys, sewers.

A more professional approach is a special tool in which the flexible shaft is already wound on a drum with a much larger diameter. The sizes of the cleaned areas are certainly much larger. The flexible shaft is usually marked, which allows you to accurately track the depth of the brush entering the pipe.

Finally, it can be prefabricated rods that are screwed one to the other as the brush moves deeper into the chimney.

On sale you can find similar sets, equipped with the necessary number of rods made of fiberglass, and brushes of the required diameter - plastic and metal.

The rods are usually 1 m long each, equipped with threaded adapters for mounting one to the other or for mounting a brush. As a rule, there are 10 such parts in a set.

The table below shows an example of cleaning an outside chimney using this kit:

Miniature	Description of the work process
	A properly assembled external chimney at its lowest point must have a plug with a condensate collector, a tap for draining it, for revision. This is the most convenient place for cleaning.
	The plug is completely removed to open the passage to the cavity of the chimney. The removed part can be immediately cleaned of dirt, fallen soot, and other foreign objects.
	Since the stainless steel pipe will be cleaned, we remove the metal brush included in the kit to the side - it cannot be used in this case.
	A cleaning brush is screwed onto one of the rods included in the kit.
	The same operation - against the background of an open entrance to the chimney.
	The brush is inserted into the pipe cavity, cleaning begins. Performing translational frictional movements up and down, the brush is gradually moved up along the chimney channel. It is impossible to make rotational (around the axis) movements, so as not to accidentally unscrew the assembled tool.
	As necessary, in the course of work, the total length of the central rod is increased - new rods are screwed on.
	And on this miniature - a demonstration of the highest flexibility of fiberglass rods. Thus, curved sections of the chimney also lend themselves to a similar cleaning method (of course, up to a certain limit, but it will most likely be possible to cope with an angle of 45 - 60 degrees).

Similarly, any sections of the chimney are cleaned where it is possible to introduce a brush. This can be done when cleaning from the roof, from inspection hatches or directly from the firebox (a typical example is an ordinary fireplace). The removal of the brush from the pipe is carried out in the reverse order, with the sequential dismantling of the sections.

The soot removed from the surface of the walls is collected and removed - sometimes they are connected to this stage. After a certain pause, 30-40 minutes, necessary for the cleaned soot to completely settle, all inspection hatches and valves are checked. After cleaning, it may be necessary to carry out minor repairs to the chimney - for example, repair cracks or other defects in the outer surface. Be sure to reinstall the pipe head.

By the way, it is easy to make a set of such rods yourself, using polypropylene pipes for this. Their flexibility, of course, is not as high as that of carbon fiber, but it may well be enough for certain straight chimneys.

If there is, then the manufacture of such a set of rods will take just a few minutes. It is necessary to cut the pipe (Ø 20 mm) into equal lengths (for example, 1 meter), and weld ordinary ½ inch threaded fittings on the edges of each. It is clear that “dad” is welded from one end, and “mother” from the other.

Chemical cleaning of chimneys

Mechanical cleaning of chimneys is a very radical method that gives good results. But only this event is quite heavy and very dirty. Is it possible to simplify such cleaning? It turns out that it is possible if you regularly carry out preventive work using special means chemical action.

The principle of their physical and chemical action may be different, but aimed at common goals - the removal of already formed soot deposits from inner wall pipes and creating conditions for the longest possible prevention of new soot buildup. Let's take a closer look at a few of these tools:

"Smoke"

Products under this brand Russian company Ecolace. The range is represented by three different products:

Special box "Smoke"

The principle of operation of such a cleaner in the form of a cardboard box is extremely simple. It is simply installed in the combustion chamber (in a fireplace or stove) and set on fire. The entire cleaning process takes about an hour and a half. The chemicals included in the preparation in the box actively clean the soot layers, transform the resinous components, make them brittle and self-salting. As a result, the growths either crumble down, or go out, carried away by smoke.

Cleaner "Smoke" in the form of a box

By the way, the active effect of such a cleaning is not at all limited only by the time of burning the package - it lasts for two weeks, and the pronounced effect will be noticeable for at least three months.

Log "Smoke"

If the remedy described above is purely preventive, then the cleaner in the form of a log will add an aesthetic component to the process.

More aesthetically pleasing - use the "Smoke" log

This cleaner is designed in the form of a regular log, which can be used to heat or stove. By the way, the metal salts included in its chemical composition give a very interesting visual effect - a beautiful turquoise flame.

Otherwise, the principle of operation remains the same.

Cleaner for pellet stoves and boilers "Smoke"

Manufacturers have also provided a cleaner in the form of granules, which helps to cope with the problems of contamination of the internal channels and chimneys of pellet boilers and stoves. This type of fuel has its own specific features, therefore, a special approach is needed for the prevention of such equipment.

This cleaner is given characteristic appearance conventional - so it is more convenient to mix with the main fuel. But, by the way, you can use it in conventional wood stoves.

Typically, cleaning is carried out at intervals of once every two months. With a flight boiler, it is necessary to mix 10 kilograms of cleaner with a ton of natural pellets. If an ordinary stove is cleaned, then it will be enough to add a kilogram of granules daily, for 5 days, to the firewood during one of the furnaces.

Video: cleaning chimneys with products of the Smoke brand

Production of the companyHANSA

Technologists of the West German company HANSA, when developing preventive measures for heating appliances, focused on the fight against creosote - resinous substances that, in interaction with water vapor, create the very sticky base on which soot actively settles.

The substances included in the preparations act in two ways. The former are aimed at active catalysis, so that the carbon particles burn as completely as possible, leaving practically no soot. Other substances under the influence of high temperature react with creosote. In this case, the resinous structure loses moisture, and hence its viscosity. The remaining layer becomes brittle, brittle, it begins to crumble and almost completely burns out in the flame of the hearth.

There are several for sale types of similar cleaners that in Russia they are better known under the brand name "Chimney sweep".

• The upper miniature depicts the "Chimney Sweep" tool, made in the form of a loose mixture. The kit includes a measuring cup, with which the dosage is made. The product is used both for cleaning and for prevention purposes, adding, for example, 1 - 2 measuring cups for each 4 - 5 fireboxes of a stove or fireplace. This approach allows you to be sure that soot will not accumulate in the chimney.
• Below - the same remedy, but already dosed in sachets. The use does not differ from the technique described above.
• On the middle miniature there is a log "Chimney sweep" in the package. In this form, it lies in a heated combustion chamber, ignites and is left until complete burnout. To keep the chimneys constantly clean, such prevention is recommended to be carried out about once a month.

Chimney sweep cleaners are suitable for all types of stoves and chimneys. Most importantly, they do an excellent job of cleaning the most difficult pipes in this regard - brick, which often have an uneven porous wall surface.

« Kominichek"

This is also a very well-known and widely popular among Russians means for cleaning Czech-made chimneys.

Packed sachets of Kominichek

It is a crystalline mixture packaged in bags of 14 grams. Usually one such bag is designed for a kilogram of dry firewood. Chemical reagents turn the soot deposits that have settled on the walls of pipes into a substance that burns even at a not very high temperature. This can be attributed to the advantages of this drug. Disadvantages - its “power” will not be enough if the chimney is heavily run and the soot layer on the walls already exceeds 2 mm. And one more limitation - processing with the help of "Kominchek", due to the peculiarities of its chemical composition and, as a result, the smell, can only be carried out with the combustion chamber door tightly closed. Thus, such a cleaner cannot be used in fireplaces with an open hearth.

There are many other means - there are plenty to choose from

There are many other cleaners, soot and tar converters, etc., both domestic and foreign. You can sample some of them and choose best option for myself - both in terms of efficiency, ease of use, and cost.

Video: one of the means of chemical cleaning - " Cheerful chimney sweep"

Folk remedies for cleaning chimneys

There are many ways in which our ancestors, with varying degrees of success, struggled with the phenomena of overgrowing of chimneys with soot. Surely, some of these folk methods were taken into account when creating modern chemical cleaners.

Let's remember a few folk "recipes":

• Ordinary boiling water can be a huge help in breaking through a very strong old soot blockage. Several liters of very hot water are poured from above into the pipe just before the stove is fired up.

Boiling water softens a little. t hard growths, and the rising hot gaseous products of combustion will destroy them, leading to the fact that soot will fly out in pieces along with smoke.

• One of the most simple ways is pouring into firewood a small amount ordinary table salt. Vapors of sodium chloride, it turns out, have a destructive effect on viscous soot deposits.

True, this method is applicable only as a preventive measure. It will not help to cope with old, even small soot growths.

• Unexpectedly, but naphthalene also helps in this matter. A standard tablet of this substance, thrown into a melted hearth, becomes an excellent prophylactic and cleansing agent. The soot begins to flake off and come out with the smoke.

The method is proven, but, alas, not without flaws. And the main one is that naphthalene has a very persistent smell, which is very difficult to get rid of, and which is far from pleasant for everyone.

• Do not throw away potato peels - this is a very effective remedy for the accumulation of soot in the chimney. From time to time it is useful to pour peelings or even just finely chopped raw potatoes into a fully heated oven.

Old folk way - burning potato peelings in the oven

Rising evaporation with a high starch content softens the structure of soot growths. Some of them will fall off. And the rest will be much easier to clean mechanically.

• For a long time, a mixture of coal, saltpeter and "blue stone" - copper sulphate - has been actively used to clean chimneys. The composition is made in proportions:

- copper sulfate - 5 parts;

- powdered coal (better - coke) - 2 parts;

- saltpeter - 7 parts.

A lot of such a mixture is not needed at all - about 20 grams per hundred kilograms of firewood is enough. The composition is poured into an oven preheated to the optimum mode, then the furnace door is very tightly closed. It is forbidden to carry out such cleaning in open-type foci.

• Finally, one of the most famous cleaning methods is the use of special firewood for this purpose. So, it was noticed that the fumes released during the combustion of aspen or alder contribute to the exfoliation of soot deposits from the walls of the chimney, and a very large but short-term heat allows the residue to come out with smoke or burn out in the furnace.

Alder firewood - usually stand out against the general background with bright colors on the cut

Interestingly, neither alder nor aspen firewood can be classified as quality look fuel for space heating or - the heat transfer from them is small. But having a supply of such wood is still very useful. Occasionally, for the purpose of prevention, you can complete the furnace of the furnace by finally sending a few kilograms of alder or aspen into it. True, at the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the sparks that often fly out of the chimney during such a procedure do not cause a fire in neighboring buildings.

So, there are a lot of means for prevention and regular cleaning of the chimney. Keeping the stove in good and safe condition is the direct responsibility of every homeowner. And it is up to him to decide whether to call a chimney sweep or do everything on his own. The main thing is not to forget to do this, to raise such events to the rank of priorities. And, of course, strictly follow the recommendations for the proper operation of furnaces - then cleaning issues will not have to be addressed so often.

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

In the old days, cleaning the chimney pipe was a common, ordinary thing for any owner. After all, a wood-burning stove was 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 lesson. In this article, I will talk about how to clean up the chimney with my own hands using traditional tools, as well as available old-fashioned cleaning recipes.

Indirect signs of chimney blockage

You should not be negligent about cleaning the chimney, because a soot-covered or even clogged pipe can lead to the fact that at some point carbon monoxide, which has neither color nor smell, will go into the room. 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 to look at is traction.. Any person who regularly had to heat a stove or kindle a fireplace knows that in addition to the firebox itself, the stoves have a blower 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, empirically. So, if you need to open the damper more than usual to ignite the stove, it means that the pipe section has become smaller and needs to be cleaned;

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

Chimney cleaning methods

For thousands of years of the existence of stove heating, a lot of people have gathered in the piggy bank of folk wisdom. various ways. Modern science has not stood aside either, at the moment a number of formulations are being produced designed to solve this problem.

What does the modern market offer us?

The simplest, although not very cheap, way to clean fireplaces and stoves is to use a variety of chemical mixtures that can, to one degree or another, actively destroy soot deposits in chimneys and furnaces:

• The domestic company "Smoke" produces a number of such devices. A cleaning box is considered a serious preventive measure against soot. This is the usual cardboard box, with a flammable chemical inside, which must be put in a firebox and set on fire.
  The whole process takes about one and a half hours. After that, within 2 weeks, soot will actively fall off and fall into the furnace or burn inside the channel, poured through the chimney;

• If the cardboard box did not help, there is a more radical remedy, the so-called "Smoke" log. This is a briquette of compressed chemicals, decorated to look like a regular log. The developers claim that this is one of the most powerful means. In addition to the practical benefits, the burning of such a log is accompanied by interesting visual effects, it gives an original flame with a pronounced turquoise hue, 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 the normal operation of the boiler, the instruction prescribes to mix a ten-kilogram bag of the product with a ton of ordinary pellets. To clean ordinary stoves with such pellets, it is necessary to burn a kilogram of this chemical in the furnace for 5 days;

• Approximately the same line of products is offered by the concern, which operates under the common brand "Chimney sweep". This brand is the result of cooperation between our manufacturers and the well-known German company Hansa. If you believe the advertisement, then their products are able to destroy not only soot layers, but also react with creosote, which is the basis of a dense and viscous substrate under a layer of this very soot;

• Among Russians, the products of the Czech company Kominichek have gained popularity quite a long time ago. One package contains 5 sachets of the mixture, 14g each. It is used at the rate of 1 bag per 1 kg of firewood.

The advantage of such a mixture is considered to be an acceptable price, as well as the ability to decompose soot even at relatively 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;

• In addition, one of the most affordable means is the anti-scale chemical composition or PCA. The compound is effective, but rather aggressive, no more than 150 g of powder is used per 1 ton of fuel. It is sold and used in the same way as Kominichek, in paper bags that are burned without opening.

All this powerful arsenal of modern chemistry, according to the manufacturers themselves, is more designed to prevent the overgrowth of the chimney. If the thickness of the soot in your pipe does not exceed 20 mm, then the chemistry will cope with it. Large congestion can only be removed mechanically, that is, with your own hands.

Folk ways to clean pipes

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

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

• In parallel with salt, I use the softening and destruction of the soot layer with potatoes, more precisely potato peels. They are thrown closer to the end of the firebox and, according to the rules, must completely burn out. Destruction occurs due to the absorption of starch into a loose layer of soot. The method is quite safe and does not require practically any costs;

• One of the old-fashioned ways to prevent a chimney that was common in the past was to periodically heat it with dry firewood from aspen, alder or birch, and this firewood must be cleaned of bark. During such a firebox, the dampers must be periodically gradually covered and opened completely.
  As a result, when you close the valve, the temperature rises, and when you open it completely, you get maximum traction. Such "swings" lead to the complete burnout of layers. But for old stoves, this is dangerous, as the walls of the chimney may crack;

• Light soot deposits can be destroyed by naphthalene fumes. According to experienced cleaners, supposedly it is 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 vapors will get into the room anyway. And secondly, at high concentrations, naphthalene vapors are considered explosive;

• There is another radical method, this is cleaning the chimney with boiling water. As a rule, it is used for serious blockages, as a temporary measure, until the hands reach mechanical cleaning. It's simple, three liters of boiling water is poured into the pipe of a melted furnace, from a steam shock, the cork is simply knocked out, plus the structure of the entire layer is broken and part of the soot burns out;
• If we talk exclusively about cleaning furnaces, then here you can use a mixture of copper sulfate crystals (5 parts) with saltpeter (7 parts) and coal or coke powder (2 parts).
  Such a tool is burned at the moment of the highest temperature in the furnace. For 100 kg of fuel, 20 g of powder is enough. But keep in mind that this tool is not suitable for fireplaces;

• I don’t know how true this is, but I was assured that the periodic burning of aluminum cans in the furnace, for example from beer, perfectly cleans the chimney. Only thin aluminum should not melt, but burn. You can achieve this effect only if you heat the stove with good coal or coke, with the help of firewood you will not get such a temperature.

All folk cleaning methods are good only as a preventive measure or preparation for general mechanical cleaning with your own hands. So don't have high hopes for them.

We clean the pipe ourselves

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

What you need for self-cleaning the pipe

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, as they cleaned chimneys in private houses with brushes and Serbs 100 years ago, they are cleaned to this day.

Of course, in fairness, 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 only with plastic brushes, metal bristles, you will completely ruin the structure, and 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 the brush with horizontally oriented bristles from below with a carabiner, and from above all this miracle of design thought is hung 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 in size.

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

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

A complete set for high-quality cleaning of the chimney consists of three main devices. I have already told about the brush with the core. In addition to it, you will need about the same brush, only fixed on an elastic metal or fiberglass cable. With the same device, only with a different nozzle, sewer pipes break through.

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

On this segment, the gases heated in the furnace move along a broken path, in other words, like a snake. So, at 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 just what is needed in order to clean hard-to-reach places in the chimney, from below through technological windows.

In modern private houses with a low number of storeys, the chimney or chimney turns out to be quite long, and with a strong 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 will not be superfluous to purchase a set of stackable fiberglass meter rods.

Of course, a factory 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 pile of millimeter steel wire. I cut pieces of wire, a little wider than the chimney and in the middle wrapped them around a stud with an 8 mm thread in one ring. Then, through the washers, it was pulled together with nuts.

Of course, such a device scrapes soot well. But a 1 mm steel wire is a rather tough thing and not every brick pipe can withstand such a test. At home on a new chimney, this number still passed, but old pipe at the dacha almost crumbled 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 on sale now. So I decided to make a second brush from such a broom. Most of all, I had to tinker with disassembly, because those who did it, apparently did not expect that they would disassemble it.

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

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

One of my friends "fished out" from the network a scheme for making a brush from plastic bottles. There, at two bottles, you need to cut off the bottom and, not reaching the neck, along, cut the walls of the bottles into petals. Then, towards each other, so that the necks “look” in different directions, these two segments are mounted on a hairpin and pulled together with bolts.

All this was beautiful, cheap and attractive while this brush was being made, but when they tried to clean a dense soot with it, it turned out that there was not much sense from this device. Such a "brush" is too weak to scrape off old soot.

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

The hardest thing to disassemble is the rope itself. Such things are knitted with special machines and it can take a lot of time to disassemble. You need to work slowly, in thick mittens, otherwise you will prick your fingers. The threads are tightly connected there, so that it is unlikely to be able 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, over which the same washer is put only from thick, dense rubber.

The wire is laid out from the center in a circle, after which, another rubber gasket with a wide iron washer is put on top. The production 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 wrong on the roof two-story house no, 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. Whether you wear tight overalls and gloves, decide for yourself, but a respirator and goggles will not be superfluous for sure.

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

Immediately, before starting active cleaning, the doors, blowers and technological windows of the oven must be closed and preferably hung with a damp cloth. The fireplace opening is simply hung with a dense, damp cloth.

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

I warn you right away, cleaning the chimney is hard work and you will have to sweat a lot. First, lower one core on a rope to the entire depth of the pipe, without a brush. Make sure it runs freely and doesn't snag on anything. After that, you can fasten the brush and with reciprocating movements, from top to bottom, slowly clean the chimney.

If the core does not pass, then you need to act with a scraper. In general, it is considered that the diameter of the core should be at least 2/3 of the dimensions of the pipe in the cross section.

Of course, the brush can also be screwed to a type-setting long rod. But if with the core you expend effort only on lifting it up, it will go down by itself, under the weight of the core, then in the case of a barbell, energy will have to be spent 2 times more.

All the soot you clean off will naturally fall to the bottom. Therefore, do not wait until the pipe is filled with debris. Periodically, you need to get off the roof and clean out the soot through the technological window.

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

Blockage Prevention

Chimney pipes will need to be cleaned much less frequently if you follow the basic rules for operating stoves and fireplaces. First of all, forget about burning raw wood, especially softwood. Coniferous tree varieties 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, hard-to-clean coating. In the same time dry wood, even conifers, does not pose a great danger to stoves and fireplaces.

Another problem of modern stoves is the disposal of waste in the furnace. Old rags and paper, of course, do not pose a great danger, but synthetics and plastic bottles, sooner or later, can lead to the fact that you will have to completely shift your stove. And I'm not 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 the event and type of equipment	Frequency of preventive maintenance
Examination furnace structures and equipment for them	Immediately after commissioning. And also after carrying out any preventive measures
Inspection of furnace structures, boilers and fireplaces operating seasonally	Once before the start of the heating season
Checking chimneys in gas and solid fuel furnaces 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 and 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 operation, let's say in the country, bird nests and plugs from fallen leaves are a great danger to the chimney.

Conclusion

As you can see, although self-cleaning the chimney pipe is physically and rather difficult, but technically it is not particularly difficult. True, do not forget that regular prevention can significantly reduce the frequency of do-it-yourself cleaning.

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

This is the result of a soot fire.

There are two types of chimney cleaning type:

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

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

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

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

Homemade chimney brush

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

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

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

How to clean a very high or curved chimney

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

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

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

Soot cleaning chemicals

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

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

Folk chemicals

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

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

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

store preparations

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

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

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

Thermal chimney cleaning methods

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

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

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