Are Chimney Cleaning Logs Effective?
Chimney Cleaning — A chimney caked in creosote is a fire risk and should never be disregarded, but removing all that gunk takes greater than soap and water. Chimney cleaning logs, additionally referred to as creosote sweeping logs, are marketed as a simple way to deal with this sticky issue.
There’s a reasonable amount of misconception regarding exactly how these logs work, though. They really can make your chimney easier to maintain, however they can not replace routine, professional cleaning and they’ll just help if you use them appropriately.
How Chimney Cleaning Logs Clear Out Creosote
When the byproducts created by burning wood hit the chimney wall surfaces, they condense right into a compound called creosote. It happens in all fire places, but poor chimney draft and burning improperly seasoned timber, or even worse, damp timber makes the issue worse. Over the season, creosote builds up on the inside of your chimney. Because it’s extremely flammable and a typical root cause of chimney fires, it needs to be cleaned out each year.
Sometimes that job is much easier said than done. Creosote typically starts off light and soft or crusty, however it can develop into a thick, oily, tar-like compound that will take a chimney sweep significant time and effort to eliminate. The more challenging your chimney is to tidy, the more that cleaning will certainly cost you.
Chimney cleaning logs make the creosote much easier to remove. They have chemical ingredients that rise up via your chimney and adhere to the creosote down payments. These chemicals dry the creosote, turning it right into a half-cracked material that’s much less flammable and simpler to get rid of.
After you melt a fireplace cleaning log and afterwards remain to shed routine firewood, the chemicals service the creosote for around two weeks. Several of the completely dry creosote will fall down into the fireplace where you can move it away.
The whole process can decrease the buildup in your chimney by as much as 60 percent. That indicates a faster, less complicated work for your chimney sweeper and a reduced price for you.
Keep Your Expectations Realistic
How much a Chimney Cleaning log will assist you depends on the type of creosote in your chimney. Creosote forms in three stages:
Initial stage — Light and puffy with a high residue content. Easily eliminated with a chimney brush.
2nd stage — Somewhat sticky, yet flaky. Can be gotten rid of with a chimney brush and some effort.
3rd stage — Also referred to as glaze, these difficult, tarry down payments can not be eliminated with an ordinary chimney brush.
The very first 2 phases are one of the most typical, the most convenient to tidy, and the least affected by chimney sweeping logs. If your chimney has only a percentage of light creosote, you might not get much benefit out of these logs.
Third-stage (polished) creosote develops usually when the fire place wasn’t developed well, or you haven’t been using it appropriately. Perhaps your chimney is as well short and does not have sufficient draft, your flue is as well large, your residence doesn’t have much airflow, or you’ve been shedding unseasoned wood.
Glazed creosote is fairly uncommon, but it’s where Chimney Cleaning logs truly beam. As a matter of fact, just chemical therapy can entirely remove polish. The log does a great deal to break down the polish, making the cleaning task much easier for your chimney sweep.
Get the most from Your Logs
Before you purchase a Chimney Cleaning log, make certain it will certainly work with your fireplace. They don’t collaborate with pellet ovens, for instance. If you shed 1 or 2 fires a week, it’s enough to burn one Chimney Cleaning log either at the beginning or middle of the season. If you burn a fire a day, you’ll need two logs: one at the start of the season and one in the middle.
Do not make use of the log the very first time you make a fire for the season. Initially, melt fires with regular fire wood for 2 or 3 days to make certain there are no concerns with the fireplace or chimney.
Before you use the creosote sweeping log, examine your chimney for fallen leaves, pet nests, and other particles and blockages, and make certain your fireplace damper is open.
If you have a wood stove with a catalytic combustor, shut the gadget making use of the bypass system. Leave it this way for the next week or 2 as the chemicals in the Chimney Cleaning log do their work.
Check out the guidelines prior to you eliminate the log’s product packaging. Some logs are developed to be shed with the product packaging, although you’ll need to loosen the product packaging a little to enable air flow for burning.
To minimize threat of downdrafts, melt a fire with routine timber, then hereafter fire has actually waned, place the Chimney Cleaning log on the warm embers. If the space has inadequate air flow, open up a home window to obtain more air in.
Over the following couple of days, you should notice completely dry creosote, which resembles ash, dropping from your chimney into the fireplace. If you’re due for a specialist chimney sweeping, wait a week or two after burning the Chimney Cleaning log prior to you have the chimney sweep come in.
Even if you make use of Chimney Cleaning logs correctly, you’ll still need to arrange an annual expert cleaning and inspection of your chimney and fireplace. Greater than just cleaning out your chimney, chimney sweeps likewise check for damages and other issues that position safety issues.
If you have sticky or glazed creosote, however, making use of a Chimney Cleaning log can help your chimney sweep finish the job much faster.