In rural areas or outside the city, people with private houses use a stove heating system. Previously, specially trained people - chimney sweeps - were engaged in cleaning these structures. However, modern man strives to do everything on his own, so he is wondering how to clean the chimney in the stove of a private house. This article will help you understand how this can be done.
Working as a chimney sweep
The demand for this profession in the Middle Ages was justified by the increase in the number of fires in cities. The authorities thought about the causes and found a connection between the condition of the chimney and the occurrence of fires. This influenced the emergence of specialists who could provide quality service to furnace systems.
The first guilds of chimney sweeps appeared in the German principalities in the 17th and 18th centuries, and then this profession spread throughout Northern Europe. These people knew howclean the chimney in the stove of a private house. This made their profession important and in demand.
Where to look for a chimney sweep
In modern society, this profession is almost forgotten, however, in the places of sale and installation of furnace and boiler equipment, you can certainly be offered services for the revision, repair and cleaning of the chimney.
If you could not find a company that provides such services, then you will have to learn how to clean the chimney in the stove of a private house yourself.
How to tell if your chimney is clogged
The main indicators that it is time to clean the chimney are:
- Draft reduction. You can open the gate. If after that the draft situation does not improve, then you definitely need to clean the chimney pipe.
- Flame fading in the oven.
- It's hard to start a fire. If, despite the use of dry wood, the flame flares up with difficulty, then the cause is in the chimney.
- Acquisition of flame orange hue.
- Corrosive smoke in the room. In this case, carbon monoxide, aka carbon monoxide, enters the house. This is very dangerous, so you need to urgently ventilate the room and fix the problems in the oven.
If you observe at least one of the above signs, then you need to think about how to clean the chimney in the stove of a private house. After all, the life and he alth of your family may depend on it.
Cleaning frequency
Before you know how to clean the soot from the chimney, you need to decide how often you need to do it. Cleaning the chimney for the first timeit is necessary in 1, 5-2 years from the start of using the furnace. The chimney pipe is cleaned of soot. Its layer must be at least 2 mm.
After the first cleaning, it is advisable to take care of the chimney 1-2 times a season. This is usually done in autumn or spring. In addition, it is recommended to carry out the prevention of clogging. Then the question of how to clean the chimney in the house will arise before you no more than once every two years. However, the timing may depend not only on preventive measures, but also on the type of fuel.
Why clean your chimney
During the use of the stove, soot is deposited in the chimney pipe layer by layer. This leads to a narrowing of the passage. Because of this, traction becomes worse. Firewood consumption in this case will be more, which is very bad for the family budget. Therefore, it is advisable to learn how to clean the chimney in a private house.
Reduced traction also leads to condensation, and this leads to a more rapid build-up of soot. It is a strong thermal insulator. Because of it, the furnace channel warms up less. If there is a lot of soot, you have to use more fuel to feel the heat and heat from the stove.
Unburned solid particles regularly enter the chimney. Hot air, rising through the chimney, leads to the ignition of these same particles. Since they burn in the chimney, this entails the thinning of its walls and an increase in the likelihood of an uncontrolled fire. Many fires in rural areas are caused precisely by improper maintenance of chimneys.
Strongfrosts force people to use more firewood. This raises the temperature in the furnace and chimney. If the latter is clogged, then during operation sparks fly out of it, which can lead to the fire of outbuildings.
If the chimney has not been cleaned for a very long time, backdraft may occur. Part of the smoke and those same sparks can enter the room. In this case, there are two options for the development of the situation: a fire in the room or poisoning by combustion products.
The essence of cleaning the chimney
Why you need to carry out the cleaning procedure, we figured it out. Now consider how to clean the chimney in the oven. Usually the whole process consists in removing soot and debris from the inner surface of the pipe. It happens that when cleaning small branches, dry leaves brought there by the wind from trees, even bird nests are removed from the chimney.
Together with cleaning the chimney, they check all elements of the furnace. It should be noted that the firebox and ash pan are cleaned last.
If you clean the oven and all its elements in time, then you should not be afraid of fire. In addition, it helps to significantly save money and prevent the need for emergency repairs to the heating unit.
Biological methods
How to clean the chimney with your own hands? To do this, you can use improvised materials: firewood, s alt, potato peelings, walnut shells, naphthalene, blue mixture. This will save you money, but it does not guaranteegood result. The use of these funds has a more preventive effect. The products listed above only prevent the accumulation of a thick layer of soot and soot.
To easily clean the chimney, you need half a bucket of dry cleaners. We throw them on the heat, they immediately burn out and in the process they release a large amount of starch. This is precisely the essence of this method. Starch has a softening effect. After that, it is desirable to carry out mechanical cleaning.
The next remedy is rock s alt. It is sprinkled with firewood in front of the firebox. The vapors released during its combustion prevent the formation of deposits on the walls.
Cleaning with firewood requires the use of a certain type of wood. Suitable aspen or birch (peeled from the bark). It is enough at the end of the furnace, when the combustion temperature is much higher, to throw firewood into the furnace. Vapors exfoliate soot from the walls. It burns out in extreme heat. The main thing here is to make sure that sparks do not get into the room.
Aspen firewood can be replaced with walnut shells. The essence of their action is the same. It is not recommended to use more than 2 kg of shells at a time.
Naphthalene also promotes flaking and soot release. But this method is rarely used, since the smell of naphthalene is very difficult to tolerate. After this method, the whole house should be thoroughly ventilated. If you decide to use this remedy, throw one tablet into the fire.
The blue mixture must first be prepared. We mix copper sulfate, s altpeter and coal (coke) in a ratio of 5:7:2. Ready mix inthe amount of 20 g is poured into a preheated oven and the door is closed. This method is not recommended for open foci.
Chemical Methods
Let's consider how to clean the chimney from soot with your own hands using chemicals. There are many ready-made preparations for this process on the market. The principle of their action is the same. According to the instructions, it is necessary to throw the amount of the product indicated on the package into the fire. The substances released during combustion break down components that could become soot.
They produce such drugs in the form of tablets, briquettes, bars, solutions. In most cases, they are already packaged in portions.
Among the drugs you can find the following:
- "Log-chimney sweep". The briquette consists of ammonium sulfate, carbon wax and phosphorus oxide. You need 2 logs per season.
- "Kominichek" (5 sachets of 15g each). The product contains copper chloride. Use only if the soot layer is up to 2 mm. With heavy pollution, "Kominichek" is ineffective. It converts the soot into oxide, which burns at a lower temperature.
- "PCC" (anti-scale chemical composition). Burned with firewood. 150-200 grams of powder is required per ton of fuel.
There are a lot of soot control products. You can always choose the best option for you.
Mechanical cleaning
You can clean the chimney from soot at home mechanicallyway. It is usually used in conjunction with biological agents. Soot is softened with the preparations described above before mechanical cleaning.
Next, we need a certain set of tools:
- Special ruff (it should be slightly larger than the diameter of your metal pipe).
- Cable or rope with handle.
- Hard brush with long handle.
- Metal weight (it should be half the diameter of the pipe). It needs to be attached to the brush in the center.
- Scraper with metal handle.
Cleaning is carried out both from the side of the pipe (from the roof), and from the side of the fireplace or open stove (from the house). Be sure to follow the precautions:
- It is better to use shoes with non-slip soles, and protect your hands with gloves.
- Protect your respiratory organs with a respirator, because during the cleaning process, combustion products can enter the lungs.
- The weather should be dry and calm.
- Before cleaning, refrain from drinking alcohol or drugs that reduce the reaction.
You need to wait until the stove has completely cooled down, free the firebox from unburned firewood and ash. Close all doors to prevent soot from entering the room during cleaning. A firebox without a door must be curtained with a dense, damp cloth. She will not let the soot inside the house, but after that she will have to be thrown away. The dampers need to be opened so they don't get clogged.
Initially remove the head from the pipe, inspect it and start cleaning. Start workingweight on a rope. This way you will remove large blockages and check to what mark you can clear the chimney. If the pipe is heavily clogged, then initially use a scraper with a long handle, then a metal brush with a load. It is important that the item chosen as the load is in the middle of the pipe and does not damage it.
After cleaning the top of the chimney, proceed to the bottom. Use a ruff with a flexible handle that can be grown if necessary. The firebox is cleaned of soot last. Rubbish is collected with a special vacuum cleaner or brushed.
Cleaning the gas column chimney
The reference point that it is time to carry out the process is also a deterioration in traction and a decrease in the quality of the heating unit. If you heard the popping sound of the column igniter, then it's time to learn how to clean the chimney of a gas boiler. Taking precautions in time will help keep your home safe.
The same brush is used for work, as well as special vacuum cleaners. It is permissible to use special chemicals to soften and remove soot and deposits.
It is important to know that generally accepted preventive measures are not possible in the case of a geyser, so it is necessary to clean the pipe at the first sign of clogging.
Technological elements
Even if you know how to clean a chimney pipe in a private house, you can greatly facilitate the care of this heating element. In the construction of modern chimneys, sandwich pipes and metal are used. They can be installed in anydirection to serve several ovens at the same time. This arrangement of pipes makes cleaning them more difficult due to the many angles.
In such designs, tees are used to connect pipe sections. At the same time, one side is closed with a lid through which the chimney can be cleaned.
In brickwork ovens, special hatches are laid in the planning process. If the chimney is very long, for example, to the height of a three-story house, then there may be several such hatches.
Preventive measures
How to clean the chimney of soot so that it no longer clogs? There is a prevention for this:
- For the furnace it is recommended to use logs of deciduous trees, and at the end toss aspen logs. Fuel from coniferous trees leaves a lot of tar on the walls of the chimney.
- Firewood must be dry, otherwise there will be a lot of soot.
- The pipe should be protected by a cap. This prevents debris, rainfall and leaves from getting into it.
- To reduce the formation of condensate, the pipe must be insulated.
- Don't burn garbage in the oven. Plastic bottles, plastic bags and rubber products do not burn completely, but only melt, remaining on the walls and making it difficult to clean the chimney.
- Don't light a flame with flammable materials.
- Chimney should be regularly cleaned and monitored for deposits on its walls.
These simple recommendations will help improve the operation of stoves and fireplaces.
