One of the ways of keeping your chimney in top shape is to clean it regularly. While many people opt to hire chimney cleaning professionals to clean their units, you can clean the unit on your own if you have the basic cleaning skills. To help you out, here are some of the tips that you should put into consideration to give the unit a clean look:

Inspect the unit

This is the first thing that you need to do. You can’t just jump into cleaning without knowing the condition of the chimney. You should climb to the top of the chimney using a ladder and check the extent of creosote accumulation.

You also should confirm if there are any blocking materials up there. If there is a lot of creosote, consider hiring a professional to help you out, but if it’s only little, you can go ahead and remove it.

If there are nests or animals in the chimney, you should contact the animal control to help you in removing them. You should note that you can be on the wrong side of the law if you try getting rid of the animals on your own.

Gather the right chimney sweeping tools

Once you have ascertained that you can clean the chimney on your own, you should go ahead and gather the necessary tools. Some of the tools that you need for the work include: dust mask, rope, chimney brush, gloves, protective goggles, and flashlight.

Before you head to the store to buy the chimney brush, you should measure the inner part of the chimney liner. This will help you in purchasing the right size of unit.

Clean the chimney

You should now go ahead and start the cleaning. There are two main ways of cleaning the chimney: you can clean from the top or bottom. Cleaning from the top is easier, and also you don’t have to get into contact with a lot of dirt.

To clean the unit, you need to seal the fireplace to prevent spreading soot in the room. You also should remove the flue cap to allow unrestricted access to the chimney. You can clean the chimney using a chimney brush. If the brush is long enough, you can use it on its own, but if it’s not long enough, you can tie it with a rope.

Conclusion

These are tips on how to clean the chimney. If you have analyzed the situation and concluded that you couldn’t effectively clean the unit on your own, let a professional chimney contractor help you out.