As a homeowner, you know the benefits of keeping your chimney clean. It prevents harmful soot and creosote from building up. It also keeps your family safe, among many other benefits.

Due to its importance, you can sometimes be in a hurry, and you want to clean your chimney while hot.

Is it wise to do this? Unfortunately, it’s not. This is because, in addition to risking burning your cleaning brushes, you can also get hurt, and you don’t want this.

Whether you are the one cleaning the chimney or you are hiring the services of chimney cleaning services providers, you should always wait for the chimney to cool first. Besides this, you should consider plenty of other chimney cleaning tips. They include:

Clean the chimney at least once a year

Most people know they should sweep their chimneys but are unsure how frequently they should do so. The prevailing consensus is that you should sweep your chimney at least once every year.

While this is the case, if you use your fireplace frequently, you may need to do so more often.

As mentioned, sweeping your chimney is crucial because it removes soot and, more significantly, creosote buildup in the chimney.

Creosote is highly combustible and the primary cause of chimney fires. Cleaning your chimney on a regular basis (approximately once a year) will minimize the quantity of creosote in it, lowering the risk of future chimney fires.

Besides cleaning the chimney, you also should ensure that the cover or fireplace insert is in good shape and that there are no gaps or holes in the flue. If your chimney is damaged, animals may be able to make themselves at home within, resulting in an unhealthy rat infestation for your home.

So, if you haven’t already, have an expert evaluate your chimney and consider cleaning it as soon as possible.

Sometimes, you don’t have to wait for a year to do the cleaning

While cleaning your chimney once a year is recommended, you may need to clean it more frequently. You do this when you use the chimney more regularly than the average person.

If this is the case, you should look for signs telling you it’s time to do the cleaning.

The first sign that your chimney needs to be cleaned is the presence of soot on the inside of the chimney. Large levels of soot build-up indicate high usage or that it hasn’t been cleaned in a long time.

You should consider running a fireplace poker along the interior of your chimney liner, and if you discover a 1/8-inch layer (or more) of buildup, it’s time to arrange a cleaning.

Strong scents are another sign that your chimney requires cleaning. You will notice a harsh and unpleasant odor if creosote accumulates in your chimney. If you see this, it’s time to get it cleaned immediately.

If you are unsure whether your chimney needs to be cleaned, hire a professional to inspect it. They will help with the inspection and provide an estimate of the cost, which will help you plan for it.

Clean the chimney in spring.

You should sweep the chimney as soon as the heating season ends, in the spring, while deposits are still dry and easy to remove. This also gives you plenty of time before the next season to fix or replace broken components.

People in the house will also be less exposed to unpleasant creosote odors while working.

Unfortunately, most homeowners wait until the fall to have their chimneys cleaned. This is wrong as you often end up paying too much for the service as most cleaning service providers are busy at this time.

As mentioned, you can get away with cleaning your chimney once a year, but if you use your fireplace to heat your home every day in the winter, you’ll need to schedule an extra sweep in the middle of the season—usually after you’ve burned three or four cords of wood.

If cleaning the chimney by yourself, use the right tools

It’s always wise to hire chimney cleaning professionals to do the cleaning as they do a good job, but if you don’t have the budget, you can do it yourself. When doing it, ensure that you use the right tools.

A wire chimney brush has long been the primary instrument for cleaning chimneys.

To effectively clean the chimney walls, insert a wired brush into a chimney and move it reciprocally while rotating.

If there is any movement (other than from the bent pipe), it is most likely because the chimney pipe is very narrow and has become clogged.

Such congestion can be broken through with a large object tied to a rope.

When the chimney is severely clogged, you can use a combination of two methods: clean it with chemicals and then mechanically. Pre-prepared soot will be cleaned considerably more easily and quickly.

Its diameter should be approximately 20% larger than that of a chimney. A metal brush is best for cleaning a rectangle or square structure.

You can also use a hefty round metal ball to clear obstructions, such as dense debris or collapsed bricks. To break through the congestion, throw the ball, linked to the rope, directly into the center of the pipe hole, taking care not to harm the chimney walls.

If you can’t punch through the blockage in this manner, you may have to disassemble part of the chimney.

The core diameter should be at least two-thirds of the pipe’s cross-section. The ball has another duty as a weighing agent, and you tie it to the rope together with the wires brush.

Before using the brush, you need a scrubber to remove a deep layer of soot.

You should avoid using sports weights or other heavy things not intended for chimney cleaning. This is because of the changed center of gravity, they can tip over and become stuck inside the pipe.

As mentioned, you should always use the right tools, but if you don’t have the tools, let experienced chimney contractors Ellicott City do the work.