Chimney Cleaning - Great Tips For Homeowners
If you have a fireplace with a chimney, it's a good idea to clean this part of your property on a regular basis. Then you can enhance the safety of your fireplace and ensure the chimney holds up for a long time. Here are some chimney cleaning tips that you'll find helpful.
Invest in a Bright Flashlight
One of the most important things you can invest in for chimney sweeping is a bright flashlight. You'll need it to first inspect your chimney to see what areas you need to focus on in particular. It will also come in handy after you get done cleaning and subsequently need to check your results.
Fortunately, you have a lot of flashlights to choose from. You just want to get one with a bright type of light and a reliable power source, so that you can perform visual inspections around your chimney with ease.
Seal Off the Fireplace
When you clean your home's chimney, a lot of dirt and soot will get stirred up. So that it doesn't go back into your home and create a mess, it's a good idea to seal the fireplace off completely. Then you can contain debris and soot much better.
A plastic liner will suffice as the material you use to seal off the fireplace. Just make sure it's big enough to provide full coverage around the fireplace. Then you can begin cleaning the chimney and not have to worry about a big mess at the end.
Carefully Clean the Flue
One of the more important parts of your home's chimney is the flue, which is what smoke travels along to escape your home. You want to clean this part carefully to ensure your fireplace and chimney are able to perform great for many more years.
You just need to get a wire brush that has an extension. Then you can send it through the flue and clean all areas until you believe most of the soot and debris have been removed. As long as you take your time and get a thorough clean, this step can have a huge impact on how your chimney and fireplace hold up.
If you have a fireplace in your home that uses a chimney to direct smoke outward, then you'll want to clean the chimney on a consistent basis. You'll succeed with this cleaning too if you focus on the right parts and use the appropriate tools.