In case you are an ambitious person who has all the necessary tools at his disposal, you can clean a chimney without any hassle. However, we still recommend people to not to attempt it without having ay prior experience. One wrong stroke can damage the lining of your chimney. This is the prime reason why chimney cleaning services exist in the first place. If chimney cleaning was such a simple task, nobody would call these services. Rather, they would do it all themselves.

While it is certainly possible for you to clean your chimney yourself, it is quite a time-consuming process. Furthermore, if you do not have the right tools, you may not get good efficiency. This means that some amount of creosote will still be left in there. This will continue to build up without your knowledge, ultimately causing a chimney fire! Do note that this can be a big hazard!

Cleaning the chimney

Now, first of all, you need to have the right tools at your disposal. Once you have acquired these tools, follow the guide below. This guide will tell you the basics only. Do note that you may not be able to get a professional job done. So, it is still much better to call a professional chimney cleaning company.

First step

Firstly, spread a drop cloth around your fireplace to protect it from any kind of stains. This is because ashes and creosote can leave behind nasty stains that will be hard to remove.

Next, open the damper up. This damper will allow you to isolate the living room from the fireplace itself.

Second step

Wear your protective gear. Personal protective equipment is extremely important when it comes to cleaning chimneys. Among many things that you may require, the most important are a goggle set and a helmet. Otherwise, you may end up costing yourself a trip to the doctor.

Furthermore, you will also require a facial mask that protects dust from entering into your lungs. Otherwise, it can result in nasty respiratory diseases such as asthma.

Third step

Use a chimney brush that you can get from ah hardware store in combination with a ladder. Scrub the insides of the chimney via a brush from all possible sides. This may result in some of the dust and particles suspending in the air. Make sure that there is no fire source around you at this time.

With that, also keep the room empty to prevent others from breathing in this suspended dust.

After some time, the dust will settle inside the firebox on the ground. At this point, you can take off the seal or cover that you had placed inside the fireplace and around it. By picking it up, you will essentially be able to remove all the settled dust.

Fourth step

In case you have a camera, use it to inspect the insides of the chimney. If you still see a sticky substance, it would be creosote. Furthermore, if the creosote is present in the form of a thick layer, this suggests that you have no other option. At this point, you will need the help of a professional chimney cleaning service.

Ending note

Most of the time, you will require the help of chimney sweep services Upper Marlboro. It doesn’t really matter if you got the service done just last season. Experts suggest homeowners to get the chimneys cleaned after every few months. This way, the chimney fire hazard can be reduced to the minimum level and your family can live in peace. Otherwise, you may be in for a lot of trouble.