While nothing feels better on a cold night than a nice hot fire in your wood stove, that same fire can burn down your house if you do not regularly clean and maintain your wood stove's chimney pipe. Without proper attention, the chimney can also be a hazard to your family's health and comfort if it releases smoke and gasses into your home's interior space.
To keep your wood stove's chimney pipe safely operating, follow these tips:
Never Burn Trash in Your Wood Stove
Even though you may be tempted to toss newspapers and other household trash into your wood stove, you should avoid doing so. Burning trash will lead to an excessive buildup of creosote and soot in your stove's chimney pipe. By not burning paper or trash in your stove, you will greatly reduce the ashes you need to remove from your stove as well. Instead of burning newspapers and cardboard boxes, take them to your local recycling center. This is much better for both your wood stove and the environment.
Burn Hardwood Logs When Possible
When you purchase or harvest wood to burn in your wood stove, choose wood from tree species such as nut or oak that are known for producing very hard woods that burn at high temperatures. Since hardwood logs burn at higher temperatures that soft wood logs like pine, they burn off some of the creosote and soot that are left behind from past fires and help to keep your stove's chimney pipe cleaner between cleanings. Though hardwood logs are more expensive and harder to split, you will enjoy a lot more heat from them and your stove will be healthier from your burning the higher-quality wood species.
Have Your Wood Stove's Chimney Pipe Cleaned Each Year
Finally, your wood stove's chimney pipe needs to be cleaned out each year. If you are up to the task of climbing up on your home's roof, then you can buy a chimney brush at your local hardware store and complete this task yourself. Since cleaning your chimney pipe can be a messy task, it is important that you close the door of your stove when you are sweeping out the chimney. Once you have scrubbed the pipe, then you can vacuum up the mess in the stove using a shop vacuum.
However, if you are not comfortable working on your home's roof, then you should hire a professional chimney sweep to complete this job for you. For more information, contact Flue Doctor Chimney Service or a similar company.
Share20 May 2016
Hello, my name is Kirk. Welcome to my website about cleaning. When I developed asthma, I had to figure out the best way to manage my health. Since my asthma worsened with exposure to allergens, I had to dedicate myself to deep cleaning my home on a regular basis. I learned a lot about keeping my home clean using natural products and methods. I also utilize cleaning services when I cannot perform the work myself. I would like to help others learn how to keep their home clean and tidy on their own and with professional help. I hope you will follow along to learn all you can about cleaning your home. Thanks for visiting.