As temperatures are getting colder we will spend more time indoors in front of the fireplace, the last thing you want to think about is the condition of your chimney. Dirty chimneys can cause chimney fires, which damage or destroy homes and injure people.
Clean chimneys don’t catch fire. Make sure a professional inspects your solid fuel venting system annually, and sweeps and repairs it whenever needed. Your sweep may have specific maintenance recommendations depending on how you use your fireplace or stove.
The chimney and the flue that lines it are there to carry dangerous gases from the fireplace or wood stove safely out of the home.
Fireplaces and wood stoves are designed to contain wood-fuel fires while providing heat for a home. Chimneys expel the by-products of combustion that include smoke, water vapor, gases, unburned wood particles, hydrocarbon, tar fog and assorted minerals. As these substances leave the fireplace or wood stove, and flow up into the relatively cooler chimney, condensation occurs. The resulting residue that sticks to the inner walls of the chimney is called creosote.
Creosote is a black or brown residue that can be crusty and flaky—tar-like, drippy and sticky—or shiny and hardened. All forms are highly combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities, and the internal flue temperature is high enough, the result could be a chimney fire.
Restricted air supply and unseasoned wood encourage the buildup of creosote. To avoid that buildup:- Do not restrict the air supply- By failing to open the damper wide enough. The longer the smoke is in the flue, the more likely is it that creosote will form.- By closing down the stove damper or air inlets on a wood stove too soon or too much.- Do not burn unseasoned wood:- In the case of wood stoves, overloading the firebox with wood in an attempt to get a longer burn time also contributes to creosote buildup.
We have attached 3 pictures of a local chimney that show the amount of creosote that can buildup. This chimney was cleaned last year. If your chimney has not been cleaned or inspected, how much creosote could be in it?
Original source found here.
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