A few years ago, I realized that I didn't really know how to keep my house clean. There were always dishes sitting in the sink, and I couldn't keep up with laundry if my life depended on it. However, a friend of mine suggested working with a professional maid, and so I took her advice. As she worked, I watched her methods, and I learned a lot. This blog is dedicated to my cleaning studies. Here, you will find information on how to clean your house more effectively, so that you can stop wasting time on certain jobs. My plan is that this website could help you to live better than ever. Thanks for reading!
Having a fireplace and a chimney in your home can make the space feel so warm and cozy. However, you do need to take care of that chimney in order to keep it safe. A big part of that care is watching out for the formation of creosote, a black, sticky residue that appears on the inside of chimneys when wood does not burn fully. If you do see evidence of creosote, you need to use a cleaner to remove it because it's flammable. But how do you know if you have creosote in your chimney? Look out for these signs.
Wood remaining in your fireplace.
When you have a fire, do you sometimes notice that there's a lot of wood that remains in the fireplace afterward? You may have noticed there is less ash and more wood left over lately. This could be a sign of creosote buildup in the chimney. The creosote could be preventing enough air from reaching the fire, causing it to burn incompletely. And as the wood burns cooler and cooler, the creosote buildup will just start appearing faster. You need to clean the creosote away to break the cycle.
Black soot around the fireplace.
There is a difference between soot and creosote. Soot is powdery and wipes away easily. Creosote is sticky and oily, and it is hard to remove without a specialty cleaner. That being said, if you have creosote in your chimney, you are likely to see soot around the fireplace and its opening. Soot and creosote both form when the wood is not burning completely, so seeing one means the other is probably there, too—even if it's further up the chimney where you can't see it.
Creosote on the flue.
Look over any part of the flue that you can actually see from inside your home. If you see any black, sticky buildup on it, that buildup is creosote. Keep in mind that the absence of creosote on the flue does not mean there is no creosote further up the chimney. If the flue is clean but you're noticing the signs above, you should still be concerned about creosote.
You should now have a better idea of how to identify creosote buildup on your chimney or fireplace. If you do suspect you have buildup, you can either buy a creosote remover and use it yourself or call a chimney cleaning company.
Contact a company like Mid Maine Chimney Sweep to learn more.
Share27 October 2022
