Creosote buildup on chimney cap is very dangerous. This highly combustible soot tar mixture is devastating during a chimney fire. Clean it up as soon as possible.
This is an actual customer’s chimney cap completely covered in creosote build up. Years of wood burning without a professional chimney sweep allowed this buildup to happen. It is amazing any smoke or fumes were leaving this chimney at all.
A chimney fire caused by creosote buildup near the chimney cap.
Burning more than a cord or rick of wood a year will develop a creosote buildup left unattended over the years. This tar like substance is very flammable. Cleaning and sweeping this out is NOT a do-it-yourself weekend warrior job. The chimney is often high off of the ground. The roof pitch is not easy to walk on for most people.
Our customers tell us the biggest reason they hire out the chimney inspection and cleaning is fear of heights and their safety. When cleaning the creosote buildup on a chimney cap, our team always wears a 5 point safety vest and safety glasses with cut proof hand gloves.
The best option is completely removing and replacing the chimney cap with a new stainless steel custom chimney cap. Designed, cut, installed and sealed, a new chimney cap will serve your home for decades. Creosote is simply too hard and dangerous to remove completely.
Looking to contact a frugal Knoxville chimney sweep now? Look no further. Clear Chimney is your one stop solution for everything fireplace and chimney.
When cold weather sets in, the fireplace is an essential heating source for many people. Furthermore, electric heat or natural gas prices are rising rapidly, many homeowners are going back to the tried and true method of wood burning fireplaces or stoves.
Unfortunately, some chimneys are too far gone to repair. This could be a $10,000 project to repair or replace a chimney that is clogged up. It doesn’t have to be expensive really.
The are steps a Knoxville chimney sweep company takes for each project.
The first step to cleaning a chimney removes any furniture and articles from the hearth area. Many customers have rugs and valuable items on the mantle. The cleaning process is messy. There is no reason to not take the proper steps in setting up a proper chimney sweep.
The second step is enclosing the opening with plastic sheeting. The vacuum system will pull any debris out of the chimney. For example, no soot will enter the house if this is done correctly. Our vacuums contain HEPA filters for high efficiency particle trapping.
The chimney sweeping pushes soot, clogs and debris down from the chimney cap. The vacuum system pulls the particles into the HEPA filters. Therefore, the soot is contained and trapped.
The bottom of the fireplace is cleaned once the chimney cap and flue are swept. The plastic is removed. Also, any furniture, rugs or items are relocated into their former place.
We teach each homeowner how to maintain their fireplace. Most people do not understand the need to clean a chimney every year.
How much wood do you burn a year?
The average fireplace uses 1 to 2 cords of wood a year. Burning wood regularly creates exhaust that can deposit creosote. Many homeowners hire a Knoxville chimney sweep to clean AFTER the winter season. The smell of burnt wood can creep into the house over the summer.
Also, be sure to only buy dried wood. Wet wood increases residue in the chimney flue. Above all, dried wood is the only way to go for creating a fire.
Finally, when choosing a Knoxville chimney sweep, quality, reputation and reliability win over “cheapest price” every time. Also, Clear Chimney is proud to serve east Tennessee. Locally owned. Clear Chimney never leaves you hanging for your fireplace and chimney needs.
The smoke that escapes from your fireplace into your house is a result of poor drafting (air moving in an upward or downward direction), or something blocking the way of the draft. We often ask why is fireplace smoke in my house?
A poorly, drafting chimney allows
smoke from the fireplace to enter the room rather than exhausting it to the
outside. A blockage in the chimney prevents
drafting in the same way that a closed nozzle at the end of a hose prevents
water flow. The air being pulled (draft) up your chimney works under the
same scientific principles as water flowing in a hose, and it corresponds to
the amount of pressure in a water hose. The only difference is that the air pressure
is negative, and the water pressure is positive. Similar to the way a kinked or plugged hose
stops water flow, a poorly drafting chimney is the result of an airflow
restriction.
This can be caused by a of multitude of factors such as: excessive creosote build-up, closed or plugged dampers, improper construction, structural damage, chimney height in relation to peak roof height, home renovations, excessive bird nesting materials in the flue, or even a dirty chimney cap. The following are some of the possible reasons and solutions for the undesirable fireplace smoke in your house.
Is the Damper Open?
Heat rises, and if your damper is closed, the fireplace smoke will
come in the house. Many people leave the
damper closed when the fireplace is not in use.
A common mistake is forgetting to open the damper again before lighting
a fire.
The damper is a hinged, metal plate used to seal the fireplace
when not in use, and to regulate a fire in the fireplace by controlling the
flow of air (draft) coming in the chimney.
To open the damper, you usually have to crouch down and peer upward toward the rear of the fireplace. A flashlight will help. A metal lever inside the fireplace controls the damper. Pushing on the lever opens it, and notches along the length of the lever allow you to adjust the opening to get the draft needed for the fire to burn without fireplace smoke backing into the house. The correct procedure for using a damper is to open it fully before lighting the fire, then close it a few notches after the fire is well under way by moving the lever with a fireplace poker. If the fireplace smoke begins to come in the house, reopen the damper a notch at a time until the smoking ceases. After all the embers have burned completely, close the damper.
Open a window
Another common cause of fireplace
smoke in the house is insufficient air in the room containing the
fireplace.
Try opening one or two windows in the
room a few inches while the fire is burning.
This will increase the draft in your chimney by bringing more air
(oxygen) in to the fire, which should allow it to burn hotter.
Energy efficient homes are better
insulated and keep out cold drafts; however, a negative side effect is that
there is often not enough outside air coming in the house for a fire to burn
hot enough to rise through the flue or to cause drafting, which carries that
hot air up the chimney. The chimney flue
becomes the source of make-up air so that as air is drawn down the flue, it
picks up smoke from the fire and delivers it into the living area. Cracking a window eliminates this negative
pressure.
Grate Placement
The fire must always be made in a
grate to provide enough air flow around the logs. Without a fire grate, the fire will smoke and
not get hot enough to ventilate properly, thus bringing fireplace smoke into
your house.
Sometimes smokiness is a result of the
fire being built too far forward in the fireplace. This causes smoke to enter the room instead
of going up the chimney. The remedy is
to build the fire as far back against the rear wall of the firebox as possible.
Use Seasoned Wood
A fire that appears to smolder or make hissing sounds while burning, most likely has a high water content. It simply can’t burn hot enough for the hot air to rise up the chimney flue and get replaced by cooler air. The smoke and gases will not be able to exit the room.
You will have to go without a fire unless you have well-seasoned wood that has been split for a minimum of six months (the longer the better), and stored in a covered and elevated location. A piece of seasoned wood will be lighter (in weight) than the same size, but green (unseasoned, newly cut) piece of wood. It will sound hollow when hit against another piece of wood. Green wood will also be lighter in color and generally have a stronger, fresher smell to it, while seasoned wood will usually appear darker and have little odor. Seasoned wood can also be identified by cracks on the end of the logs.
Stacked Wood Placement
Build your fire with larger pieces of wood on
the bottom, leaving gaps for air to circulate between the wood. Continue stacking wood with each layer going
crisscross to the previous layer, and decreasing in size. Wad up some newspaper and stick it under
small pieces of kindling and wood chips on the top of the stacks of wood, then
light the paper. This will produce a
hotter fire more quickly, and it will burn cleaner because smoke won’t have to
pass through cold logs. This method will
keep smoke going up the flue and out of the room.
Competing Appliances
Many factors influence a home’s
airflow including interior mechanical systems, fuel burning appliances, such as
furnaces, fireplaces, wood stoves, and water heaters.
Make sure no exhaust fans (kitchen, bath,
attic fans) are running while you have a fire.
Also make sure all of the air vents in the same room as the fireplace
are open if you have an air-forced furnace running, or else the return air vent
will suck air from the fire, possibly bringing fireplace smoke into the room. Central vacuums can also create
depressurization by removing large volumes of air from the house.
Wind Factors
If you think of your chimney as a straw, in the same way as sucking fluid up through a straw, your fireplace chimney sucks air up through the flue to the outdoors. If you blow through a straw, the air pressure pushes the fluid out of the straw. In the same way, strong winds can push air down your chimney causing smoke to enter your house if you are burning a fire in the fireplace.
This can be a real problem in homes that are located in windy areas, such as a beach house. If that’s the case a cowl on your flue would be better than a cap. A chimney cowl is designed to prevent wind blowing the smoke back down into the room below. They increase the draft of a chimney and prevent back flow.
