Contents:
- Where does the problem come from and what does it threaten?
- Chimney signals about the help of
- Folk remedies - fairy tales or reality?
- Tips
- Cleaning the chimney in the sauna
- How to reduce the weediness?
Knowledge of how to clean a chimney has nothing to do with romance. Of course, it's very pleasant to listen to the fire crackling in the fireplace or stove! Then the heat sneaks through the built-in strokes, heating the entire area of the wall, giving only the combustion waste to the top of the chimney. Including greasy, sticky soot. And if you do not get rid of it in time with your own hands or with the work of invited specialists, you can forget about comfort.
Where does the problem come from and what does it threaten?
During combustion of fuel, especially solid, with gases formed during combustion, ash, resinous substances and various oxides are rising into the air. All this is looking for roughness in its path and grasps "tenaciously," gradually reducing the patency of the pipe and strokes in the brickwork of the furnace. And this threatens with unpleasant consequences.
- First, simply by increasing the amount of fuel that burns significantly worse with a lack of oxygen.
- With the amount of fuel in the furnace, the temperature rises, which at a certain level can ignite the soot. The result will be a fire, the most terrible feature of which is the likelihood of a fire in a wooden floor. For a while it will be quietly smoldering in the attic, and you will only feel the smoke, which is not clear where it came from.
- Carbon monoxide is called a silent killer. The same temperature sometimes cleaves the brickwork of the furnace, and carbon monoxide is easier to reach your bedroom than into a choked chimney. You can not wake up.
Looks like a horror movie? Yes. And although such cases are extremely rare, it is doubtful that this is easier for the victims.
Chimney signals for assistance
Before cleaning the chimney with your own hands, make sure that it is necessary. There are several features that tell owners about the need to clean it from soot:
- fuel began to go away more;
- at the kindling of the furnace part of the smoke comes back;
- the flame from the bright orange turns dark red;
- from the chimney is choked with thick black smoke, while you are using conventional fuel.
Even if the soot layer is not too large, it's better to insure yourself against surprises. In addition, sometimes foreign objects fall down into the chimney, up to the suckling summer nest. This means that you need to do the cleaning once a year, preferably before the start of the heating season.
Folk remedies - fairy tales or reality?
Folk remedies can help, in the most reasonable way - prevention. They are tried out by time and really help, although it is not worth expecting the same efficiency from them as from mechanical or modern chemical agents. When are they needed? At the height of the season, so as not to fall in the cold in an unheated house, litter badly with soap flakes. And unlike chemical preparations, they can breathe without fear.
Not everyone agrees to row the mud regularly with their own hands. But how to clean the chimney without it? There are several ways.
- Salt .It is poured onto burning logs. Heating to a high temperature due to chemical reactions, it rips off the soot from the walls, but a large amount can not be overpowered.
- Potato husk .Excellent and always available means for cleaning chimneys. Usually half a bucket is enough, but if the firebox is large, you have to take more. They need to be poured on the heat dried, so that all together they immediately burned out. A large release of starch will clear the course. If the procedure is performed before mechanical cleaning with soot, the starch will soften the layer, and it will be much easier to wipe the walls. Walnut shell .Of course, this tree does not grow everywhere, but if it is available, it is an excellent tool, which also has great heat emission. Only need to throw no more than 2 liters at a time: a high temperature of combustion can lead to cracks in the furnace and the deformation of its parts. And soot leaves due to burnout.
- Aspen firewood .The idea is the same - high temperature of combustion. Here and throw these firewood you need a limited amount. If the chimney is not strong enough, soot, burning, can easily blow it apart. It is more reasonable to repeat the procedure in a few days.
- Birch firewood .Less effective, and the result is to get rid of the bark.
- Aluminum cans .The information has not been checked for centuries, however it is popular among Internet users.
Tips for
- Potato purification can be burned in the oven regularly, rather than being thrown away - excellent prevention against deposition of soot inside the outlet can be obtained.
- The situation with the nut shell is similar. Buying nuts are not cleaned, not only will always have a delicious high-quality food product, but less will have to be puzzled by problems with the chimney. Heat dissipation of the shell is very high, a few handfuls will completely replace the half-bucket of coal.
- If there are many bends in the furnace for smoke with bottlenecks, it is not necessary to hope for a high efficiency of cleaning from soot for the first time. We'll have to use folk remedies several times, and rub the pipe with a brush in autumn, collecting dirt through the special holes.
Cleaning the chimney in the sauna
The sauna requires special care, as the cleanliness in it is a guarantee of both health and pleasure. There are several additional options, how to clean the chimney in the sauna room with their own hands. Their features depend on whether it is directly arranged or has a bend.
For a direct actual winter, snow the inside diameter of the chimney to the size and throw it inside. When the furnace is kindled, it will flow down the pipe and perfectly wash its walls.
Another thing, if the bend still exists. Then snow will not help, you have to take a hose and pour water directly into the pipe. This is one of the purest options. Just before you clean the pipe in a bath in this way, do not forget to put a pot of water under the firebox. Do not you want to collect dirty liquid all over the floor?
In both versions, remember the possibility of rust on metal parts. To prevent this, the stove must be heated to the state of evaporation of water.
How to reduce weediness?
The best treatment is prevention. In order not to try again for the ruff, when soft folk options do not help, it's worth knowing what kind of fuel should be avoided:
- bags with film, good quality colored paper, painted cardboard boxes give a lot of sediment;
- wet wood produce heat worse, but more waste, soot;
- cheap types of coal during combustion emit a huge amount of oxides and soot.
You do not have to burn them in the oven, and you will have less problems with cleaning the pipe.
In any case, it must be remembered that the proposed options do not abolish the mechanical intervention, but only give a delay before cleaning the chimney in a less pleasant way - with a brush or a simple broom from the broken branches. This is particularly true for solid fuel stoves, which are often used at home.