by Preetvy Ramasamy

Created on: February 16, 2009

First, you should know how your chimney gets so dirty. Fireplaces use the chimney for oxygen intake and as exhaust. This means that the oxygen intake is limited and, for our purposes, fixed. When wood does not have enough oxygen for burning, it produces soot - not completely burnt wood particles - and carbon monoxide which is fatal in high quantities. Thus, as a first measure, you should use dry and well seasoned woods, that is, woods with a low percentage of moisture, which will burn easily and produce a minimum of fumes and soot.

Now that you have taken the first step towards a cleaner chimney, lets get started.

On a bright, sunny and cloudless day, get yourself chimney brushes and rods, goggles and a dust mask. Those are available at most hardware stores. Lay out a large piece of canvas or fabric in front of your fireplace and glue or tape some on the fireplace opening. Some people like using plastic sheets as the latter are easily washable and can be used again. Remove the damper - door-like fence just inside the firebox which prevents cold air getting into your room when you are not using the fireplace. Next, you might want to change into old clothes as things are just about to get ugly.

Assemble your brushes and rods as per the manufacturer's instructions. Take the rods and brushes and climb to the top of your chimney and remove the cap - part which prevents rain and small animals from getting in. Verify that your cap is not blocked by soot or anything else and clean it accordingly. In a to and fro motion, clean the chimney. Note that new designs allow for a twist like motion that apparently cleans faster. Do not replace the cap yet, you will understand why later.

Get back inside and use a shorter chimney brush to clean the lower part of the chimney; light from above helps you see what you are doing.You have probably figured that you will not be able to look and clean from below; the only solution to that is to adopt an orderly cleaning method: repeat the to and fro motion just as previously, moving laterally in a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction - you can choose either one, but you should respect the same direction throughout each complete cycle.

Once you are done, use a broom and dustpan or even better is a vacuum cleaner, to clean the soot and dust now in the fireplace.

Replace the damper, remove the canvas and climb back up to replace the cap.

That's it, you are done cleaning the chimney!

Remember: Chimneys require cleaning only once or twice yearly. Regular cleaning will require less effort.

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