How to Clean Your Chimney

Cleaning a chimney is a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Unfortunately, sometimes that someone is you. However, it pays to know how to do this dirty job right. Here is your guide on how to clean your chimney and make it look brand new this year.

The first thing that you’ll need to do is purchase a set of chimney cleaning rods and brushes. These can be found at your local hardware or home supply store rather easily. You’ll want to purchase at least 4 – 5 of these, and even if you don’t use all of them this time around, it’s good to have some in stock for next time.

Your shopping list will include:

Brooms

Duct Tape

Stiff-bristled cleaning brushes

Plastic tarps

Chimney brushes

Chimney rod

Dust mask

Extension ladder

Safety goggles

The next thing you’ll need to do is lay a tarp or painter’s cloth over the opening of your fireplace to prevent dirt and soot from infiltrating your carpet or flooring in that area while you are cleaning. Secure the tarp or cloth using duct tape. Then put on a safety mast, a dust mask and get ready to clean your chimney.

Open the damper to the fireplace. There is normally a lever either to the side or on the front of the fireplace itself. Then, go outside, use the extension ladder and carefully climb up on the roof, and have someone hand the brushes and rods to you.

Once on the roof, you will remove the chimney cap or spark arrestor and inspect it for signs of wear and tear or weather damage. If the chimney cap is rusted or broken, you will need to replace it once you have completed cleaning your chimney.

Next you will run the brush down the length of the chimney, using a short up-and-down plunging motion. Twist the brush around to get the entire area of the chimney cleaned up. Spend about 10 – 15 minutes on this task, and your chimney should be close to clean. Once you complete this portion, replace the chimney cap and go back indoors to finish up.

Using a shorter chimney brush you will clean the flue from inside the house, and then use a vacuum cleaner or small broom to remove the ashes and soot from the damper or from the inside of the fireplace. Then, brush the floor and walls of the fireplace with a dry, stiff scrub brush. This could take awhile if your fireplace has never been cleaned, and might require the use of some degreasing agents or additional cleansers if your fireplace is extremely dirty. The best degreaser for this purpose is a product called “Greased Lightning” found in the cleaning isle of your local market. For moderately dirty fireplaces, expect to spend at least 10 – 15 minutes scrubbing indoors.

Once all of the scrubbing is complete, collect the tarp, and shake it out outside, vacuum up any remaining dirt or debris indoors and you will be able to bask in the warm glow of a very clean fireplace!