If you are lucky enough
to have a chimney in your home, you should be looking for ways to get the best
out of it. It’s often difficult, however, to know exactly how this might be
achieved.
Depending on how often
your chimney is used, it will need to be swept at least once a year. Many
chimney owners neglect this particular chore and instead allow the soot lining
the interior of the chimney to accumulate wherein the performance of the
chimney to diminish over time.
A clean chimney is a
healthy chimney; clearly a chimney which cannot effectively do its job – namely
to remove harmful gases from the room – is a dangerous thing indeed.In some
cases, the results can even be fatal.This danger can be avoided through
sensible maintenance, so that the chimney remains as clear as possible and
these fumes are allowed to escape.
As well as slowly
poisoning you, smoke which cannot properly escape will cause damage to the
interior of your home – it will spread soot though your living room, causing
blackened smears to appear across your walls and upholstery – rapidly devaluing
them.
Another more dramatic outcome
of not having your chimney swept is that it might catch fire.This is because
the ash and tar which collects within the chimney is flammable and in
sufficient quantity, capable of igniting.This will cause significant damage to
the chimney itself and will quickly damage it to the point where it can crack
which will require a lot of work to fix. In some(mercifully rare) instances this
has resulted in the fire spreading to the rest of the property – with
disastrous consequences!
Replace damaged chimneys
If your chimney should
become cracked, then it is imperative that you seek to replace it before using
it more extensively.The heat that comes from the chimney can escape through any
cracks, causing them to rapidly widen – to the point where the chimney itself
might fall off the building! In order to avoid this danger, enlist the services
of a specialist company like Marcus
Roofing.Their website, which lists a whole range of roofing services, can
be found at www.marcusroofing.co.uk.
Hire a professional chimney sweep
Many have attempted to
clean the interior of their chimney with just a vacuum cleaner.This is not
sufficient, as much of the grime and soot which collects within a chimney has
solidified and is utterly adhered to the chimney wall.It will need to be
removed, using a brush designed for exactly such a purpose.
It is perfectly possible
to perform the sweep yourself – provided that you are willing to venture onto
the top of your roof.You will need a special long pole and a chimney brush (brushes are available in different shapes to suit standard
chimney dimensions). There are several drawbacks to doing this, however.The
first prohibiting factor is the cost.While the services of a qualified chimney
sweep will cost around £50, the cost of this equipment can amount to a great
deal more. Since this is a task which is only performed very occasionally,
hiring a professional is often the more sensible option.
Install a bird guard
A common problem for
chimneys is that they make excellent locations for birds to make their
nests.This problem is particularly troublesome, as one might expect, far out in
the countryside where the bird-to-chimney ratio is a great deal less
favourable. There are many methods out there to help prevent birds getting
inside your chimney,but birds can be very crafty and have been known to remove
makeshift solutions.For this reason, it is advisable to invest in a special
bird guard for your chimney.These will exclude birds and are rugged enough to
withstand any damage birds might inflict while not affecting the efficacy of
your chimney.
Do not burn wet wood
You might be forgiven for
assuming that if wood is dry enough to catch fire, then it’s dry enough to use
as firewood.This assumption is slightly erroneous when it comes to an indoor
fire.For one thing, wet wood is liable to spit and crack, sending white hot
sparks shooting out – which is not such a problem in a bonfire or campfire, but
definitely a problem in your living room. It is particularly important, from
the point of view of your chimney’s long-term health, to prevent moisture
accumulating in the flume.This can lead to a build-up of tar on the interior
walls of the chimney and cause it to require more
frequent cleaning.