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Causes Of Creosote Buildup In Chimney And How To Remove It

Are you facing soot problems in your chimney? Is there some blackish material in your chimney that needs to be gotten rid of? If yes, you are on the right track. The blackish material is known as creosote. Creosote is the carbon soot that builds up as a result of burning. Whenever a fuel burns, it produces certain levels of black carbon soot. Burning wood in a chimney produces quite reasonable quantities of creosote inside the walls of your chimney. Creosote is the combination of unburnt gasses, small unburnt particles of wood, and leftover gasses. You need chimney cleaning services who can remove creosote from your chimney.

Causes Of Creosote Buildup In Chimneys

There are many causes of chimney creosote. Some of them are discussed below.

Incomplete Combustion

Incomplete combustion is one of the most eminent reasons for creosote buildup. Incomplete combustion occurs when there is an insufficient amount of oxygen available in the burning process. Whenever the wood burns in a fireplace, it should have an adequate supply of air to facilitate the process of burning. The fuelwood should completely burn in the presence of oxygen.

Poor Quality Firewood

If the firewood used in the burning process is not of good quality, it will increase the chances of creosote production. Some people also burn trash and other leftover wooden things in their fireplaces to keep their surroundings warm. Substandard wooden items should not be allowed to burn inside the fireplace. This, in turn, causes the problem of creosote.

Improper Cleanliness In Chimneys

If your chimney is not regularly cleaned, it is quite likely that your chimney will start building up the creosote mass inside. This creosote can be really harmful as it can catch fire at a certain stage. If you do not clean your chimney at regular intervals, it will create a lot of problems for you afterward.

How To Remove And Prevent Creosote Buildup In Chimneys?

You can try out the following solutions if you want to get rid of creosote buildup in your chimney. Some of the best possible solutions are discussed below.

Use The Best Quality Firewood

It is highly recommended that you use excellent quality firewood. You can cut fresh firewood from a jungle nearby and let it sun-dry in the backyard. You can also use wood pellets from a hardware store and enjoy excellent burning in the fireplace. Low-quality firewood is definitely not recommended. The best quality firewood can also be purchased from a log store. Therefore, you should not risk your health and safety when it comes to using firewood. Always use the best quality firewood.

The Fireplace Should Be Airy

The fireplace should be quite airy. There should be proper ventilation to the outward opening at the top. The fireplace should be sufficiently large enough to support the burning process. The airy fireplace will enable the wood to burn with sufficient oxygen. Sufficient oxygen means a complete burning process, this complete burning process will enable a minimum amount of creosote production.

The Chimney Should Be Large Enough

The chimney should be large enough to carry away all the smoke and other harmful gasses. The larger chimney will surely inhibit the formation of creosote inside the chimney lining. It is recommended that you should build your chimney a bit wider than normal if you want to get rid of creosote in the longer run.

Anti-Creosote Chemicals

Anti-creosote chemicals are very important when it comes to getting rid of creosote. These chemicals are easily available in the market. You can buy them from any hardware store. You can either spray the creosote chemical directly onto the burning wood or spray it inside the chimney. The anti-creosote chemicals will eventually break the hardened chemicals inside the chimney lining.  Therefore, it is highly recommended that you use the creosote chemicals at least once in a 6-month duration.

Conclusion

The creosote chemicals are easily available at departmental stores also. Make sure that the chemicals that you are using are not harmful to the environment at all. These are some of the methods you can opt for to get rid of the creosote problem in your fireplace and the chimney leading to the top of the building. The best method is to hire chimney sweep services Bowie for chimney cleaning.

Categories:   Home Improvement