Chimney's provide warmth and heat in millions of homes. Many golden memories are forged when families gather around the fireplace, exchanging stories, enjoying the holidays and simply keeping warm. A well-maintained chimney ensures that a home will remain heated and safe for years to come. A neglected chimney can result in a fireplace not working at maximum capacity or worse, a fire ravaging the home.

Chimney Cleaning Supplies

One can either maintain a chimney themselves or hire a professional. In order to clean a chimney yourself, you will need:

• Protective eye gear

• Face mask

• Old clothes

• Drop cloths

• Chimney brush

• Chimney rods

• Flashlight

• Duct Tape

• Big sheet of sturdy paper

• Ladder

• Vacuum cleaner

Cleaning the Chimney

First, put on all of your protective gear. Second, lay drop cloths around the fireplace to keep your hardwood floor or carpet as clean as possible. Third, open the damper, which is the device located inside the chimney that remains closed when the chimney is not in use. It is better to let soot and creosote, the by-product of coal, to fall while you are cleaning the chimney than to open the damper when you are finished and be greeted with a huge mass of ash and soot in the face. Next, use duct tape and study paper (or a drop cloth) to seal the fireplace opening to prevent creosote from entering the room.

After that, climb up the ladder onto the roof and remove the chimney cap, which is the device that prevents animals and birds from getting into the chimney. Attach the rods onto the chimney brush until the brush reaches the bottom of the chimney, and then begin scraping off all of the creosote with the brush. Check the chimney periodically with a flashlight to see if all of the debris has been cleared. Once the chimney is sufficiently clean, go back into the house, remove the paper covering the fireplace and check your work from the bottom of the chimney with the flashlight.

Afterwards, remove all of the drop cloths and vacuum excess soot from the home. In the event that more extensive chimney cleaning or chimney repair is needed, the next step is to either fix the chimney yourself or call a professional to inspect the chimney.