Question for Do-it-yourselfers: chimney cleaning

[radfringe]

We recently contacted our chimney sweeper -- ouch on his prices.

My partner suggested we look into cleaning the woodstove chimney ourselves.

(the regular heating system chimeny is cleaned when we have our furnace serviced, we don't get a price break if we do it ourselves or have someone else do this particular chimney, it's all included as part of the service)

To cut back on the heating oil, we've used the wood stove and do have it cleaned every year. In previous years it's been used just on the weekends or other snow days. Last year we used it everyday through the heating season. We are very careful not to use pine or other similar wood. We only use hardwoods.

Because of the steep pitch of the roof - ideally we would like to avoid going up on the roof and cleaning it from a "top-down" position. Our chimeny-sweep guy has never gone up on the roof - he's always used to bottom-up approach. We do have vertical access to the chimney where the flue connects, but we also have two 90-degree bends from the wood stove into the vertical run.

I've done a little research - there are flex rods for these two 90-deg bends, and more rigid rods for straight runs.

anyone here ever clean chimney's? advice? hints? recommendations?

[radwriter0555]

1. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL. I am the absolute handiest female on the planet..

I can lay tile, do plumbing, carpentry, electrical, build, demolish, relocate, redecorate, fence, wall, gate, doors, windows, and so on.

I WOULD NEVER EVER, *EVER* attempt to clean a chimney myself. The hours and hassle of cleaning up and securing and buying the tools and climbing on the roof and poking and holding on, oh HELL no and I used to be a lighting rigger. Meaning, I've climbed up wire ladders that were 5 stories tall into the rafters of the highest soundstages in the world.

Please, please. Just bite the bullet, spend the money and hire a professional.

There are truly TWO things in home maintenance that you spend the money on and hire professionals for; chimney cleaning and tree trimming and removal.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. I would never tackle it on my own.

Consider how much you will spend on the tools; and then how much time you will spend trying to get the thing clean in your inefficient way since you've never done it before; then consider how much it won't be fully clean because you don't know what you're doing.

Then take into account how much your time is worth. How much your house is worse in case a fire starts, and how much your health is worth in case you fall off the roof or end up with a lungfull of soot because you don't know what you're doing. Then add in the cost of having to clean your clothing, your body, and probably part of your living room.

Then compare that to the cost of the chimney sweep who will come in, do it right, and leave you to go read a book and enjoy your fireplace with full knowledge that it's been cleaned fully and that, if it hasn't been cleaned properly, it's his insurance that will pay for your house.

Too often we don't look at the full cost of something when considering hiring a professional, and most times, the professional ends up being the cheaper, less time-consuming option.

[China_cat]

3. I agree with the others

this is not a do-it-yourself job unless you happen to be a chimney sweep and it's your house.

Then (this tip from my cousin who is a heating/cooling specialist...including chimney sweeping, which was his original business) once it's been professionally cleaned, at least once a week while you're burning, throw a handful of salt on the fire. It helps keep down the crud that builds up and you won't have to have the job done as often.

Also, if you can do it, don't burn pine. Use harder, less resinous woods. They don't put off the stuff that sticks to your chimney.