Chimney Cleaning?

If a wood burning fireplace is drawing OK, is it really necessary to have the chimney flue cleaned?

 

Hi gilmore,
Cleaning is necessary to remove the buildup before a chimney fire does it for you. I've never seen one so clogged up that it would limit the draft.

If you have a cleanout where you can get a mirror in there to look up on a bright day you will get some idea as to the condition. The amount of buildup can relate to how dry the wood is and how hot you run your fires. My old Dover ran very hot and i never had to clean the chimney. I now run a glass front better sealed stove and I suspect it could need a cleaning, if I burned more wood.

Take a look if you can to see what you can see. If you can't a good chimney sweep will usually tell you how often he needs to come by after he cleans it.

As a note, years ago I did experience a chimney fire and it was scary. Fortunately mine was contained with the clay liner, but it shook the whole house.

Bud

 

If you are so inclined you can diy the chimney cleaning, all you need is the appropriate size brush and enough rod/pipe to go the distance. Depending on how much wood I burn I often clean my house chimney once a month. My shop chimney gets done once a year. The house chimney always needs cleaning although the shop chimney is usually fairly good. The big difference is the house gets a slow fire while the shop stove usually burns pretty hot.

Chimney fires are a real concern! A house down below me had a chimney fire. Between the fire, smoke and water damage they wound up tearing the house down.

 

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Yes..................................................