Wood stove cleaning question ?

[crappieperchhunter]

Just started using my woodstove again after years of it sitting idle. I have always paid some one who is WETT certified to come and clean it once a year. He got up on the roof and did whatever up there and he cleaned out my trap door cleanout outside on the bricks of the chimney. Did all the pipes and woodstove inside too. Well he retired and sold his business. So the new guys come and do nothing outside at all. They just come in and work from the inside and claim that they are getting all the way up to the top of the chimney from the inside. It is a distance of about 30 feet I would guess. Then they charge me about double what I used to pay my former chimney sweep.

 

Now I always paid to have it done because I never wanted to be climbing ladders or working at height from a ladder. Also I got peace of mind from having someone WETT certified having a look at things once a year. However having seen this done without using a ladder at all I am thinking I can just buy the tools and do it myself.

 

So my question is this. Can you do a proper job just from the inside without climbing a ladder or are these new owners doing a piss poor job. My main concern here is not saving $$$$. My main concern is safety. I would appreciate any advice or comments anyone from OFC has to offer. Also if you know someone in the Oshawa area who does chimney cleaning I'd be happy to get there number or email address.

 

Thx in advance for any helpful advice.

[jimmer]

You could do it with the proper tools. I have cleaned my own for the last 26 years; however, from the roof. The only thing that I can think of is that my chimney cap needs cleaning at least a couple of times a year and I also have to do that from the roof. Probably because I burn my stove low at this time of the year. I also don't have a brick chimney, it's a stainless steel one that is straight up.

Edited November 8, 2012 by jimmer

[bushart]

Never heard of cleaning the entire length from the bottom end

 

Typically if your chimney is 8 inch round---they get a brush that rubs the inside all the way down---collecting the debris at the bottom tee

 

If your running up from bottom----it would be all over the area (soot)

 

If you can----pull the bottom off and look up yourself---look for chunks hanging on the sides

[Billy Bob]

Every wood burning stove circumstance is different.....depending on how your vented out......if you have only one turn on the chimney that close to the stove where it gets hot, then you might have a clean burning unit....however, if you have more then one turn or the turn in the chimney is far away from the stove where it's starting to cool down...well this could collect a lot of soot that needs cleaning once a year...

 

My wood burning stove is a high tech design that doesn't put out much of any smoke, PLUS I have a completely straight run UP and out...every year I take off the chimney cap and find NOTHING to clean out.

 

The wood you burn and how hot you burn it also makes a huge difference.

 

 

Bob

[OhioFisherman]

I paid someone to clean mine one time, watched how and what he did and did it myself after that until I became disabled.

 

I have a ceramic flue pipe, and bought a brush and rods. It isn`t hard to do, and it seems sort of obvious to me if you look down the flue from the top and their are cracks or pieces missing or falling into the junk as you are cleaning it you need an inspection from a pro?

 

Also clean and inspect the inside metal pipes, especially the thimble sleeve where the metal pipe enters the ceramic pipe. Weak or rusted pipes should be replaced.

 

Mine has been in use now for almost 23 years, my son cleans it now.

[bigugli]

Chimney should be scrubbed from top on down.

The sweep failed to inspect the full chimney, cap and shields, which should cost him his certificate should you report him.

Many insurance policies require annual inspections and cleaning, or your insurance is null and void.

 

My old house was heated primarily with wood. I only once had a problem. I had a "certified" hack do a poor job of a cleaning/inspection and had a chimney fire. I got nothing but grief from the insurance as we had misplaced the receipt. The only reason they finally paid out was an affadavit from the fire department inspector who referred the the sweep who did the work.

[SirCranksalot]

I hire someone to clean mine and he does it from the top. However, my brother cleans his from the bottom but I have never seen him do it.

[Beans]

Just started using my woodstove again after years of it sitting idle. I have always paid some one who is WETT certified to come and clean it once a year. He got up on the roof and did whatever up there and he cleaned out my trap door cleanout outside on the bricks of the chimney. Did all the pipes and woodstove inside too. Well he retired and sold his business. So the new guys come and do nothing outside at all. They just come in and work from the inside and claim that they are getting all the way up to the top of the chimney from the inside. It is a distance of about 30 feet I would guess. Then they charge me about double what I used to pay my former chimney sweep.

 

Now I always paid to have it done because I never wanted to be climbing ladders or working at height from a ladder. Also I got peace of mind from having someone WETT certified having a look at things once a year. However having seen this done without using a ladder at all I am thinking I can just buy the tools and do it myself.

 

So my question is this. Can you do a proper job just from the inside without climbing a ladder or are these new owners doing a piss poor job. My main concern here is not saving $$. My main concern is safety. I would appreciate any advice or comments anyone from OFC has to offer. Also if you know someone in the Oshawa area who does chimney cleaning I'd be happy to get there number or email address.

 

Thx in advance for any helpful advice.

 

The Kawartha Chimney Doctor is the best in the business in the Bobcaygeon area...

 

Don't know if Brian can work in your area even if you paid the extra for travel...but when it comes to my families safety I asked around for the best and Brian was the man...Yep...Wett certified...

 

 

 

 

 

[Sinker]

I've never seen or heard of it being done from the bottom up, Steve.

 

How do they inspect your cap if they don't go on the roof? I dunnno, sounds fishy to me.

 

I will dig up the number for the guy who does mine and send you a pm. I don't have the number here, but will get it tomorrow.

 

S.

[bigbuck]

Look into the regulations before going off the deep end. Could be that everything looked clean when they cleaned it and it did not need a thorough cleaning job. I'd call them up and threaten to report them to their respective trade organization for failing to do a proper cleaning and inspection if it is a mess.

[Sinker]

My gut tells me it was clean as a whistle, since you hardly use it. I have a straight run thru the roof, so mine stays very clean as well. I also burn well aged hardwood. That helps a lot. My cap does get clogged with soot though, so I'm surprised they didn't go up and have a look up there.

 

I also burn wood from about sept sometime, until usually may.....pretty much non stop. I don't burn it as hot when its warmer out, obviouisly, but there is pretty much always some sort of fire going here for 6 months of the year. I still get it checked annually, even though I already know its clean. More for piece of mind, and insurance reasons than safety.

 

If your not comfy going up on a ladder to have a look from the top down, let me know, Steve. I can come by and check it out for ya. I'm not certified, but I have no issues with ladders or heights, and know what a good chimney should look like.

 

S.

[NBR]

We used wood(seasoned) nearly 100% last year and waited for a bright sunny day this fall. Put a mirror in both the oil furnace and wood stove flues and the wood stove was the cleanest. With a hot fire well seasoned wood burns pretty clean. Chimneys that are not on outside walls also stay cleaner. The guy I buy my wood from told me to put a liquid mixture in a coffee can and set it on top of the logs in the stove. I can't remember the mixture or how often but I'll ask him the first chance I get.

 

While I casn't vouch for this he sells more than 500 full 4'x4'x8' cords a year so compared to me he is an expert.

[crappieperchhunter]

My gut tells me it was clean as a whistle, since you hardly use it. I have a straight run thru the roof, so mine stays very clean as well. I also burn well aged hardwood. That helps a lot. My cap does get clogged with soot though, so I'm surprised they didn't go up and have a look up there.

 

I also burn wood from about sept sometime, until usually may.....pretty much non stop. I don't burn it as hot when its warmer out, obviouisly, but there is pretty much always some sort of fire going here for 6 months of the year. I still get it checked annually, even though I already know its clean. More for piece of mind, and insurance reasons than safety.

 

If your not comfy going up on a ladder to have a look from the top down, let me know, Steve. I can come by and check it out for ya. I'm not certified, but I have no issues with ladders or heights, and know what a good chimney should look like.

 

S.

 

As mentioned up farther in this thread, I just have peace of mind having an "expert" inspect it once a year. Peace of mind also includes that little piece of paper that says an "expert" had a look at things should anything unfortunate happen. I don't feel my new "experts" are doing a proper job, but I'm sure that my wood stove usage will never cause a problem. AND now I got me that little piece of paper

 

Thx for the offer though my friend, much appreciated.