Clean your Chimney!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jeff]

Folks, the number of chimney fire calls being put out over the scanner the last few days have jumped up drastically.

Please put some thought into your chimney if you have one. They are easy to clean and the stuff can be bought from Lowe's and other hardware stores.

If you can't do it yourself. Find someone to do it for you. Worse case scenerio, pay someone.

A chimney fire can often spread into your home or attic. Chances are that it may very well not stay contained in the chimney.

So for the sake of you families. Think about the last time you cleaned your chimney and act accordingly.

[Bay_Kat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Folks, the number of chimney fire calls being put out over the scanner the last few days have jumped up drastically.

Please put some thought into your chimney if you have one. They are easy to clean and the stuff can be bought from Lowe's and other hardware stores.

If you can't do it yourself. Find someone to do it for you. Worse case scenerio, pay someone.

A chimney fire can often spread into your home or attic. Chances are that it may very well not stay contained in the chimney.

So for the sake of you families. Think about the last time you cleaned your chimney and act accordingly.

Good post, I really hope people take your advice. I've heard so many chimney fires lately and it seems most are in the middle of the night, what a way to wake up and run out into the freezing cold. Usually not the homeowner that notices and calls it in either.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by Bay_Kat

Good post, I really hope people take your advice. I've heard so many chimney fires lately and it seems most are in the middle of the night, what a way to wake up and run out into the freezing cold. Usually not the homeowner that notices and calls it in either.

Hopefully a few people will at least think about this

[DoWhat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Jeff

Hopefully a few people will at least think about this

Tell them the type of wood that they should be burning.

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by DoWhat

Tell them the type of wood that they should be burning.

I really don't know but know PINE is generally bad unless you have one hell of a rip roaring fire.

I just clean ours often. Just keep my brush together and store it under the shed. Takes meten minutes to get that and a ladder and head to the roof. I do it about once a month

[Bay_Kat (Premo)]

Originally Posted by DoWhat

Tell them the type of wood that they should be burning.

I do know they should not be using pine. Nasty stuff for a chimney.

[GWguy]

Seasoned hardwood only. Oak, maple. No pine, no tulip tree, nothing soft with sap. Green hardwood is just as bad.

[Jeff]

I gotta be honest I burn about anything.. BUT I clean mine often. I have a nice outside access dump door and can open that and place a bucket in there. Run up to the roof and do the brush work. Done once a month and I barely fill up the bucket.

[G1G4]

Ridge Volunteer Fire Department - St. Mary's County Company 4

You can also call your local fire department and request a home survey to be done. Usually one or two firefighters (could be the whole truck, depending on whos around at the station) will come out and check your home out for any hazards, including your fireplace, overloaded sockets or anything else.
Just remember, when you burn the wrong type of wood or don't clean your fireplaces, the fires that develop can burn well over 2,200 degrees. That's hot enough to burn through any wall you have, and can easily catch some other areas of your house on fire. Wet wood and unseasoned wood should NEVER, under any circumstances be burned in a fireplace. There's a general rule of thumb when trying to determine whether or not wood is wet or unseasoned. If it crackles like a fire when you take a piece off, it's safe to burn. Otherwise, wait for it to dry out.
If you don't want to hire a chimney sweeper, there are liquid chimney cleaners that you can put onto your wood while your burning. I can't remember where you find them at around here, but most likely any Lowes or Home Depot. It will not completely clean your chimney, however, it will help eliminate built up creosote. Some tips before burning wood:

Season wood for at least six months - Store under cover. Hardwoods are preferred.

Do not use an oversized stove. Keeping a small fire at a low burn will cause creosote buildup.

Keep as much chimney as possible inside the house. Chimneys outside cool quickly (and are much harder to warm) causing creosote to build on cooler surfaces.

Just remember, when your chimney catches on fire, it costs alot more to get it replaced then it would to do a few simple checks.

[atrusomder]

how often do they need to be cleaned?
weekly? monthly? yearly?