HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHIMNEY IS CLOGGED?

Before the arrival of cold days and winter it is necessary to make sure that our fireplace is not clogged. We can not leave it for later, lest we get an unpleasant surprise when we most need to heat our house.

SIGNS THAT MY CHIMNEY IS CLOGGED

Chimney clogging is more common than you may think. Soot accumulates in the air outlet pipe and can partially or totally obstruct it, which is why cleaning and chimney sweeping is necessary.

Some signs that tell you if your chimney is clogged are easy to notice:

• Movement of the flame
  Notice how the flame moves. When you light the fireplace, the flame should move upwards, pointing towards the smoke outlet pipe. If you do not have the correct movement, it is that the air outlet is obstructed.
• Smoke
  outlet If the chimney is in perfect condition, the smoke is expelled through the tube. If it does not come out correctly and we notice that our room is filled with combustion gases or that smoke is diverted when it does not find an outlet through the draft, it means that your chimney is clogged and you must act immediately to avoid bad odors and health risks.

WHAT CLOGS THE CHIMNEY?

You won’t believe everything that can clog your chimney.

The accumulation of soot in the draft is the most common cause of use, but sometimes it can be external objects that obstruct the exit of smoke or cause the clogging of the tube.

You should check:

• The Draft of the Chimney

The good condition of the draft, guarantees the proper functioning of your chimney. It may happen that it is obstructed or closed and we realize in the most unpleasant way, when we turn on and all the smoke begins to enter the room.

Sometimes it may not be obstruction of the draft, but a bad construction or assembly of the tubes, which allow the smoke to be diverted and condense the heat that will drip out of the structure, moistening and staining walls and falling towards the flames that when burned will give off smoke and unpleasant smell in the room.

It may be the case that the chimney has a lot or too little shot. A lack of draft can carry smoke inside the house. Excess draught, consumes too much firewood very quickly, decreasing performance and generating less heat and causing condensation.

This has a solution and there is no reason to worry. The expert will install a shot cutter, which will open or close depending on the amount of air your chimney needs.

• Have you not used the fireplace for a while?

After months of summer and heat, before lighting the fireplace it is mandatory to do revision and maintenance. Usually when the chimney spends a lot of time without using it may have accumulated dirt, objects that have fallen into the tube that clog it preventing the correct exit of smoke.

• Bird nests

The air vents of our fireplaces are very attractive to birds. They build their nests by obstructing the exit of smoke to the outside.

• External objects

Occasionally, rains and blizzards drag leaves and branches of trees and other objects that will fall into the smoke outlet of your chimney, clogging or clogging the tube.

WHAT TO DO IF MY CHIMNEY IS CLOGGED?

When one of these cases occurs, it is advisable to call a professional, who will thoroughly check the entire structure of your chimney, remove what obstructs it and will do the cleaning and maintenance so that it is impeccable.

When the clogging problem is due to accumulated soot or objects stuck in the smoke outlet, it is simple to fix. Chimney sweeps will be responsible for checking the entire structure, cleaning soot, checking smoke vents, removing nests or other stuck objects, measuring shots and leaving your chimney looking like new.

More serious is the situation when we find that the chimney has not been well built. In this case the solution, if any, will take longer and cost more money.

That is why it is important to hire qualified professionals for the construction and installation of your fireplace. And leave its maintenance, in the same way, in the hands of experts.

In the winter season, our chimneys are at maximum use, soot accumulates in the smoke outlet tubes to the outside making cleaning necessary at the end of the season and then before the start of the next.

The temperature has already begun to drop, get ready for the arrival of the coldest days with a fireplace that will give that delicious warmth to your home to enjoy with your whole family comfortably, with the assurance that you take care of your health and well-being.