A wood stove is an efficient source of home heating during the winter. The longer you burn wood, the more its efficiency is reduced. This not only increases heating costs, but also increases the risk of a chimney fire. That’s why it’s important to clean out the wood ash and creosote from time to time, especially before the winter season.
When the stove is burning wood a certain amount of soot and creosote sticks inside the stove, vents and chimney. When this creosote becomes thick, it can spark a fire which can cause significant damage to your home. In fact, creosote residue is the biggest cause of chimney fires, according to fire protection professionals. A fire in the stove or chimney can quickly spread throughout your home. Also, soot and other by-products of combustion can obstruct air vents, this results in a slower burn rate decreasing its overall efficiency, not to mention increasing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Clean Your Wood Stove
Here are some of the items you will need: A pair of gloves, ash shovel, ash container for proper disposal, glass cleaner, long brush, small hand brush, goggles and old newspapers/paper towels.
1. Make sure your stove is cool. Never attempt to clean a hot wood stove.
2. Wear old clothing and protective gear such as goggles and gloves.
3. Open the firebox and scoop out the ashes and carefully place into the ash container. Also, check the ash box and empty any remaining ash into the metal ash container.
4. Disconnect the stove pipe that is attached to the top of the stove. Lay down newspapers and have your ash container ready because when the pipe is removed, gravity will cause soot and creosote to fall out. You may also want to use a mask so you don’t breathe in the dust.
5. Swiftly brush up and down inside the pipe to remove any creosote and soot stuck inside. These byproducts will fall into the stove’s firebox. Then reconnect the pipe to the stove.
6. Go to the firebox, scoop out the remaining fallen debris and empty them into the ash container. Using a small hand brush, gently brush inside the stove to remove any excess ash.
7. If your stove has a glass door, then you should clean it as well. Wipe the surface clean with mild detergent and water or with a commercial glass cleaning solution. We carry glass cleaners for wood stoves at our hearth store. Clean the glass door thoroughly and wipe dry with paper towels.
8. Dispose of the waste products carefully. Don’t empty them into your trash can because they are flammable. If you have a garden, you can sprinkle the creosote and ash to provide calcium and other nutrients to your plants.
9. Hire a professional stove cleaner to clean the soot, creosote and other debris from the chimney.
CALL INTEGRITY HEATING SERVICES TODAY!
Chances are, like most of us, you just don’t have the time to clean your stove with everything else going on and you find yourself searching Wood Stove Cleaning Near Me or Wood Stove Cleaning Company CT. Do yourself a favor and when you see Integrity Heating Services, click on it! We offer wood stove cleaning services, pellet stove cleaning services and dryer vent cleaning services. All at affordable prices! Contact us today at Integrity Heating Services to schedule an appointment for our professional maintenance services.
