When should I be having my fire cleaned?


Proper maintenance of your Log Burner is a great step towards keeping it efficient for years to come, it will save you time and money in the long run. It also helps to keep your home safe from any potential hazards that may arise from dirty and unmanaged Log Burners. Burning of woods in our Log Burners often cause deposits and build up of a variety of dirt, dust, ash and creosote.  
 
Here are 3 Indicators that let you know your fire needs cleaning:
 
  • SOOT: Can cause a number of issues if not properly managed.  As Soot is soft it can easily spread across a wide area and be difficult to clean and cause health issues.  It can also cause a fire outbreak if present in a large volume.  We recommend cleaning this away if it gets deeper than 2cm.
  • CREOSOTE: This is a dark, hard crust-like flammable substance that appears after an incomplete combustion of wood. Woods that have been poorly dried and stored generally produce a large amount of creosote as opposed to woods that have been properly dried and stored.  It’s sometimes hard to see this build up as it’s often stored up the chimney, but an excessive amount can lead to a chimney fire.
  • SMOKE: An efficiently burning Log Burner should not send smoke into the home. The major reason is either a wrong wood-burning practice, or a dirty chimney with a build up of soot and creosote.  It can also be because there is debris in the chimney blocking the venting of the smoke, or the cap being blocked up.  It’s important to ensure you fully open the damper to give a good hot burn at least twice a week to help burn this build up off.
 
Bottom Line:
 
We would recommend getting your Log Burner cleaned professionally every Spring/Summer, ready for the next seasons burning, or on the spot if you have any of these issues going on.
We use and recommend Chim Chim 0800 22 44 64
for your chimney sweeping and fire place services.