All open fires require regular maintenance to keep them working efficiently and safely. Without basic work, the risk of a Woodbridge chimney fire or carbon monoxide poisoning rises dramatically.
*Chimney Fires
One of the key bits of maintenance is the sweeping of the Woodbridge chimney stack or flue. This removes all the carbon and for wood burning chimneys the flammable creosote (a dark brown oil distilled from coal tar and used as a wood preservative). and other waste products produced by burning solid fuel. This stops chimney fires from ever starting.
Note: Before sweeping any chimney ALWAYS make sure the chimney itself is in good shape. Have it repaired if needed as sweeping a damaged chimney is dangerous as brick will come loose and fall into the flue and could block it.
Each type of fuel produces differing types of waste, and affects how regularly the Woodbridge chimney or flue will require sweeping.
- Wood burning fires- Four times a year
- Coal and smokeless fuel- Twice a year
- Gas – Once yearly
A professional Woodbridge chimney sweep will use a variety of brushes and implements that are attached to rods which are fed up from the base of the chimney to clean the soot from the walls of the chimney or the liner.
Have Your Woodbridge Chimney Professionally Checked
The best time to have the Woodbridge chimney cleaned is at the beginning of autumn, after the soot has had chance to dry during the summer and is hard and brittle. This assists the chimney sweep, and is easily removed. Alternatively sweeping after the fire has been used continually for a couple days, which creates the same result. The loose soot and creosote will then fall to the base of the chimney stack, where the sweep can remove it all by using a powerful industrial vacuum.
While the cleaning takes place, the Woodbridge chimney sweep will be able to make a professional assessment of the condition of the chimney as a whole. The brickwork may be failing in parts, which can lead to fumes from the fire escaping into the home. This is common with older properties as the mortar between the bricks has a limited life span, and starts to crumble away over time, and through continually heating up and cooling. The solution to this is to have the chimney relined. This can be a necessary but expensive project.
Woodbridge Chimney Maintenance Products Available on the Market:
Concrete liner – An inflatable template is placed within the full height of the chimney stack and concrete is poor around it. When the concrete has gone hard the template is removed and a smaller concrete flue is left. A good solution but has problems where the stack has bends within it.
Clay, pumice, ceramic liners – are mainly installed in new properties, but when they are used on older buildings it is often the case to have to remove sections of the chimney wall and install the liner and then rebuild and move up the stack stage by stage. The most expensive product but long term the strongest solution.
Stainless steel liners – installed by dropping the liner down the existing Woodbridge chimney and capping off at the top and bottom. Insulation is placed around the liner to keep the liner in place and to assist with the pull of smoke from the fire. By far the cheapest option, but only a temporary solution of 10 to 20 years.
Get your Woodbridge Chimney cleaned and checked before winter sets in. This is the time to call a professional and have your Woodbridge chimney looked at.
*Chimney fires are easily prevented, just by getting a professional to check out the condition of your chimney!
