Encyclopedia of fire safety

How to clean a chimney in a sauna stove. Cleaning the chimney in the bath from soot: methods, means, folk methods. Prices for "Shumanit" for glass ceramics

Cleaning the pipe in the bath is not difficult if it is straight without knees and of small length. Long chimneys with bends are more difficult to free from soot. Here you will need to resort to complex chemical or mechanical methods. Sometimes traditional methods help. However, first you need to find out for what reasons there is a rapid clogging of the pipe.

Why is the chimney clogged

If, after cleaning, the pipe in the bath soon clogged up again, you should think about the mistakes made in the operation of the furnace. By itself, the chimney is not able to quickly coke. Soot deposition occurs during fuel combustion. Solid particles of combustion products are discharged through the pipe along with the smoke. Under a number of unfavorable conditions, all of them do not evaporate, but settle on the walls of the chimney in the form of soot accumulation.

Rapid clogging of the pipe occurs for the following reasons:


How to know when it's time to clean

A clogged chimney of the bath will immediately make itself felt. You don’t need to be an expert here, but you need to be alert when the following signs appear:

  1. The draft in the sauna stove has decreased. First you need to check the damper. If it is fully open and there is no draft, it's time to clean the pipe.
  2. Firewood flares up well, but the flame gradually fades away. The chimney is partially blocked.
  3. Difficulty igniting fuel. With a clogged chimney, it is difficult to set fire to even dry firewood. The smoke has nowhere to go and it puts out the flames.
  4. The color of the flame became a dull orange. If there is good draft in the sauna stove, the flames reach the chimney and have a bright color of red, orange, blue hues.
  5. After lighting the stove, the bath was filled with a pungent odor. In the absence of traction, waste enters the room. It is easy to identify it by watery eyes.

Important! If one of the reasons is observed, the chimney of the bath must be urgently cleaned.

How to clean the pipe in the bath

The procedure for cleaning the chimney in the bath involves the release of the channel from soot and accidentally infiltrated debris. After servicing the pipes, the firebox and the blower of the furnace are put in order. You can clean the chimney of the bath on your own by chemical, mechanical means, as well as using folk remedies. If the actions are unsuccessful, a specialized team is invited.

mechanical method

A chimney sweep is now rarely seen, but the profession has not lost its relevance. Mechanical cleaning of the bath pipe is considered a radical method, which is recommended to be used 2 times a year. Cleaning the chimney from soot begins from the side of the street, and ends with a firebox.

For work, a mandatory set of tools is used:

  1. Ruff with flexible bristles. The diameter of the fixture is selected 2 times the cross section of the chimney of the bath.
  2. Rope for fixing the ruff and immersing it inside the pipe. For chimneys with bends, it is better to use a cable. A ruff is attached to one end of it, and a handle for turning on the other side.
  3. Steel load with a diameter of up to 50% of the section of the chimney of the bath. The weight is tied below the ruff, for free movement down the pipe.

Of the auxiliary tools for cleaning the chimney, brushes and scrapers with long handles are used.

Mechanical cleaning of the pipe is carried out in dry, windless weather. You will need a ladder and a roof hole if you have to climb the gable roof of the bath. It is convenient to walk on a flat roof without a wooden manhole.

Before starting work, the oven in the bath must cool. The damper in the room is fully opened so that the collapsed soot falls through the pipe into the furnace. The entire oven is covered with a damp cloth to prevent black soot from contaminating the bath.

Mechanical cleaning of the pipe is performed in the following sequence:


The final work is the cleaning of the furnace and ash chamber from soot. After removing the soot in the furnace, good draft will appear.

Advice! The presence of thrust is checked with a paper strip or a burning match.

If the flame or the edge of the paper pulls inside the blower, the draft through the chimney is excellent.

chemical method

A simple way to get rid of soot is based on burning chemicals in the firebox. Conventionally, they are divided into household and specialized substances. The first ones include:

  • Naphthalene used to be sold in bags. Grandmothers put them in a closet to kill moths. Substance with a pungent odor, highly flammable. Naphthalene should be burned with caution in small doses.
  • The blue mixture is prepared independently from three components: copper sulfate, saltpeter, coke. Proportions take 5:7:2 in the listed sequence.

It is more convenient to use factory-made chemicals. There is an instruction on the package, the briquettes are packaged in portions for a single use. The most popular are: "Chimney Sweep Log", "Kominichek", "PHC". There are other preparations for chimneys. It is optimal for a bath to select them empirically.

The video tells more about the use of chemicals:

vacuum cleaning

Professional cleaning of the pipe in the bath with a vacuum is performed by special equipment. The nozzle of the device is immersed inside the chimney. A working motor on the principle of a vacuum cleaner creates a strong air flow. Soot flies out into the street from a pipe under high pressure.

The advantage lies in efficient cleaning. Vacuum drives out soot from all secluded places on turns, bends, where it is difficult to reach with a ruff. The disadvantage of the method is dirt. The roof of the bathhouse and adjacent neighboring buildings are covered with black soot. In addition, the device is expensive. It is reasonable to buy equipment by a team for several yards or use the services of hired workers.

How to clean the chimney in the bath: folk ways

The chimney pipe of the bath is not always clogged to a critical state. In many cases, folk methods help get rid of soot.

Cleaning with water

The method is effective for metal pipes. Brickwork on clay will be washed away by water. The essence of cleaning is the uniform wetting of solid deposits. A small amount of water is drained from the street into the pipe along the walls. When the dirty liquid begins to drip into the firebox, a weak fire is lit. During combustion, continue to add water in small portions. Wet heated soot softens. When the firewood burns out, a bucket of water is poured into the pipe. The soot, together with the liquid, will drain through the firebox into the blower. There will be an unpleasant procedure - to scoop out the slurry.

Burning potato peels

A more humane method is based on burning potato skins in a bath oven. It will take about half a bucket of cleanings. They are preliminarily dried, and placed in the firebox after the loaded firewood burns out. The starch released during combustion softens the soot. Soot layers crumble into the furnace.

Heating the stove with aspen wood

Soot tends to burn when exposed to high temperatures. Another folk method is based on this phenomenon. The sauna stove is heated with ordinary firewood. When the pipe warms up, the firebox is loaded with aspen logs. Firewood during combustion produces hot gases that burn soot.

Attention! A large portion of aspen firewood can lead to a fire or the destruction of the chimney of the bath.

Burning aluminum cans

Beer or canning aluminum cans, when burned, release substances that destroy soot. One container burns for approximately 9 minutes. Aluminum should just burn, not blacken or melt. To achieve the burning of metal will turn out by loading heat-intensive firewood.

How to clean the pipe from soot in the bath with your own hands

Cleaning the chimney pipe of the bath is not a difficult task, but it is required to follow the sequence of work and accuracy.

Chimney Inspection

Cleaning begins with an inspection. According to the results obtained, a suitable method is selected. If the chimney of the bath is equipped with inspection hatches, they are all opened. The accumulation of soot at the connecting joints of a metal pipe indicates their depressurization. The chimney will first have to be disassembled, each element cleaned and reassembled, treating each joint with heat-resistant paste.

Making a pipe cleaning brush with your own hands

If a factory-made ruff is not at hand, it is easy to make it from a PET bottle. The bottle is selected according to the diameter with an approximate correspondence to the pipe section. The container must freely enter the channel. The bottom of the bottle is cut off, the body is cut to half in strips 1.5 cm wide, bent to the sides. A rope is threaded through the neck, the load and the bottle itself are fixed so that it does not move. Ersh is ready.

Important! Brushes with metal bristles should not be used to clean steel chimneys.

Primary cleaning

The chimney of the bath begins to be cleaned from the street. The first step is to dismantle the head. Thick growths of soot are scraped off with a scraper, dumped on the ground or in a bucket. Clean the head itself. If the bath has not been used for a long time, nests of birds, wasps, and wild bees can be found inside the chimney. All items are removed with hooks or other devices.

Soot removal

Based on the results of the inspection, one of the existing cleaning methods is selected. It is important to know that manufacturers of metal chimneys do not recommend burning them out. Only the mechanical method is applicable here, but without the use of steel scrapers and ruffs.

How to clean a brick chimney in a bath

For a brick channel, all existing methods are applicable. Filling water according to the popular method is excluded. Ruffs will work even with metal bristles, but caution is needed. Scratched walls are an increased roughness of the canal. Soot will catch on burrs and potholes, the bath pipe will clog faster. It is optimal to blow a brick pipe with a vacuum method or clean it by burning chemicals.

Prevention

Preventive measures help to extend the life of the chimney channel of the bath. It is enough to burn a chemical preparation, potato peelings, aluminum cans 1-2 times a year. Salt similarly destroys soot when burned.

The best fuel for a sauna stove is hardwood firewood. The logs are dried for at least 1 year under covered sheds. Such firewood never forms a lot of soot.

It is impossible to burn garbage, plastic, waste after repair in the furnace. A thrown spray can on a fire will explode, destroying the firebox and damaging the chimney. You can not kindle raw firewood with diesel fuel or gasoline. It is unacceptable to fully load the firebox with logs. Great heat and flames will ignite the soot.

Conclusion

It is easier to clean the pipe in the bath in warm, dry weather. Usually choose the spring-autumn period. In winter, they climb onto the roof of the bath in case of urgent need, if the stove does not burn.

The issue of the safety of operating a bath stove is very important and relevant, because the possibility of spontaneous combustion of accumulated soot deposits, or carbon monoxide poisoning, is very likely, which can threaten not only health, but also life. Further in the article with a photo, we will tell you how to clean the chimney in the bath from soot so that the operation of the stove is not only efficient, but also safe.

Currently, such a profession as a chimney sweep practically does not exist. Yes, and self-made bath stoves of a simple design can be cleaned with your own hands. But if you are not sure how to clean the chimney in a sauna stove, which has a complex system of modules and many bends, it is better to turn to professionals. Fortunately, such services are provided by some private companies or individual craftsmen.

It is noteworthy that no matter what the pipes are, soot still accumulates on them, and the quality of firewood significantly affects the amount of deposits. Therefore, regular cleaning of the chimney of the sauna stove is a must.

Why does a chimney get clogged?

When wood burns, carbon monoxide and smoke are released from it. White smoke is formed by the evaporation of water in the fibers of the tree, but black is the result of the formation of coal, soot and creosote. This black smoke, carrying particles of combustion products, gradually settles on the walls of the chimney pipe, and the thickness of the plaque depends on the surface structure.


Thus, the clearance in the chimney pipe becomes smaller and the draft worsens. And all the settled particles can either ruin the chimney or re-ignite, leading to a fire.

How to clean a chimney

There are many ways to clean the chimney pipe in the bath on your own. Improvised tools, such as brushes, cables or chemicals, also come into play.

In addition, there are a number of tricks that have long been used to clean the chimney in the bath, and climbing onto the roof was not required for this. Next, consider the most common and popular pipe cleaning methods.

Cleaning soot with a brush

The most affordable and simple way to determine how to clean the pipe in the bath from soot is to use a brush. Given the individual characteristics of the chimney, you should choose a suitable model that can reach all the corners and bends of the pipe and clean the chimney along its entire length.

It is best to use a brush with nylon fibers. Possessing sufficient strength and flexibility, such fibers penetrate deep into the thickness of the soot layer, gently remove it without damaging the surface of the pipe.


The advantage of such a nylon brush is also that it is the best way to get to the bends of the chimney pipe in order to remove soot and soot from there. But it is undesirable to use hard brushes in this situation, since they can leave scratches and notches on the surface of the chimney, on which more soot will accumulate.

The flexible handle of such a brush makes it easier to reach far corners and it is convenient to manipulate it.

Burning potato peels

Potato peels have long been used to soften and break up soot buildup on walls. This method involves burning in the furnace furnace near a bucket of fresh potato peelings, or rather, how much will fit in the furnace.

As they burn, they will release starch, which will peel off the soot from the walls of the chimney. In the next couple of days, the soot layer will lag behind itself and partially fall out. And how to clean the pipe in the bath from soot from the roof - experienced people already know. To do this, a brush made of rods is tied to a brick and cleaned.

Heating the stove with aspen wood

Even our ancestors knew how to clean the chimney in the bathhouse with aspen wood. To do this, it is enough to intensively heat the stove with them. However, we must not forget that this method is quite dangerous.

The fact is that during the kindling of the stove with aspen, a very high temperature is pumped inside the chimney, as a result of which the soot ignites and breaks out of the chimney upwards, then settling in white flakes in the yard.


To get this result, all dampers and doors are left open in the oven, creating good traction. Firewood is constantly thrown into the furnace, so that the fire burns intensely and a buzz is heard in the chimney. In this case, the temperature in the chimney reaches 1100 ºС, at which soot burns. However, cleaning is very effective.

Burning aluminum cans

A rather non-standard way to clean a pipe in a bath is to burn aluminum cans, which practically do not produce soot. To get rid of soot, you should burn cans about once every ten kindlings.


However, in order to get the right temperature and achieve burning of the can, and not just deformation and discoloration, you need to use hard coal. If the temperature in the oven is high enough, it will take about 5 minutes to burn one can.

Cleaning the chimney with a garden hose

Quite a few bathhouse owners do not particularly think about how to clean the chimney in the bathhouse. They always have a proven method in service - cleaning with a hose for irrigation.

In order to clean the pipe in this way, you need:

  • remove the glass at the bottom of the chimney;
  • insert a rigid hose into the hole - from above or below, whichever is more convenient for you;
  • with translational movements, clean the soot that settles at the bottom of the pipe.


A plastic bottle with cut strips or a brush can be attached to the end of the hose. Such a device will easily clean the chimney.

Use of chemicals

Chemical products for cleaning the chimney in the bath serve more to prevent excessive accumulation of soot than to actually remove it. Such substances are not able to completely remove plaque without the use of mechanical cleaning methods.

In addition, most of them have a sharp unpleasant odor that will disappear for several days. However, it is worth noting that, in extreme cases, you can adopt tools such as the Chimney Sweep Log or Kominichek.

Method for cleaning the chimney mechanically

So, in order to do the job as correctly and without problems as possible, we offer detailed instructions with a photo on how to clean the chimney in the bath. However, before starting work, make sure that all windows are covered with a thick cloth, and the furniture is covered with polyethylene.

Personal protective equipment - gloves, goggles and a respirator - will also be needed. Next, you need to clarify what design your sauna stove is. In some models, there are several doors for removing soot from the chimney, which greatly facilitate the work.


The technology of how to clean the oven in the bath looks like this:

  1. Before starting work, you need to wait until the oven has completely cooled down. Next, the remains of firewood or other fuel are removed from the furnace, and the ash is cleaned.
  2. Doors are opened at the chimney inlet.
  3. Insert the cleaning brush into the pipe passage while holding the handle firmly.
  4. In a circular motion, carefully brush over all surfaces of the chimney pipe, trying to reach all corners.
  5. Gradually pushing the brush even higher, the soot is cleaned in the upper sections of the pipe.
  6. All settled soot is removed from the hole.
  7. After that, the doors are closed and the inventory is washed with warm water.

It is important to remember that in addition to soot, there may be accumulations of cobwebs, small debris from the street and even bird nests in the chimney. Therefore, if the bathhouse has not been used for a long time in the summer, then the chimney will need to be cleaned again before heating the stove. This is necessary so that in the event of kindling, all foreign objects in the pipe do not catch fire and do not emit unpleasant odors, which will then be very difficult to get rid of.

Making a pipe cleaning brush with your own hands

To properly clean the chimney pipe, it is not at all necessary to purchase expensive equipment. You are quite capable of making a device, than you can clean the pipe in the bath with your own hands.


So, we offer an easy way to make a chimney brush yourself:

  • You will need a synthetic street broom, a long metal cable, clamps, a threaded stud and 2 8 mm ears, washers of various diameters.
  • The pile on the broom is bent in different directions to get a semblance of a circle. If the fibers are very hard, you can use boiling water to soften them.
  • On one side, an ear is screwed onto the hairpin and a washer is threaded through. This end is threaded into the hole at the bottom of the broom and put on the second washer. Their diameter matches the holes in the broom.
  • Next, lightly press on the base of the broom and fix the second fastener. The more you twist the ear, the wider the broom pile will spread.
  • Turning the broom over so that the ear can be better seen, the final tightening of the mount is performed.
  • Staples on the brush fix the cable. The size of the hole is measured and the pile is cut along the length so that the diameter of the brush exactly matches the size of the chimney. If it is less, it will not reach the walls, and if it is more, it will slide.
  • For convenience, a weight from 2 kg in weight is attached to the end of the brush.


With such a simple device, you can quickly and conveniently clean the chimney on your own.

The Russian banya is associated with wet steam and a wood-burning stove. And where the stove is heated, there is always a chimney. Maintenance includes periodic cleaning. If this is not done, then the bath will be heated every year worse and worse. It will just reduce thrust, and this will reduce efficiency. How to clean the pipe in the bath, sooner or later, everyone thinks. We will show you how to clean effectively, without extra costs.

How to clean the pipe in the bath with a special ruff.

Not everyone thinks about what consequences, in addition to a violation of draft, blockages in the chimney of the bath can lead to. Meanwhile, a tenth of the fires occur for this reason. Cleaning the oven is only a small part of the whole prevention. And the chimney gets clogged much more often than the owners think.

There are several reasons for a clogged chimney, the most common are:

  1. Soot and soot.
  2. Condensate.
  3. Various foreign objects.

Each of them causes trouble and requires its own cleaning methods.

Soot and soot in the pipe

Soot and soot clog the pipe and the draft in the furnace decreases.

Soot and soot accumulate inside the structure in a thick layer, for a year it can reach 1–2 cm. Such overgrowth depends on what kind of fuel is used for kindling. So, if the stove is heated with firewood, wood briquettes, coal, then the soot will be minimal. But in the sauna stove, not only firewood is burned, but also household waste, which emits a large amount of soot. Coniferous firewood also behaves, the resin during combustion forms soot in large quantities.

On sale there are special briquettes with chemicals that destroy soot when burned. They are simply kindled in the stove and after 1-2 days the dirt itself will fall into the furnace. From there it won't be too hard to clean it up. But it is not recommended to use such products in baths, as chemistry enters the premises and can adversely affect the health of bathers.

To clean the pipe of the bath from soot, it is easier to use a special ruff, brush. They are hung on a weight and lowered into a pipe. Craftsmen suggest using cut plastic bottles and other devices as cleaning. But you can use these if the pipe has a perfectly flat and smooth inner surface.

Condensate in the pipe

Condensation with soot can block the chimney almost completely.

The resin in firewood contains a certain acidity. For each type of wood, the resin content is different. With the constant use of the bath, the condensate in the pipes has a small resinous precipitate, but with a rare one it can reach a thickness of 3 cm.

It can be difficult to remove such contaminants, because of the increased oiliness, the resinous condensate will simply be smeared on the inner surface during cleaning.

It is possible to clean such a blockage only with a special “chimney sweep log”.

It must be used once a month for prevention, especially if firewood with a high resin content (pine, spruce) is used. If birch is used for kindling, then once every 2-3 months.

Foreign objects in the tube

Black smoke from the chimney is the first sign of a clogged chimney.

The ingress of a foreign object into the chimney is noticeable immediately. The smoke stops escaping and goes back into the bath. With such a firebox, you can easily get poisoned with carbon monoxide. A foreign object may be a brick from a pipe masonry, a bird's nest that has fallen down from the branches of a number of growing trees by the wind.

Getting rid of such a blockage is the most difficult. You can try using a long pole or stick to push the object inward. A nail hook is made at the end of the stick, so you can try to hook the object if it is not a brick.

Telescopic brushes are on sale, the handle extends to the entire length of the pipe. You can try to push the object to her. If none of the methods has brought results, the pipe will have to be dismantled.

Folk ways to clean the pipe

Problems with pipe cleaning arose not only in modern baths. Our grandfathers also fought blockages in their own ways. Some of them proved to be good and are still used today. Moreover, it is better to clean the pipes in the bath without chemicals. Choosing a method for yourself, you need to start from the following factors:

  1. Metal or brick construction. Cleaning a simple metal sandwich pipe is easier because its inside is smooth and even. Brick is harder to clean.
  2. Design, with bends or straight (a straight line is easy to clean with a brush, a chimney with bends is more difficult).
  3. What a mess.
  4. Pipe diameter.

How to know when it's time to clean

A weight with a ruff will clean any blockage mechanically.

There are several ways to determine whether it is time to clean the pipe. The most common is to use a kettlebell. It is selected according to the diameter of the pipe. On a rope, lowering a weight into a pipe, they watch how it passes: freely or not. If the kettlebell gets stuck, then the time for cleaning is long overdue. In this way, by throwing and lifting the weight, you can clean the pipe from large contaminants.

The second folk way to watch the smoke during kindling. If it is colorless or whitish, then the chimney is clean. The appearance of clouds of soot and black smoke should alert the owner and cause the start of cleaning actions.

Of course, with the exception of raw and pine firewood, since when the resin is burned, the smoke also has a dark color.

For kindling a bath, it is generally better to use dry chocks that have lain under a canopy for at least 1-2 months. Linden and birch firewood is preferable, since there is practically no soot from them.

Cleaning with water

You can try to clean the chimney with plain water, the method is ineffective for severe blockages.

If the structure is iron, with a small diameter, then in winter you can put a lump of snow 9-10 cm in diameter into it. It will melt and wash the pipe, and gradually sliding down, scrape off the digging with sharp ice floes. But after that, the stove must be heated, so the pipe dries out and does not freeze from the inside. And on metal, without drying, rust can form inside, this will shorten its service life.

In the same way, 1-2 liters of warm water are poured into the pipe before kindling. Do it gradually along the walls. With such a cleaning, black smoke clouds of soot will appear from the chimney during the furnace.

In factory expensive models of the furnace there is a special overlapping system. Snow should not be thrown into such a design, but it will be easier to spill water. A container is placed inside the furnace furnace where digging and soot will drain and fall down, only then they spill water.

Cleaning with aspen

Cleaning the chimney with aspen is the oldest and most proven method.

Our grandfathers noticed that during the combustion of aspen firewood, pieces of soot and soot appear in the furnace that have fallen off the chimney. This phenomenon was later explained by the composition of aspen smoke, which can break down deposits on pipes. After such cleaning, a layer of dirt will crumble inside the stove in small pieces for 1-2 days.

Perform cleaning as follows:

The stove is kindled as for a regular sink, and at the very end, aspen firewood is thrown 1-2 times. They will not give a special heat, but they will clean the pipe. Later, the procedure can be repeated as a prophylaxis 1-2 times a month.

Before cleaning, a special device is attached to the top - a spark catcher. You can make it from an old tin can: the walls are cut out and rolled up in the form of a cone. The cone is attached to the pipe at a distance of 5–7 cm from above. Sparks during combustion will enter the device and the possibility of ignition is reduced.

Sellers often offer chemical Kominichek or Stumpfyre as cleaners. But the use of compounds in the bath is unacceptable!

Whether or not to clean the pipe of the bath is not a question. Cleaning is necessary and systematic. Once a month, do prophylaxis with the help of a "chimney-sweep" or aspen firewood. Only in this way the bath will serve its owner for a long time, and the chimney will not burn out ahead of time. In addition to all of the above, it will be difficult to burn in a properly functioning bath. And the proposed video in this article will help you choose a convenient cleaning method.

Thanks to its is a universal heater.

We can't say for sure which one. You have to look at the situation.

To clean the chimney from the room, you need to put a round brush on a flexible stick and push it up the pipe. In this way, you can clean not only the chimney, but also the furnace with a heat exchanger. A significant disadvantage of the mechanical method is that it is very "dirty", and it takes a lot of time. In general, there are more acceptable ways to clean soot from chimneys and stoves, read about them below.

Chemicals for cleaning the chimney from soot

The easiest and most modern way to clean the chimney with your own hands is chemicals. The bottom line is that the chemistry burns in the furnace and its gases dry up the adhering soot. After that, all the dirt peels off, part of it flies out, and part falls down, where it can be easily removed along with the ash. There are two types of chemicals - "log" (briquette) and powder.

A log is a mixture of chemical elements pressed into a briquette, which is packed in paper. This is a one-time clog control measure that needs to be applied every 30 days. Means for cleaning chimneys from soot "Log" contains a large amount of reagent, such a battering ram. It includes:

  • unregenerated cellulose;
  • lapis lazuli;
  • ammonium sodium;
  • iron sulfate decahydrate;
  • calcium chloride;
  • functional additives.

The product must be certified, the test report is indicated on the packaging.

There are also instructions for use on the box. First, you need to heat the oven, then put a bag on the coals (you don’t need to tear the paper). The main requirement is not to put the chemical briquette on an open flame. Smoldering "Log" for about two hours.

Do-it-yourself chimney cleaning powder should be used as a preventive measure. The manufacturer recommends adding powder continuously for the first six kindlings, and then once every 10 kindlings. The advantage in the chemical cleaning method is that soot is removed in all hard-to-reach places, including the furnace and heat exchanger. With constant preventive maintenance, the entire smoke exhaust system always remains clean.

Folk methods to clean the chimney from soot

They never liked to clean the chimney mechanically - there is a lot of dirt. In ancient times, there were no chemicals, but our people are very savvy and a way out was found. It was empirically determined that it is possible to clean the chimney by burning aspen wood or potato peelings in the firebox. Aspen firewood gives a great heat, which burns out the soot. Using this method, you need to be extremely careful. If you have, let's say, it's better not to risk it.

Potato peelings remove soot by burning the starch, or rather the smoke, that is released. To prepare the cleaning, they need to be spread out in a warm place so that all the moisture is gone. If you dump them in a bucket wet, then they will simply become covered with mold and rot.

Do-it-yourself chimney blowing

There is another option on how to clean the chimney in the furnace from soot with folk remedies - this is through strong air pressure. The bottom line is that a turbulent flow is created in the chimney, which blows all the dirt out. The main thing is a powerful fan. As an air blower, you can use a chainsaw or a special apparatus for cleaning the territory (they blow off the leaves in the fall). The fan must draw the flow from the pipe - otherwise all the soot will go into the house and then there will be no time for experiments. In the video below you can see how to clean the chimney with air in a few minutes.

The Russian banya is associated with wet steam and a wood-burning stove. And where the stove is heated, there is always a chimney. Maintenance includes periodic cleaning. If this is not done, then the bath will be heated every year worse and worse. It will just reduce thrust, and this will reduce efficiency. How to clean the pipe in the bath, sooner or later, everyone thinks. We will show you how to clean effectively, without extra costs.

How to clean the pipe in the bath with a special ruff.

Different types of blockage in the chimney of the bath

Not everyone thinks about what consequences, in addition to a violation of draft, blockages in the chimney of the bath can lead to. Meanwhile, a tenth of the fires occur for this reason. Cleaning the oven is only a small part of the whole prevention. And the chimney gets clogged much more often than the owners think.

There are several reasons for a clogged chimney, the most common are:

  1. Soot and soot.
  2. Condensate.
  3. Various foreign objects.

Each of them causes trouble and requires its own cleaning methods.

Soot and soot in the pipe

Soot and soot clog the pipe and the draft in the furnace decreases.

Soot and soot accumulate inside the structure in a thick layer, for a year it can reach 1–2 cm. Such overgrowth depends on what kind of fuel is used for kindling. So, if the stove is heated with firewood, wood briquettes, coal, then the soot will be minimal. But in the sauna stove, not only firewood is burned, but also household waste, which emits a large amount of soot. Coniferous firewood also behaves, the resin during combustion forms soot in large quantities.

On sale there are special briquettes with chemicals that destroy soot when burned. They are simply kindled in the stove and after 1-2 days the dirt itself will fall into the furnace. From there it won't be too hard to clean it up. But it is not recommended to use such products in baths, as chemistry enters the premises and can adversely affect the health of bathers.

To clean the pipe of the bath from soot, it is easier to use a special ruff, brush. They are hung on a weight and lowered into a pipe. Craftsmen suggest using cut plastic bottles and other devices as cleaning. But you can use these if the pipe has a perfectly flat and smooth inner surface.

Condensate in the pipe

Condensation with soot can block the chimney almost completely.

The resin in firewood contains a certain acidity. For each type of wood, the resin content is different. With the constant use of the bath, the condensate in the pipes has a small resinous precipitate, but with a rare one it can reach a thickness of 3 cm.

It can be difficult to remove such contaminants, because of the increased oiliness, the resinous condensate will simply be smeared on the inner surface during cleaning.

It is possible to clean such a blockage only with a special “chimney sweep log”.

It must be used once a month for prevention, especially if firewood with a high resin content (pine, spruce) is used. If birch is used for kindling, then once every 2-3 months.

Foreign objects in the tube

Black smoke from the chimney is the first sign of a clogged chimney.

The ingress of a foreign object into the chimney is noticeable immediately. The smoke stops escaping and goes back into the bath. With such a firebox, you can easily get poisoned with carbon monoxide. A foreign object may be a brick from a pipe masonry, a bird's nest that has fallen down from the branches of a number of growing trees by the wind.

Getting rid of such a blockage is the most difficult. You can try using a long pole or stick to push the object inward. A nail hook is made at the end of the stick, so you can try to hook the object if it is not a brick.

Telescopic brushes are on sale, the handle extends to the entire length of the pipe. You can try to push the object to her. If none of the methods has brought results, the pipe will have to be dismantled.

Folk ways to clean the pipe

Problems with pipe cleaning arose not only in modern baths. Our grandfathers also fought blockages in their own ways. Some of them proved to be good and are still used today. Moreover, it is better to clean the pipes in the bath without chemicals. Choosing a method for yourself, you need to start from the following factors:

  1. Metal or brick construction. Cleaning a simple metal sandwich pipe is easier because its inside is smooth and even. Brick is harder to clean.
  2. Design, with bends or straight (a straight line is easy to clean with a brush, a chimney with bends is more difficult).
  3. What a mess.
  4. Pipe diameter.

How to know when it's time to clean

A weight with a ruff will clean any blockage mechanically well.

There are several ways to determine whether it is time to clean the pipe. The most common is to use a kettlebell. It is selected according to the diameter of the pipe. On a rope, lowering a weight into a pipe, they watch how it passes: freely or not. If the kettlebell gets stuck, then the time for cleaning is long overdue. In this way, by throwing and lifting the weight, you can clean the pipe from large contaminants.

The second folk way to watch the smoke during kindling. If it is colorless or whitish, then the chimney is clean. The appearance of clouds of soot and black smoke should alert the owner and cause the start of cleaning actions.

Of course, with the exception of raw and pine firewood, since when the resin is burned, the smoke also has a dark color.

For kindling a bath, it is generally better to use dry chocks that have lain under a canopy for at least 1-2 months. Linden and birch firewood is preferable, since there is practically no soot from them.

Cleaning with water

You can try to clean the chimney with plain water, the method is ineffective for severe blockages.

If the structure is iron, with a small diameter, then in winter you can put a lump of snow 9-10 cm in diameter into it. It will melt and wash the pipe, and gradually sliding down, scrape off the digging with sharp ice floes. But after that, the stove must be heated, so the pipe dries out and does not freeze from the inside. And on metal, without drying, rust can form inside, this will shorten its service life.

In the same way, 1-2 liters of warm water are poured into the pipe before kindling. Do it gradually along the walls. With such a cleaning, black smoke clouds of soot will appear from the chimney during the furnace.

In factory expensive models of the furnace there is a special overlapping system. Snow should not be thrown into such a design, but it will be easier to spill water. A container is placed inside the furnace furnace where digging and soot will drain and fall down, only then they spill water.

Cleaning with aspen

Cleaning the chimney with aspen is the oldest and most proven method.

Our grandfathers noticed that during the combustion of aspen firewood, pieces of soot and soot appear in the furnace that have fallen off the chimney. This phenomenon was later explained by the composition of aspen smoke, which can break down deposits on pipes. After such cleaning, a layer of dirt will crumble inside the stove in small pieces for 1-2 days.

Perform cleaning as follows:

The stove is kindled as for a regular sink, and at the very end, aspen firewood is thrown 1-2 times. They will not give a special heat, but they will clean the pipe. Later, the procedure can be repeated as a prophylaxis 1-2 times a month.

Before cleaning, a special device is attached to the top - a spark catcher. You can make it from an old tin can: the walls are cut out and rolled up in the form of a cone. The cone is attached to the pipe at a distance of 5–7 cm from above. Sparks during combustion will enter the device and the possibility of ignition is reduced.

Sellers often offer chemical Kominichek or Stumpfyre as cleaners. But the use of compounds in the bath is unacceptable!

Whether or not to clean the pipe of the bath is not a question. Cleaning is necessary and systematic. Once a month, do prophylaxis with the help of a "chimney-sweep" or aspen firewood. Only in this way the bath will serve its owner for a long time, and the chimney will not burn out prematurely. In addition to all of the above, it will be difficult to burn in a properly functioning bath. And the proposed video in this article will help you choose a convenient cleaning method.

When clogging a chimney in a bath due to blockage, a number of unpleasant consequences can occur - poor draft, long temperature build-up and even fires.

Therefore, it is necessary to clean the pipe regularly, since there are many effective ways for this.

Article content

Why does the chimney get clogged?

There are several reasons why pipes clog in the bath, it can be:

  • soot and soot deposits;
  • condensate formed on the inner walls of the pipes;
  • foreign objects in the pipe.

With the accumulation of soot on the inner surface of the chimney pipes, clogging occurs, and the traction force in the sauna stove is significantly reduced.

A layer of soot per year can "grow" by 1.5-2 cm. It all depends on the characteristics of the fuel used.


You will have to clean the pipes from soot much more often if you use firewood from coniferous trees for kindling.

Condensation and soot deposits in most cases lead to almost complete blocking of the chimney.

Clogging occurs due to the kindling of the bath with firewood with high acidity. The condensate forms resinous deposits on the pipe walls, the thickness of which in some cases reaches 2.5 cm.

It will be possible to clean the pipe when kindling the furnace with a special log-chimney sweep. At the same time, it will be almost impossible to clean the chimney mechanically - the tarry condensate will simply be smeared along the inner walls of the pipes.

Cleaning of pipes in case of ingress of foreign objects is necessary immediately, since the smoke will stop coming out and go back into the room.

This may be harmful to health. Cleaning the chimney at the same time will be quite difficult, but possible.

To do this, use a long stick or pole, with which you can push a foreign object inside. The stick can be equipped with a hook, which will allow you to clear the blockage more efficiently.

It is worth noting that thorough and regular cleaning of chimneys from deposits (soot) in the bath is necessary even when using expensive modular stoves.

Cleaning methods

The most effective methods, with an orientation on which it will be possible to perform pipe cleaning, are:

  • mechanical;
  • folk;
  • chemical.

The easiest way to clean the chimney of the bath from soot is with a regular nylon brush equipped with a hard bristle.

The nylon nap is well pressed against the inner surface and has a high degree of flexibility.

This product will help without any hassle the inner surface of the bath pipe with your own hands.

However, before cleaning the inside of the chimney, it is important to select the right brush.


In this case, a nylon product will be the most suitable - such a brush can easily penetrate into the most inaccessible areas, and cleaning does not take much time.

It is important to remember that the brush handle has a high degree of flexibility in order to better control the movements.

Folk methods

You can also clean the chimney in the bath using folk methods. For example, using potato peelings.

To do this, you need to throw a bucket or half a bucket with potato peels into the previously maximally melted oven.

Cleaning will be carried out due to the fact that during the combustion of the material, starch will be released, which will effectively contribute to the destruction of soot deposits.

After 2-3 days, the unnecessary sediment will completely disappear from the inner walls. For prevention purposes, a brick and a ruff should be tied to a strong rope and the pipe should be additionally cleaned in the classical way.


Another way is to clean the chimney with aspen wood. For this purpose, aspen firewood is placed in the oven, and it is well kindled.

Such raw materials provide a fairly high pressure temperature. It is important during the kindling process to open all available doors and latches and from time to time toss new logs.

As a result, the soot will begin to burn, and the stove will emit a characteristic hum. Perhaps fire will come from the chimney, and the entire area around the bath will be covered with soot.

It should be remembered that such cleaning is carried out only if the pipe is not designed for a temperature of more than 1100 ° C, at which soot burns out.

You can get rid of the sediment without too much trouble and use a regular garden watering hose for this. To do this, a glass is removed from the bottom of the chimney, and a hose with maximum rigidity is pushed in from above or below.

You can clean the inner surface using reciprocating movements, as a result, all the sediment will be at the bottom.

To enhance the effect, you can attach a chopped plastic bottle or a ruff to one end of the hose - this will help you get rid of plaque with ease and without any special material costs.

Application of the chemical cleaning method (video)

chemical method

This method involves the use of various chemically active substances. They are produced in the form of special powders, briquettes or liquids.

This method is especially good for the preventive removal of deposits and is characterized by high convenience and low labor intensity.

When implementing this method, in the process of burning firewood, chemically active substances are added to the furnace.

When burning, they will initiate the release of gases that are not capable of harming a person. Gases are able to effectively destroy the internal structure of deposits that will crumble down.

The most popular chemicals for removing soot deposits in the chimney are the anti-carbon chemical composition (PCC), the chimney sweep log and the tool called Kominichek.

PHC is sold in the form of a powder, which must be burned in the package at the same time as firewood or charcoal. Following the instructions, you need to ensure that the powder consumption does not exceed 150-200 grams per kindling.


Kominchek is a product that is produced in the Czech Republic. It is packaged in bags containing only 15 grams of the active substance.

When carrying out preventive work, one package of this chemical agent can last for more than 3 months.

Kominchek is most effective if the thickness of the soot deposits does not exceed 2 mm. During the resulting catalytic reaction, all deposits become oxides and burn without residue.

A chimney sweep is considered the most popular means for removing soot from chimneys made in the form of brickwork.

The tool is presented in the form of briquettes or bars, which, during combustion, release active compounds.

As a result of their impact, the creosote sediment on the inner walls of the pipes dries up and falls into the furnace. Log-chimney sweep is also highly recommended for prevention purposes.

Self-made brush

In order to clean the chimney in the bath, it is not necessary to purchase a finished product, you can save money and make a special brush with your own hands. For this you will need:

  • synthetic round broom;
  • steel cable for the entire length of the chimney;
  • stud and washers with a thread of 8 mm.

After acquiring all the components, the pile of the plastic broom unbends in different directions. Due to the fact that it has a certain elasticity and rigidity, it will be necessary to apply physical effort to bend it.

After that, the fixing nut with washer is screwed. It is important to know that the tighter the washer is tightened, the more the ruff pile will diverge in different directions.

After that, with the help of a bracket, a pre-prepared steel cable is attached to the ruff. Then it will be necessary to measure the diameter of the chimney and cut the pile, taking into account its size.

To achieve high accuracy in trimming the ruff fibers, you must first try on and make a round template from cardboard with the appropriate diameter. At the end, any load is securely attached to the cable. Its weight must be at least 2 kg.

Operating procedure

Chimney cleaning can be done on your own, for this you can use both special sets of brushes with compound handles, and a brush made by yourself.

First of all, it is necessary to remove all loose parts from the oven and free the room in the bath from foreign and interfering objects.


The brush is screwed to the cable along with the load. If the tool is factory, then the ruff is attached to the first link of the compound handle.

The tool is carefully inserted into that part of the chimney that is located above the firebox. It is necessary to wrap a blanket or other prepared fabric around the handle and press it with weights to the edges of the furnace opening.

The brush is pushed along the chimney until there is a noticeable decrease in resistance.

This means that the tool is coming out. It is not recommended to make rotational movements with a brush - this can lead to twisting of the cable and unwinding of the compound handle.

The product must be pushed until the blockage is removed, while you can feel how everything moves more freely in the pipe. After carrying out the work, it will be necessary to remove the ash and soot from the furnace.


Table of contents:

Today it is not easy to find a professional chimney sweep. There are practically none. It's a pity. After all, many are faced with the problem of how to clean the pipe in the bath, which is in almost every summer cottage.

Why is this needed?

Some people think that there is no need to clean chimneys at all. And in vain. Even with a trembling owner, a well-built stove cannot keep perfect cleanliness for years. Especially if we are talking about a bath, into the furnace of which in our country it is customary to throw everything that comes to hand. And the deposition of even a small amount of soot on the walls of the chimney narrows its clearance, which, as a result, causes a deterioration in traction, and, consequently, insufficient heating of the chimney walls, and increased smoke in the room during kindling. The overall efficiency of the furnace is also reduced.

But, of course, the most unpleasant surprise is spontaneous combustion of the chimney and wooden floors, which, in turn, can pose a threat not only to property, but also to your health or even life.

There are three types of stove blockages:

  • Condensate
  • A certain amount of accumulated soot
  • Any foreign object in the pipe

Condensation and soot

Condensation is a weak acidic solution that appears as a result of irregular use of the firebox. Because of it, the masonry of the walls is gradually destroyed over time, and resinous deposits form on the outer surfaces of the furnace.

To prevent such a process, you need to use a special cleaning agent several times a month - a “chimney sweep log”, which is sold in almost all hardware stores. When burned, it produces carbon-based smoke, and it just eats away condensate, as well as tar deposits.

If the pipes for the bath are full of accumulated soot, then it will be somewhat more difficult. In this case, they resort to the classic method of cleaning the pipe: having climbed onto the roof, it is necessary to lower a rope with a ruff and a weight tied to it into the chimney and gently clean off the pollution with smooth up and down movements. Moreover, the ruff should be slightly larger than the hole in the pipe so that it can freely penetrate there and at the same time remove soot. Most modern pipes have one significant advantage - special side windows through which this can be done much faster.

There is also a preventive way to combat the formation of soot. Currently, special compounds are being produced (for example, an anti-lime chemical composition or simply PHC), which treat the inner surface of chimneys or burn them together with firewood. During combustion, a non-toxic gas is released, which causes plaque to crumble from the walls, and most importantly, prevents its further formation. Folk remedies for getting rid of soot on the walls of the chimney are also known - burning aspen logs or potato peelings.

All owners of the Russian bath from time to time are faced with the question of how to clean the chimney.


To prevent contamination of the chimney, dry cleaning can be used. It also copes with a not very thick layer of soot.

During operation, the pipe passage becomes clogged, the draft decreases, which leads to a decrease in the efficiency of the furnace room.

It also increases the risk of fire. How to clean the chimney of the bath and will be discussed below.

Types of pollution

In order to ensure the safety and quality of the bath furnace, it is advisable to establish a cleaning schedule and clean the stove and chimney at least once a year. During the operation of this building, the following types of blockages may occur:

  1. Foreign object. It is the most difficult pollution. It can be a bird's nest, a collapsed piece of brick, etc. It takes up a lot of space in the chimney, thereby blocking the free exit of smoke to the outside.
  2. Accumulated soot. The more often the bath is heated, the thicker its layer. The amount of soot depends on what kind of fuel is used. There will be almost no soot when using fuel briquettes, firewood, charcoal. Its rapid formation is facilitated by the incineration of household waste.
  3. Condensate. Its formation is facilitated by the irregularity of the firebox. It is a weak acidic solution, which over time can cause destruction. It settles on the walls with resinous deposits.

Chimney cleaning methods

The main ways to clean the chimney of the bath include:

  • mechanical;
  • chemical.


In order to clean the chimney mechanically, you will need the following set of tools:

  • rope;
  • ball (weight);
  • ruff brush (can be replaced with a more advanced ramrod, which is a brush on a thin metal cable).

Before starting the cleaning procedure, it is necessary to check the chimney and the integrity of its channels. If there are foreign objects in the pipe, they should be pushed with a pole from top to bottom. The effectiveness of work on removing blockages is largely determined by the correct choice of the shape of the brush. Therefore, when purchasing it, you need to give preference to options that are more consistent with the size of the pipe.

Modern chimney sweep tools, in comparison with classic and slightly outdated sets, allow for better and more comfortable cleaning work for the performer. The special brush has a handle that adjusts its length and facilitates movements inside the pipe. To carry out cleaning work, it is required to remove the first link of the handle from the set and screw the brush to it. With this device, the chimney is cleaned with gentle up and down movements. The brush must be installed and moved along the pipe, gradually increasing the brush links. The same technology works when using a brush, fixed together with a weight on a rope.


Chimney cleaning is required once a year. If it is not carried out, the thrust will decrease and the bath will warm up longer.

To protect yourself from soot particles, a chimney sweep needs to use gloves, goggles and a respirator. The brush handle should be wrapped with a rag and placed close to the firebox opening. In the course of work, you should try not to rotate the handle too much so that it does not unscrew, leaving the brush in the pipe passage.

When cleaning the chimney, specialists can use a special vacuum cleaner with high power, sucking out soot through the opening of the furnace. However, this method is effective only for small deposits.

With the chemical method of cleaning the chimney of the bath, various preparations are used, which are produced by manufacturers in both powder and liquid form. However, the most popular was the "log - chimney sweep". It must be put in the oven and set on fire. The smoke released during combustion will react with the soot and make it pliable. After a couple of days, the contents of the chimney will crumble into the firebox and all that remains is to remove it from there. The advantage of this method is not only the ease of execution, but also its absolute safety due to the absence of toxic substances.

Given the above information, everyone will be able to choose the most appropriate way to remove the contaminants of the chimney of the bath. It should be remembered that the systematic cleaning of the pipe is the key to the durability of the bath and fire safety.

The Russian banya is associated with wet steam and a wood-burning stove. And where the stove is heated, there is always a chimney. Maintenance includes periodic cleaning. If this is not done, then the bath will be heated every year worse and worse. It will just reduce thrust, and this will reduce efficiency. How to clean the pipe in the bath, sooner or later, everyone thinks. We will show you how to clean effectively, without extra costs.

How to clean the pipe in the bath with a special ruff.

Different types of blockage in the chimney of the bath

Not everyone thinks about what consequences, in addition to a violation of draft, blockages in the chimney of the bath can lead to. Meanwhile, a tenth of the fires occur for this reason. Cleaning the oven is only a small part of the whole prevention. And the chimney gets clogged much more often than the owners think.

There are several reasons for a clogged chimney, the most common are:

  1. Soot and soot.
  2. Condensate.
  3. Various foreign objects.

Each of them causes trouble and requires its own cleaning methods.

Soot and soot in the pipe

Soot and soot clog the pipe and the draft in the furnace decreases.

Soot and soot accumulate inside the structure in a thick layer, for a year it can reach 1–2 cm. Such overgrowth depends on what kind of fuel is used for kindling. So, if the stove is heated with firewood, wood briquettes, coal, then the soot will be minimal. But in the sauna stove, not only firewood is burned, but also household waste, which emits a large amount of soot. Coniferous firewood also behaves, the resin during combustion forms soot in large quantities.

On sale there are special briquettes with chemicals that destroy soot when burned. They are simply kindled in the stove and after 1-2 days the dirt itself will fall into the furnace. From there it won't be too hard to clean it up. But it is not recommended to use such products in baths, as chemistry enters the premises and can adversely affect the health of bathers.

To clean the pipe of the bath from soot, it is easier to use a special ruff, brush. They are hung on a weight and lowered into a pipe. Craftsmen suggest using cut plastic bottles and other devices as cleaning. But you can use these if the pipe has a perfectly flat and smooth inner surface.

Condensate in the pipe

Condensation with soot can block the chimney almost completely.

The resin in firewood contains a certain acidity. For each type of wood, the resin content is different. With the constant use of the bath, the condensate in the pipes has a small resinous precipitate, but with a rare one it can reach a thickness of 3 cm.

It can be difficult to remove such contaminants, because of the increased oiliness, the resinous condensate will simply be smeared on the inner surface during cleaning.

It is possible to clean such a blockage only with a special “chimney sweep log”.

It must be used once a month for prevention, especially if firewood with a high resin content (pine, spruce) is used. If birch is used for kindling, then once every 2-3 months.

Foreign objects in the tube

Black smoke from the chimney is the first sign of a clogged chimney.

The ingress of a foreign object into the chimney is noticeable immediately. The smoke stops escaping and goes back into the bath. With such a firebox, you can easily get poisoned with carbon monoxide. A foreign object may be a brick from a pipe masonry, a bird's nest that has fallen down from the branches of a number of growing trees by the wind.

Getting rid of such a blockage is the most difficult. You can try using a long pole or stick to push the object inward. A nail hook is made at the end of the stick, so you can try to hook the object if it is not a brick.

Telescopic brushes are on sale, the handle extends to the entire length of the pipe. You can try to push the object to her. If none of the methods has brought results, the pipe will have to be dismantled.

Folk ways to clean the pipe

Problems with pipe cleaning arose not only in modern baths. Our grandfathers also fought blockages in their own ways. Some of them proved to be good and are still used today. Moreover, it is better to clean the pipes in the bath without chemicals. Choosing a method for yourself, you need to start from the following factors:

  1. Metal or brick construction. Cleaning a simple metal sandwich pipe is easier because its inside is smooth and even. Brick is harder to clean.
  2. Design, with bends or straight (a straight line is easy to clean with a brush, a chimney with bends is more difficult).
  3. What a mess.
  4. Pipe diameter.

How to know when it's time to clean

A weight with a ruff will clean any blockage mechanically.

There are several ways to determine whether it is time to clean the pipe. The most common is to use a kettlebell. It is selected according to the diameter of the pipe. On a rope, lowering a weight into a pipe, they watch how it passes: freely or not. If the kettlebell gets stuck, then the time for cleaning is long overdue. In this way, by throwing and lifting the weight, you can clean the pipe from large contaminants.

The second folk way to watch the smoke during kindling. If it is colorless or whitish, then the chimney is clean. The appearance of clouds of soot and black smoke should alert the owner and cause the start of cleaning actions.

Of course, with the exception of raw and pine firewood, since when the resin is burned, the smoke also has a dark color.

For kindling a bath, it is generally better to use dry chocks that have lain under a canopy for at least 1-2 months. Linden and birch firewood is preferable, since there is practically no soot from them.

Cleaning with water

You can try to clean the chimney with plain water, the method is ineffective for severe blockages.

If the structure is iron, with a small diameter, then in winter you can put a lump of snow 9-10 cm in diameter into it. It will melt and wash the pipe, and gradually sliding down, scrape off the digging with sharp ice floes. But after that, the stove must be heated, so the pipe dries out and does not freeze from the inside. And on metal, without drying, rust can form inside, this will shorten its service life.

In the same way, 1-2 liters of warm water are poured into the pipe before kindling. Do it gradually along the walls. With such a cleaning, black smoke clouds of soot will appear from the chimney during the furnace.

In factory expensive models of the furnace there is a special overlapping system. Snow should not be thrown into such a design, but it will be easier to spill water. A container is placed inside the furnace furnace where digging and soot will drain and fall down, only then they spill water.

Cleaning with aspen

Cleaning the chimney with aspen is the oldest and most proven method.

Our grandfathers noticed that during the combustion of aspen firewood, pieces of soot and soot appear in the furnace that have fallen off the chimney. This phenomenon was later explained by the composition of aspen smoke, which can break down deposits on pipes. After such cleaning, a layer of dirt will crumble inside the stove in small pieces for 1-2 days.

Perform cleaning as follows:

The stove is kindled as for a regular sink, and at the very end, aspen firewood is thrown 1-2 times. They will not give a special heat, but they will clean the pipe. Later, the procedure can be repeated as a prophylaxis 1-2 times a month.

Before cleaning, a special device is attached to the top - a spark catcher. You can make it from an old tin can: the walls are cut out and rolled up in the form of a cone. The cone is attached to the pipe at a distance of 5–7 cm from above. Sparks during combustion will enter the device and the possibility of ignition is reduced.

Sellers often offer chemical Kominichek or Stumpfyre as cleaners. But the use of compounds in the bath is unacceptable!

Whether or not to clean the pipe of the bath is not a question. Cleaning is necessary and systematic. Once a month, do prophylaxis with the help of a "chimney-sweep" or aspen firewood. Only in this way the bath will serve its owner for a long time, and the chimney will not burn out ahead of time. In addition to all of the above, it will be difficult to burn in a properly functioning bath. And the proposed video in this article will help you choose a convenient cleaning method.

Three ways to clean a bath pipe

Today it is not easy to find a professional chimney sweep. There are practically none. It's a pity. After all, many are faced with the problem of how to clean the pipe in the bath, which is in almost every summer cottage.

Why is this needed?

Some people think that there is no need to clean chimneys at all. And in vain. Even with a trembling owner, a well-built stove cannot keep perfect cleanliness for years. Especially if we are talking about a bath, into the furnace of which in our country it is customary to throw everything that comes to hand. And the deposition of even a small amount of soot on the walls of the chimney narrows its clearance, which, as a result, causes a deterioration in traction, and, consequently, insufficient heating of the chimney walls, and increased smoke in the room during kindling. The overall efficiency of the furnace is also reduced.

But, of course, the most unpleasant surprise is the spontaneous combustion of the chimney and wooden floors, which, in turn, can pose a threat not only to property, but also to your health or even life.

There are three types of stove blockages:

  • Condensate
  • A certain amount of accumulated soot
  • Any foreign object in the pipe

Back to content

Condensation and soot

Condensation is a weak acidic solution that appears as a result of irregular use of the firebox. Because of it, the masonry of the walls is gradually destroyed over time, and resinous deposits form on the outer surfaces of the furnace.

To prevent such a process, you need to use a special cleaning agent several times a month - a “chimney sweep log”, which is sold in almost all hardware stores. When burned, it produces carbon-based smoke, and it just eats away condensate, as well as tar deposits.

If the pipes for the bath are full of accumulated soot, then it will be somewhat more difficult. In this case, they resort to the classic method of cleaning the pipe: having climbed onto the roof, it is necessary to lower a rope with a ruff and a weight tied to it into the chimney and gently clean off the pollution with smooth up and down movements. Moreover, the ruff should be slightly larger than the hole in the pipe so that it can freely penetrate there and at the same time remove soot. Most modern pipes have one significant advantage - special side windows through which this can be done much faster.

There is also a preventive way to combat the formation of soot. Currently, special compounds are being produced (for example, an anti-lime chemical composition or simply PHC), which treat the inner surface of chimneys or burn them together with firewood. During combustion, a non-toxic gas is released, which causes plaque to crumble from the walls, and most importantly, prevents its further formation. Folk remedies for getting rid of soot on the walls of the chimney are also known - burning aspen logs or potato peelings.

Back to content

Foreign object

The most difficult pollution is the presence of a foreign body in the chimney, for example, a collapsed brick or a fallen bird's nest. Occupying a fairly large space, such an item prevents smoke from escaping. You can get rid of it with the help of the same weight on a rope or usually a pole, which is not difficult to push the garbage from above. But if the thing has been in the bowels of the chimney for a long time, then this method is unlikely to help.

The most effective tool will be a brush that has an adjustable handle with the ability to lengthen as it penetrates deep into the pipe by adding new sections. But if this did not help, in the case, for example, when the nest is on the side, then you will have to disassemble the pipe and remove the “interference” with your hands.

How often do you need to clean chimneys for a bath? From garbage - once a year, this is the minimum. But as for the growth of soot, then it all depends on its amount and the frequency of use of the steam room. By the way, the layer of soot depends on the fuel used.

Advice from the master!

If you burn charcoal, dry firewood or fuel briquettes, then there will be practically no soot.

But we often throw everything into the furnace in the bath - household waste, garbage, and even plastic and polyethylene. In this case, the chimney clogs up very quickly. Thus, thinking about what you throw into the stove, and trying not to clog it with excess rubbish, you will make it easier for yourself to clean the pipes, and you will do it much less often.

How and what to clean the chimney

When using any solid fuel, products of incomplete combustion accumulate in the chimney, which settle on the walls in the form of a soft coating. If you do not clean it in time, the clearance will decrease, which will significantly worsen traction. And so much so that the smoke goes into the room. In the worst case, the soot can catch fire, which is fraught with the destruction of the pipe or even a fire. Cleaning the chimney is practically the only way to avoid this. It is necessary to inspect the condition of the pipe twice a year - before and after the heating season. And how often you have to clean it depends on whether you use preventive chimney cleaning methods or not.



This is the result of a soot fire.

There are two types of chimney cleaning type:


Traditional cleaning - mechanical

Chimney sweeps have been cleaning soot in this way for centuries. Cleaning is carried out from the roof. A special projectile is lowered into the pipe - a core, to the center of which a flexible cable is welded / attached. Above the core there is a brush that crushes soot, and the core is a weighting element that simultaneously checks the patency of the pipe. When working, you need to be careful: if the traction is good, knocked down soot and other debris will fly into your face. Therefore, first put on goggles and a respirator, and also tie yourself to a pipe: with a sudden release in the face, a person involuntarily makes a sharp movement. How it can end on the roof, you can probably imagine.



This design - a ruff with a core on a cable - can be done independently, but the main snag is in the right load. It should be round and centered. No ordinary weights, heavy pieces of iron are suitable. They work for the time being, and then the tied load becomes “by surprise” in the pipe and no efforts can get it out of there. Often, in order to extract the projectile, disassembly of a fragment of the chimney is required. If you are going to clean the chimney yourself, either make or buy the “right projectile” that under no circumstances will get stuck in the chimney. Taping a brush, making it from metal or synthetic bristles - these are already details that usually do not cause difficulties.



Sometimes the pipe is too high to be reached even from the roof. In this case, the chimney is cleaned from below. If the chimney is metal and there is a cleaning glass, it is unscrewed and a ruff on a flexible rod is filled into the pipe. In some cases, not rods are used, but rigid wire. If there is no glass, maybe there is a cleaning hole, if there is none, then you will either have to disassemble the beginning of the chimney, or clean it through the firebox, which is completely inconvenient.

There is one more thing: if the pipe is metal, brushing is not enough - a large amount of plaque remains on the walls. In order for the cleaning to be of high quality, instead of a brush, a lump of rags is wound onto a wire or rod. Such cleaning of the chimney leaves behind almost perfectly clean walls.

Homemade chimney brush

One option is to make a cleaning brush out of polypropylene pipes. Pipes are cut into fragments of approximately 1.5 meters. Threaded fittings are installed on the ends. A metal brush for a grinder is attached to one of them.



Previously, the wire on the brush is fluffed with pliers or pliers. It turns out a home-made cleaning telescopic rod for the chimney.

How to make a chimney cleaner from a plastic bottle, see the video.

How to clean a very high or curved chimney

Sometimes the pipe rises very high above the ridge. Not to call a special vehicle with a lifting platform every time to clean the chimney? The issue is resolved with the help of a very long cable, in the middle of which a brush of a suitable diameter is attached.

A small load is tied to the end of the cable, thrown into the pipe, pulled out from the other end. The cable remains inside, and its second end hangs outside. When it becomes necessary to shake the soot, they simply pull one end, then the other, moving the brush tied to the cable. The total length of the cable is three pipe heights.

The problem of a pipe with a bend is solved in the same way - you only have to somehow drag the cable through the knee for the first time, and then you only need to pull the ends of the cable.

Soot cleaning chemicals

Any chemical means are only preventive measures and a way to make mechanical cleaning more rare. You can cope without mechanical removal of plaque only if you have a stainless steel or ceramic chimney, and then, with the regular use of one or more products from this category.

Keep in mind that if you haven't cleaned your chimney for a long time, and you start using one of the chemicals, there is a chance that you will completely "plug" the draft. These substances do not remove or dissolve deposits, but only soften them. Softened soot and soot either fly away in the form of flakes into the pipe, or fall down. If the stove is reversible, with long curved smoke channels, soot can clog the gap. It will be necessary to open the cleaning windows, remove the soot and everything that has fallen in there. If the pipe is straight, after using these products, it is necessary to clean the firebox - within a few days, the fallen sediment will fall into it.

Folk chemicals

Let's start with "folk" means for dissolving soot. Even our grandmothers periodically sprinkled a certain amount of salt on burning firewood. So that at the same time soot flies into the chimney, and does not pour in, the chimney is very well heated, the fireman at full power for a while. Then half a kilogram-kilogram of salt is poured into the fire and they continue to heat for another hour and a half. If the pipe is hot enough, gray or black flakes will start flying into the pipe. For several days, then the remains can pour inward, but the bulk burns out in the pipe.

Many are well acquainted with the effects of potato starch. In the same way, with a well-heated oven, they pour on firewood near a bucket of potato peelings (you can cut potatoes, you can starch). The effect is almost the same, with the only difference that almost everything falls inside.

Another option for "folk" chimney cleaners is to burn a few aluminum cans. In this case, the fire must be really hot: firewood with a high heat capacity is needed. Then aluminum really burns - the can disappears in 5-7 minutes. If it just darkens, there will be no effect.

store preparations

There are a variety of chimney cleaners available in stores. Some of them are produced in the form of packaged powder, others - in the form of logs or briquettes. Read the instructions before buying. There are preparations designed for open fireboxes - such as a fireplace, there are - for closed ones, such as bath or heating stoves. It is not recommended to interchange them - after all, chemistry ...



The range of chemicals for cleaning the chimney is constantly updated, but there are drugs that have existed for more than a dozen years. Their impact has already been well studied. Below we will talk about the most popular and common.


The composition of these funds, of course, is not disclosed, the principle of operation is rather poorly described: under the influence of gases emitted during combustion (safe for humans), soot dries out, burns out, becomes brittle and flies out into the pipe or crumbles down. An example of such a log for cleaning the chimney of a German manufacturer in the video.

Thermal chimney cleaning methods

The action of this method is based on the fact that soot is a high-calorie combustible substance. The temperature in the chimney is brought to the point where it flares up and burns out. The problem is that the burning temperature of soot is about 1100°C and few chimneys and fire cuts (when passing through the ceiling or roof) are able to withstand such heating.

Its one very unpleasant and dangerous feature is that if a lot of soot has accumulated, the moment of ignition is very similar to an explosion. Almost the same sound is heard, and the air wave is palpable. So, not weak shock load is added to the extremely high temperatures. There were times when even the coarse stoves fell apart. So this method is a dangerous undertaking.

Thermal cleaning is implemented simply: take dry aspen firewood and heat the stove. Their burning temperature is very high, and after a while the soot flares up. If aspen is heated periodically, the deposits simply do not have time to be deposited in sufficient quantities to cause any tangible harm during combustion. But on a clogged chimney, this method is dangerous to use.

How and how to clean the chimney yourself

When and how to clean the chimney, experienced professionals know. This process must be carried out regularly. The soot that accumulates in the pipe narrows the channel, reducing draft. As a result, the wear of the walls of the chimney is accelerated, the efficiency of the system is reduced. Cleaning the pipe will avoid such troubles.

Basic techniques

Experts identify two main ways to clean a chimney pipe:

This procedure is required

  • mechanical;
  • chemical.

You can clean the chimney with a brush, performing translational and rotational movements. This method has several advantages:

  • high efficiency in the presence of solid deposits and blockages;
  • low cost;
  • the ability to clean the brick from soot with your own hands.

However, this method is considered dangerous, since the work is carried out on the roof of a house or bath.

The ruff is a steel cable with a handle and a plastic or wire nozzle. Before figuring out how to clean the chimney with a brush, you need to consider that this product comes in different lengths. The ruff is inserted into the canal forward with a nozzle, while its handle rotates. The nozzle effectively solves the problem of how to clean the brick.

This process is carried out subject to certain requirements. First you need to open all the views and valves that block the draft in the fireplace or stove. A soot container is installed under the chimney. During the procedure, it is recommended to cover the furniture with a cloth.

When figuring out how to clean the chimney, pay attention to the mandatory use of a safety belt. The head is removed from the pipe and the ruff is inserted into the channel. If it is necessary to clean the pipe in the bath, the length of which is more than 3 m, this process is recommended to be carried out by two people: one person will direct the cable, and the second will rotate the handle.

In any case, you must follow the safety rules. Often the cable does not pass through the lumen of the channel. In this case, you will need to find out where it is stuck: on a straight line or on a bend. In the first case, experts recommend tying a load to a rope and lowering it sharply into the channel.

When the soot stops pouring into the furnace, the work on cleaning the pipe stops. Knowing how to clean the brick of the chimney system will help with all operations. The final step is to check the traction. To do this, you need to light a newspaper.

Complex channels

Often, a Russian stove has a complex chimney system. It is impossible to clean it from the roof of a building with a ruff, especially if it includes several turns at right angles. In this case, the channel is cleaned mechanically.

First, the heating unit is inspected. On the walls there should be doors that are equipped to clean the chimney. Under the doors put a container for soot. The standard nozzle of the ruff is replaced by a plastic bottle, which is pre-cut into 2 parts and around the circumference so as to get a camomile. The ends of the wire, which act as a ruff, are collected in a bundle. First, a hole is made in the cork of the bottle and this beam is passed through it. The cork is screwed onto the bottle. This design is softer than the metal counterpart, so it more effectively solves the problem of how to clean the brick of a complex channel.

This device is inserted into the chimney from the side of the firebox and pushed as deep as possible through the channel. When pushed, the impromptu ruff rotates. Periodically, soot is removed from the pipe. You need to clean the system until the amount of soot is minimal. Similarly, I clean the chimney from the side of each door.

The next step is to open the dampers and clean the pipe from the roof of the house. Do not perform this work before cleaning the chimney, otherwise the pipe will become clogged with soot. It is recommended to clean the chimney from the firebox side 2 times. Soot from the views and valves is swept away with a brush. The doors are closed, the draft is checked. If it is good, the stove is kindled with a small amount of firewood. Often the doors for cleaning the chimney channel smoke. You can eliminate this phenomenon by covering them with a solution of sand and clay.

Advice from the master!

In some cases, craftsmen install removable bricks in the kiln. Experts do not recommend taking them out and putting them in without proper experience. Such heating units should only be cleaned by stoves.

Chemical method

Regular cleaning of the chimney involves the use of special tablets and liquids, the components of which are part of the products intended for cleaning the sewer.

Special cleaning chemicals

The principle of operation of such compounds is to split the components of soot. Its hard crust turns into a powdery mass, which burns easily in the lower part of the heating unit. These chemicals are easy to use. They are placed on firewood when the stove is fired. This procedure is performed taking into account the recommendations indicated on the packaging of the liquid.

Experts identify several options for preventing blockages and soot deposits in the chimney. The first method is to carry out insulation work with your own hands. In this case, the formation of condensate in the pipe during the combustion process is reduced. In winter, due to the temperature difference between the outer and inner surfaces of the channel, a solid precipitate of resin and moisture is formed. You can reduce the formation of condensate by installing special pipes of the “sandwich” type. They are equipped with non-combustible insulation material.

Another technique involves the regular use of combustion catalysts, which are sold in the form of tablets or logs. When cleaning the chimney in this way, the amount of soot deposits on the walls of the system is reduced.

If the stove is heated with wood, experts advise sometimes adding dry aspen logs to them. Aspen, when burned, forms a high and strong flame. It is able to destroy the binding components of soot, burn them. In this case, smoke is released, which, rising up the pipe, contributes to the release of soot from the chimney system. It is recommended to carry out such prevention in the winter so that soot falls on the snow.

Advice from the master!

Owners of private houses and baths should know that they need to clean the chimney pipe every summer. In winter, preventive measures are taken to improve the operation of the heating unit.

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