Fireplace logs for cleaning chimney?

Question

I just bought a house with a fireplace. I heard that you can buy special logs to burn that will clean your chimney out. Anyone ever try them? Or is it just better to have someone come clean it for you? Or is it something you can DIY? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx in advance.

Answer 1

Fireplace logs for cleaning out the chimney do not work well. They are great for every several logs you burn, to throw a cleaner log in to help sluff off any debris that has stuck to the sides. If you just bought your home, I would definetely have a chimney sweep come clean it out if you don't know the last time it was done. Then, you can maintain the chimney inexpensively. It's a small price to pay compared to losing your home to a fire. It's common for chimney fires to start on the roof top and by the time you know it, it's too late to save. Not to scare you but my fireplace was a concern for me and so to play it safe not sorry is smart! One piece of burning ember blown up out the stack onto the roof is all it takes. You may be able to look on the internet to find out how it's done and do it yourself. Getting dirty and into uncomfortable positions would be the worst of it. Your call!

Answer 2

You can clean your own chimney - I do it all the time, and I have an airtight wood burning stove which accumulates a lot more creosote than a fire place.
Find the inside diameter of your chimney (it will be smaller than the outside). You can climb on the roof and take the cap off the chimney, then measure the inside of the hole.
Then buy a chimney brush and the length of rods you need to reach all the way down the chimney.
With the chimney cap off, push the brush down the chimney, rotate clockwise and pull back out.
Then reattach the chimney cap.
ONLY rotate clockwise, otherwise you can rotate the brush off the rods and get it stuck in the chimney.

Answer 3

It depends on last time the chimney was cleaned properly. If it has been quite a while (more than 4 winters) I would have someone come in to have it done professionally. If not the logs work fine. You can get them at a lot of places, but I think the less expensive place would be Home Depot. Good luck. I love my fireplace!

Answer 4

Some good information here, I might add. When you go looking for a sweep, go to your local fire department and ask the guys there if they know a good sweep. You may find that one of them is in the business, who better to get information from.

Just for your information. back in the time when people didn't have access to sweeps because they lived in rural settings it was not uncommon for a man to intentionally get his fireplace so hot that he would intentionally start a chimney fire after the first big snow, the sparks and cinders would spew out the top and fall onto the roof. Doing this prevented the same thing from accidentally happening w/o the snow and starting a roof fire.

Answer 5

Get it done professionally this time,maybe use the web or references from people you know to find a reputable business(should be bonded). If they are it will be in their advertising and they will have hard copy proof. Firelogs can be replaced with the occasional cup of rock salt burned in the fireplace,salt is the active ingredient in them anyway,but if the flue is in bad shape creosote-wise you risk starting a seriously hot flue fire.Enjoy the fireplace,roast some chestnuts,but make sure every thing is in order first. Good luck. PeeTee

Answer 6

I wouldn't trust any of the chimney cleaning logs to do the same job as a qualified chimney sweep.

Answer 7

have it cleaned by a sweep and to prevent creosote from building up burn one hot fire a day then damp it down.by that i mean close the damper some. i hear creosote will not form in a fire over 600 degrees. untill the advent of air tight stoves creosote was not much of a problem because the fires burnt hotter in the old days. of course all the heat went up the chimney instead of into the room...

Answer 8

The flue collects moisture (containing resins) on the walls, over time, this build up can catch on fire, if the heat is extreme. The logs you are referring to burns hotter than wood so, in theory it will burn away the residue. Unfortunately, this is also what causes chimneys to catch on fire.

Answer 9

I think they work well for regular maintenence, but as you just bought the house, you might want to get in a professional at least this first time to make sure there are no major concerns or internal issues, and to give it a good starter clean. I would ask them what brands or techniques they recommend for regular maintenence while you're at it!

Answer 10

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