Can You Burn Creosote Out of Chimney? | Ask Russ

One relatively common question we get is whether you can clean your chimney by burning the creosote out. Today, CSIA Director of Education Russ Dimmitt is here to tell you why this is a VERY BAD idea. Watch as Russ goes into the science of why you don't want to do start a fire to clean creosote, and how expensive non-maintenance of your chimney can be!

[@timothkeyyprice]

Designed my chimney so that I could burn it out. 3 layers stainless steel, 2 inches perlite, the 10 inches of outside chimney. Been burning it with chimney fires when it is raining for 30 years. Love it.

[@barnabyaprobert5159]

Imagine that, a chimney sweep says that only a chimney sweep can save you. For a price. Hundreds of dollars to do 15 minutes worth of work.

[@justinmoody6721]

didn't listen did you, he didn't say only a chimney sweep can save you, he said don't burn out the chimney. Actually pay attention next time.

[@seven1378]

Reminds me of Big Pharma!

[@Tanner.Bananner]

I am a chinney sweep, and while it is something that you could do yourself, you'd need to know what you're doing. Sweeping a chimney isnt all that is done to clean it and ensure that it's safe to burn. Identifying and removing different stages of creosote can save you from burning your house down. For example, people often use creosote sweeping logs to loosen stage 1 creosote, thinking its an alternative to hiring a professional, but it only breaks down a percentage of stage 1 creosote and can do more damage than good if too much creosote ash builds up inside the flue, since not all flues are straight and the theory behind creosote logs is that the creosote ash will drop straight down into the firebox--but often it gets stuck in a chamber above your damper and is very difficult to clean without proper tools. Its also a dirty and very uncomfortable job to get inside a firebox and clean it by hand. You also need to use tarps and a vacuum to keep your house from getting covered in soot and ash and even mortar dust, which can be an indication that repairs on your chimney are needed. That's something that chimney experts can identify: inspecting the structural integrity of your chimney can help you repair what is needed. And as for other stages of creosote, they can cause chimney fires if not removed, which could require liquid anti crosote spray that you can spray yourself into your fire or onto a log before burning, or anti crosote powder which is more powerful and effective in breaking the tar-like creosote into ash, but it needs to be applied to the inside of the chimney. Plus, you'll need to get onto a ladder on your roof, in some cases, it could be a roof ontop of a roof and having to use a ladder ontop of that, something that could be done yourself if you're up for it ;) The point is, you could see having your chimney cleaned as "15 minutes of work" and costing "hundreds of dollars", or you could see there's a lot that goes into cleaning chimneys and keeping your house from burning or your chimney from cracking and causing potentially thousands of dollars in damage. P.s. The point I'm making isnt just for the sake of argument. But if you have been burning a lot of fires and haven't had your chimney professionally cleaned for some time, you should probably do so soon. It's better to spend a few hundred dollars once or twice a year than to ignore it and have your house burned down. And I do mean a few hundred as an estimate. Our company only charges 250.

[@richardprice5978]

@@Tanner.Bananner what's the most common neglect from not using the the flue/fireplace masonry style? you see or know about as my sweep i just started working with told me because i haven't used it for 10 or so years leaf's and pests and moisture is damaging mine mostly from the water and not dying it back out gently, thank you as a profession as i saved my hide from stupid at least i had enough brains to ask a pro before just winging it with a full fire 🔥in there

[@Tanner.Bananner]

@@richardprice5978 if you're getting damage from moisture you should check to see if you have any leaks in your tile or if you have a good mudcap and raincap on top. And usually peoples flashing around the chimney is awful and needs to be replaces. Leaving your chimney for a long time without using it isnt necessarily a bad thing. The more you use it the more its going to wear down. But definitely have it checked to see if you have a good mudcap and tile and raincap and see if there are any cracks in the bricks or if the chimney is coming away from the wall, a gap between the chimney and your house will cause water damage and that should be calked or if it's a big gap, it can be repaired with foam and or mortar. As for damage, im guessing youve probably got crumbling bricks and mortar/grout falling away on the inside. Cracks in your firebox should be fixed if you do have any. But even if you havent used your chimney in a long time, having it cleaned and inspected before using it again is a good idea before starting a fire. Like you said, twigs and birds nest or leaves falling in over time can make a mess. The main thing to worry about though is cracks in the bricks and mortar and any gaps that need to be filled and having a good raincap, mudcap, tile and flashing around the chimney.

[@mikecondoluci53]

ive been heating my house with wood for 40yrs , i throw a 12 oz can of rock salt in my stove a day before i clean my chimney the creosote is almost gone it drys up and falls back into the stove never hada problem doing this, sure makes life easy

[@johnchandler1687]

I just cut a few cedar saplings and let them get about half dried out. Then, once a year, stuff them in bottom of chimney and light a fire under them. That hot burn from the cedar would light off the deposits in it and burn them out. Looked like a jet out the top of the chimney. Di it when it's raining or real heavy fog or you might light surrounding stuff.😊

[@davidprocter3578]

The best way to put out a chimney fire is to cut off its air supply, providing you can do this effectively the fire will go out almost instantly. Works whatever type of fire place you have no air no fire second best way is to spray a fine water mist into the fire, this will rise up the chimney on the draft cooling as it goes, steam cleaners work quite well, The old house wives tale of throwing onions onto a fire may well have more credence than you might think the steam given off by the onions probably would help to dowse the chimney fire, might be a little slow though. One of those hand squirt bottles found under every kitchen sink would likely do a better job. For those of you that remember your school science expanding steam causes a vacuum and whilst this is lessened in a fast moving air stream it will still help to reduce the amount of available oxygen.

[@wfwehfoweh]

My flu tile is surrounded by 2 feet of concrete and stone, not concerned about a chimney fire. If it were a pipe liner surrounded by wood building materials then absolutely!

[@falcorthewonderdog2758]

An old mountain man told me a secret way to clean a chimney. Toss a large russet potato into your woodstove once a week. The chemicals in the burning potato dries up the creosote deposits causing rhem to dry out and fall back into your firebox. It works i used this technique for 10 years. Looking up into my chimney the coatings are dry and look like soot. No creosote deposits anywhere.

[@paulhare662]

Does it have to be Russet? I occasionally have a tater or two get soft & toss them out. Don't know what kind they are, wife does the shopping. Would any old tater do?

[@Saydiddly]

I have a boiler outside in a house I just moved into. I was just inside the firebox yesterday, scraping out as much creosote as I possibly could, getting ready for winter. I noticed that there’s such a buildup of shiny, hard creosote inside the box, that looks like the rock “onyx.” How in the heck do I get that out?? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@dubrd5926]

Years ago I had a house with a fireplace and masonry chimney. I never cleaned the chimney but about every couple of months a raging chimney fire would start on its own. Never noticed any damage to the chimney. After a couple of years of that I moved, so I don't know if I could have gone on like that indefinitely but I suspect I could have.

[@ChrisJohnson-tz9gr]

I wanted to know if you could take that scraped creosote and throw it in the part that's designed to contain fire.

[@davidprocter3578]

As long as you burn that creosote hot it will be fine. I use to be a sweep and experimented with soot burning stoves. however you burn general soot you end up with fly ash. When I sweep my own chimney I leave the soot in the grate and light a hot wood fire on top, Did you know soot very good for arable fields gets rid of many pests and diseases, slugs potato eel worm moss in grass and can help with soil fertility

[@trajan6927]

Just pay the $300 once per year for a professional sweep and inspection performed with a camera. Burn your wood dry, and hot, and once in awhile thrown in a creosote burning log. Why fool around with burning your house down or killing your family to save $300 bucks. Nuts!

[@Sugarsail1]

I have a stainless liner in my insert I put in myself for $500 bucks, if I get a chimney fire I'll just put another one in for $500 and an hour of work. Let it burn, it'll be fun to watch.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

Better have hose ready in range if your roof gets involved. That won't make you chuckle.

[@rcnelson]

What is 3rd degree creosote?

[@tylerdahl-homeinspector264]

Great video.

[@123spleege]

i have never had a creosote issue. However, I have typically very hot stove temps. 650 to 800 degrees for short times. It burns everything out.

[@David-fv7zg]

What about burning dry, well seasoned pine?

[@volvo09]

If it's dry, and does not smoke (ie, burned in a modern stove with secondary air) you won't have creosote to worry about. If you have a stove that smokes all the time, you'll have buildup, 100%... And it can be fast. If you have a good modern stove, burn hot, and good insulated chimney you may never have any considerable creosote buildup, only way to know is to check. And if you were asking about cleaning, you can't clean a chimney by switching wood. Creosote is a condensate, a tar contained in smoke that condenses in the cool chimney.

[@Sugarsail1]

@@volvo09 yup , always make sure to burn a hot fire if you can, start with small kindling then only add bigger wood as it gets hot enough to not smoke.

[@jacquesblaque7728]

@@Sugarsail1 To minimize creosote, I'd suggest upside-down fire start. Biggest pieces @bottom with progressively smaller pieces above. Light the top. Infrared transfers heat very well below and to the sides, and NOT having cooler unburned pieces in the flame path stops quenching (cool bits stopping combustion) that otherwise would occur. Smoke from quenched wood flames is just hot aerosol creosote. Keep draft relatively open at least until the secondaries are well and truly lit off.

[@jimmieburleigh9549]

What about southern pine. It's a real sappy pine compared to northern pines.

[@ronniethode8036]

Does burning straight waste oil create creosote thank you

[@zanegrey4364]

It makes an oily soot. It gets everywhere and is difficult to get off your skin and will stain your clothes and anything it touches. I wear an oil suit when I have messed with them. The oil suit is like a disposable overall that looks like what spray painters wear but feels a bit waxy.

[@patcornwell9298]

You can burn clean out your chimney with fire ,you can also burn your house down ! If you have had a chimney fire you know it not a good way to clean it . You go out side fire come out 3 or 4 ft above the chimney! Don’t let your chimney build up ,keep it clean . I some times knock it down and burn it in the stove.

[@laurierenaud1210]

Is it legal to burn pallets with creasote

[@chimneygeorge]

Pallets are great to burn, nails dont hurt anything and they are often a comb of hard and soft wood. Soft to start the fire more easily and hard for the longer burn time. I love pallets for burning. Just use a skill saw to cut them up, dont bother pulling nails, and stuff in your fireplace!

[@RickPolley]

One danger of a chimney fire is the sparks shooting out of the chimney and catching your roof on fire. Just sayin'

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

I have a flu liner stainless I open my doors and burn it out the top like a Roman candle 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️ 🤣

[@LostBeagle]

I burn primarily anthracite coal in my DS Heatright stove after starting the fire with wood. Do I meed to clean my class A steel chimney liner ?

[@olivertaylor8788]

I have burned my chemney CLEAN for 30 years,no problems.

[@MrSprintcat]

We lived in a farm house with dirt floors in the basement. in somerset mass .my farther had a pot bell stove in the old chimney with copper coils wrapped around the stove for hot water.the stove would get cherry red all the time . He raised 8 kids in that house. We are all fine . 🤣.I'm not saying to do that but the proof is in the pudding . He never cleaned the chimney. We have a camp up in Maine for 25 years never cleaned the flue once 🤣Vermont casting wood stove. So what should we do clean the flue? We looked at it this summer after rebuilding the stove perfectly clean .🤣 What gives ?

[@voidisyinyangvoidisyinyang885]

sounds like you have stoves that can handle the heat - that thick cast iron can probably tolerate 900 F. plus on a regularly basis - for a clean burn and probably don't have the damper turned down much. It's when people try a slow damped down fire and then during the night when the firebox cools down too much - then the smoke condenses in the duct pipe. So if you burn real hot with a cast iron thick stove then it's a different set up. The "EPA stoves" are set up to do long slow burns that cool down over time and so the creosote builds up.

[@chimneygeorge]

Most fireplaces burn dirty. Many folks dont know how to burn their wood stoves and they can load up with creosote quick. I could tell u horror stories of some of the stuff ive found. Some folks know how to use their fireplaces, most dont, thats part of what we charge for, instruction on how to use.

[@anniemiller7729]

The music is loud.

[@datnuocmattroimoc9131]

Thật tuyệt vời

[@426superbee4]

This is a safety feature! Keep a bucket of water near the fireplace. Also a bottle of spray water is nice to control the flames > It ever hurts to drown out a fire

[@johnjaco5544]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@MontanaWelldigger]

Smokey Bear, is that you??

[@426superbee4]

@@MontanaWelldigger Please Prevent burning your house down

[@MontanaWelldigger]

@426superbee4 Mr Bee, if you don't mind, me asking. Do you have an old Mopar? I'm currently without one but I had a 74 charger for almost 40 years.

[@426superbee4]

@@MontanaWelldigger ITS not a old one. its a 06 Super Bee God i love it SHES A BEAST