There may still be some snow outside where you are, but spring is near! After a long winter of keeping your home warm, you’ll need Union County chimney repairs and cleaning. Your heating system and chimney has worked hard this winter, and now it needs attention too. For the bigger repairs, consider hiring a local Union County contractor for the job. However, a lot of the cleaning you could do yourself if you’d like. Here are a few tools you can use to help you clean out that chimney.
Aluminum Foil | Union County Chimney Repair
If you’d like to make your fireplace cleaning experience easier, consider laying aluminum foil each time before you light a fire. After the ashes cool down, you can lift the aluminum foil up and out for a quick clean up process. This way you don’t have to sweep and scrounge as much.
Coffee Grounds
If you’re forced to sweep out the chimney, lots of people use coffee grounds to weigh down the dust and ashes. This makes sweeping easier because you get less dust flying in all directions. The soot is extremely light, so having something natural to dampen it will make the cleaning much easier.
Vinegar | Union County Chimney Repair
If you have white stains left behind on your bricks, a mixture of half vinegar and half water will help.The white stains indicate a moisture problem or fireplace leak as it is salt leaking out of the bricks, so if you encounter this, call someone about chimney repairs. For now, scrub away those stains and dry with a towel.
Coke
Did you know that your favorite soda can also clean off the stains on almost anything? If you have soot stains all over the bricks, mix together a can of coke, three and a half ounces of all purpose cleaner and water, then spread the mixture onto your stains. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then scrub with a stiff brush and sponge with water. Add more soda for the harder stains.
Baking Soda | Union County Chimney Repair
Another cure for sooty bricks is a half cup of baking soda mixed with a quart of warm water. After a bit of scrubbing and wiping down, the bricks will look as good as new. It’s a simple cure for various fireplace stains.
Salt
Similar to coffee grounds, sprinkling some salt into the fireplace makes the soot and dust easier to gather. Salt can also put out the last bit of flame from your fireplace. Just toss some salt onto the glowing embers to put out the fire and make the ashes easier to clean out.
Newspaper | Union County Chimney Repair
After you clean out and sweep the bottom of the fireplace, remove the grate and lay down some newspaper. Cover the entire bottom and bend up the newspaper a few inches along the sides of the fireplace. Scrape the sides of your fireplace with a wire brush and see the ashes collect on the newspaper. Now you can easily wrap up the newspaper and throw it all in the trash.
Cat Litter
If you notice your fireplace starts to smell after a while, cat litter can help. After thoroughly cleaning out your fireplace, place a generous layer of kitty litter underneath the grate in the fireplace. This should soak up the bad smells over time. Try switching out the litter once a week for the best results.
Lemon Peels | Union County Chimney Repair
When you use paper to start up your fires, it produces a lot more creosote, making a much dirtier fire. Instead of burning papers, try using lemon or orange peels to fuel the fire. You’re not using the peels anyway so it saves resources, helps the fire burn longer, and gives your home a fresh scent.
For more information on Deegan Roofing’s Union County chimney repair services and more, visit our website or call 855-793-1010 today.