When your chimney gets dirty, you have to hire chimney sweep services to clean the chimney. If you are new to this type of cleaning, you must be wondering what are the various ways of chimney sweeping. Well, there are mainly two, with the common ones being:

Traditional sweeping

The classic chimney sweeping method makes use of a round brush with polypropylene or metal wire bristles (the size or diameter of the brush used is determined by the diameter of the flue to be swept) attached to a rod (often 3 feet long or one meter in modern money).

The cleaning professional pushes the brush up into the chimney flue, pulls it down, and then pushes it back up multiple times.

This brushing action causes the bristles of the brush to rub against the sides of the chimney flue. As a result, any soot trapped inside the chimney loosens and falls to the fire appliance below, where they clean it away.

In order for the brush to traverse and clean the entire length of the flue, the chimney sweep will connect new rods to the preceding one. A typical flue length in a conventional residential property is from 8 to 10 meters (26 to 30 ft in old chimneys).

The more times a chimney sweep pushes up and then retracts the brush inside the chimney flue, the more soot is dislodged, and therefore the flue becomes cleaner.

This kind of chimney sweeping is suitable for older homes where the chimney flue lining is weakened, maybe owing to age, and you can easily remove it.

The truth is that you want the rendering to stay on the chimney flue wall for as long as possible because it serves as a seal or shield for the inside of the chimney flue, preventing smoke and gasses (carbon monoxide) from escaping through the chimney flue and into the property.

Best practices when cleaning the chimney using the traditional method

When you are cleaning, you need to be ultra-cautious about how you go about it. Some of the things to look out for include:

Pushing the brush into the chimney too many times

As the cleaning professional is doing the cleaning, you should note that traditional sweeping is a gentler sweeping approach that requires careful consideration for the preservation of the liner rendering.

When the cleaning professional pushes the chimney brush up and through a brick chimney flue, it puts significant outward pressure on the flue’s bricks.

Too much strain on an ancient and brittle brick chimney flue might cause the bricks to loosen and fall out. This is not good.

In such a case, power sweeping may be a superior sweeping method option because it does not apply too much outward force.

Using a brush with an extremely large diameter

A brush with a big diameter may apply too much stress to the inside of the flue, causing structural damage. A brush that is too tiny for the flue being swept will result in an unsuccessful sweep since it will not come into contact with the chimney flue walls.

A single power sweep brush head is made up of nylon strands that can sweep flues ranging from 4 inches to 2 feet. A single brush suits all sizes. As a result, it is nearly impossible to employ the incorrect brush size when power sweeping.

Power washing

Until recently, chimney sweeps had just one way of sweeping chimneys: the ‘Traditional’ approach, as detailed above. As technology has improved, the chimney sweep’s armory of equipment alternatives has grown.

Plastic advancements have made chimney sweep rods lighter and more flexible while remaining stronger than prior materials such as cane (Malacca) or polypropylene. Rods are even made of aluminum, which provides strength and rigidity while staying lightweight.

A well-equipped sweep will now contain, in addition to traditional brushes and rods, power sweeping equipment and a variety of cabled and cordless electric drills.

The most noticeable distinction between traditional sweeping and power sweeping is the brush used. With power sweeping, the brush or ‘head’ resembles a huge spider. The sweeping head is comprised of thick nylon strands rather than thin bristles like typical brushes.

The second big and evident difference is that with power sweeping, the ‘head’ rotates quickly. The classic method involves manually pushing and pulling the head up and down.

There is no debate or uncertainty about whether the method of sweeping is better and more effective at eliminating soot and creosote. Power sweeping is a clear winner.

While this is the case, because power sweeping is a powerful whipping action type of flue cleaning, caution must be exercised when employing this cleaning system. If the head rotates at an excessive rate, the rendering in an older flue may be damaged, requiring removal.

A skilled chimney sweep will identify the type of flue, such as rendered, clay, stainless steel flexi, or concrete sectional, as soon as they arrive and before beginning the sweeping operation.

During the pre-sweep flue inspection stage, the expert sweeper will know the speed at which the power sweep brush head should rotate to avoid harming the flue walls while cleaning the chimney properly.

You can have the power sweep heads rotational speeds adjusted based on the flue condition and type to be swept.

Things to watch out for when power washing your chimney

As much as power washing your chimney comes with plenty of perks, you should be ultra-cautious about how you go about it. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t use brushes with metal bristles on your chimney.

This is because metal bristles would scratch the lining of your chimney, creating a ‘key’ for creosote to adhere to. As a result, the liner would become corroded. To be safe, only use brushes with soft nylon bristles.

Parting shot

A ‘chain flay’ can be used to remove excess creosote deposits from clay liners and, to a lesser extent, brick flues. Power sweeping comes in handy when it comes to removing large creosote deposits.

Traditional sweeping would struggle to remove as much creosote as sweeping with a chain flay. Again, if the flue is rendered, you shouldn’t use a chain flay.

Regardless of whether you are looking to clean the chimney traditionally or using a power sweep, ensure that you work with experienced chimney contractors Upper Marlboro who know what they are doing. After all, the last thing you want is someone who causes more problems than was originally there.

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