subject: Fireplace Cleaning - Things You Should Know [print this page] Fireplace Cleaning - Things You Should Know
A fireplace is a part of your house that not only helps keep your house warm, but also enhances the aesthetics of your house. However, a home owner must realize that a fireplace must be regularly cleaned to ensure a safe firework experience.
With regular use of a fireplace, creosote, an inflammable, tar-like thing, gathers in the chimney. This must be cleaned by a professional who knows exactly how to clean up a fireplace effectively.
Here are a few useful tips to clean a fireplace:
* Before commencing on cleaning the fireplace, you must cover up any carpeting near the fireplace with the help of a tarp.
* The hearth area must be vacuumed and dusted regularly to eliminate chances of building up of dust and soot. However, you must make sure all the embers have been put off before you embark on sweeping or vacuuming a chimney.
* You must burn only well-dried and tested wood to reduce the building up of hazardous creosote.
* The zones that are prone to creosote accumulation are firebox, chimney and flue.
* Using water to extinguish the fire must be avoided unless there is an emergency. Using water leads to building of paste out of the ashes that is hard to get rid of.
* Avoid using an abrasive cleanser to clean the fireplace as most of such chemical solutions leave behind inflammables.
* Sprinkling coffee grounds over the cooled ashes can help in keeping down the ashes. This can be helpful in fireplace cleaning.
* You can clean the firebox with the help of a stifle-bristle brush.
* Treat the firebricks gently as they disintegrate easily.
* You must be careful while cleaning the edges near the area where a firebox meets the flue. These edges leave gaps to the wall stud where fire can extend.
* If your fireplace is devoid of any ash box, you must remove ash bulk to a dust-bag and vacuum off the light-weight ashes.
* If you have a glass fireplace, you can use a glass cleaner to clean up the fireplace.
A fireplace must be cleaned properly to ensure its proper functioning and also to maintain a healthy environment inside a house. A dirty fireplace can lead to a number of health hazards. You must contact professional cleaners for your fireplace cleaning. Rockville has a good number of expert home improvement centers.
