How sweep your chimney?

Chimney sweeping is not an option but a legal obligation

From a legal point of view and for safety reasons, a chimney cannot work properly if it is not swept on a regular basis. French legislation requires a sweeping once a year for ducts through which gaseous fuel flow and twice a year for ducts through which non renewable liquid or solid fuel (oil, coal, wood) flow. Issuing a certificate is requested by your home insurance, in case of fire in your chimney.

Why sweeping?

• A precaution made compulsory by law.
• It’s a safety prerequisite to its use. A not swept chimney can cause return gas flow in the house, among which carbon monoxide is the main intoxication cause. Sweeping and regular controls reduce risks of toxic emanations and fire.
• It reduces energy consumption. Indeed, many elements obstructing your chimney (soot, branches, nests) lead to an isolating effect, an excessive consumption of fuel resulting in a more important noxious gases emission.

How sweeping?

If you have all the appropriate tools, you can sweep by yourself. Get the right information and be equipped accordingly to do it. It does not relieve you to have your work been checked by a professional to get the certificate needed in case of fire. Indeed, don’t wait for autumn; spring is the best time for chimney sweeping.

Logs for sweeping, sold in stores to clean the chimney flue by burning, cannot replace total chimney sweeping.

In short:

• Protect the surroundings, Put an awning and a receptacle under the chimney flue.
• Put the chimney brush with a hotstick in the flue (up and down movements).
• Scrape inside walls with a brush.
• Empty the container and vaccuum soot debris.
   

Which is the most suitable product to sweep?

Sweeping rods

Your material must be adapted to the shape of your chimney flue.

If your conduit is right, you can use some economic rods with a "thick" diameter of 20 / 18 mm.

If your installation has some "bends", we suggest more flexible rods of a shorter diameter of 9 mm, and the addition of an initial spring of the same joint of the rod. This element allows easily to use the springs and the brush can do its job.

Concerning the Pellet wood stove, the material selection is simplified because we propose a special range of "Pellet wood stove" with an integrated initial spring.

Sweeping brush

When you choose a brush, pay attention that the material and the shape are adapted to your installation.

• Hardened steel: brick chimney flue
• Rilsan: Fuel, wood and coal heating
• Nylon HT (High temperature): Pellet wood stove
• Ball VMC Nylon: conduit VMC

The shape and the diameter of the shape must be adapted to your chimney flue.

Pay attention: the brush joint correspond to the one of your rod.

Chimney-sweeping logs

To simplify the chimney-sweeping of your heating installation, there are some products called "chimney-sweeping logs". They do not replace a chimney-sweeping, but it simplifies its action and its duration over the time. We propose 3 models, depending on your installation:

• Catalytic chimney-sweeping for fuel boilers
• Catalytic chimney-sweeping for pellet wood stove and insert functioning by wood or coal
• Chemical chimney-sweeping special for boilers and and pellet wood stove

Ash recuperator

Tip: use an ash recuperator to protect the vacuum cleaner.

Don’t hesitate to visit our category sweeping to find sweeping products you need.