2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Chimney Flue Cleaning’

Why You Need Furnace Flue Cleaning

Monday, September 22nd, 2014

Even if your home doesn’t have a fireplace, it will need a flue for the furnace to release exhaust. In a gas furnace, the heat from the combustion gas transfers to the air through a heat exchanger, and afterwards the cooled down combustion gas is vented through a flue that safely removes the fumes to the outside of the house. To keep your furnace working at top efficiency and to prevent safety issues from fires or carbon monoxide, you should have annual flue cleaning as part of maintaining the heating system.

The best people to call for furnace flue cleaning are technicians experienced with chimney cleaning. The fully-certified team at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. has many decades of work with chimneys and flues of all kind, and our services include everything from cleaning and sweeping to masonry reconstruction. Call us today for cleaning for your chimney flue in Edina, MN.

The necessity of furnace flue cleaning

Any venting system, such as a furnace flue, will start to gather build-up from the exhaust that move through it. With chimneys, the exhaust build-up from creosote can be quite large. The accumulation is less in a furnace flue, but because the venting cannot be perfect, the flue will eventually require cleaning to remove particle build-up known as “scale.” Not all heating contractors provide this service when maintaining a furnace; you will need to call specialists in chimney cleaning to take care of the job.

Neglecting regular furnace flue cleaning can lead to serious issues. The major one is the flue will become blocked, leading to the exhaust backing up and entering your home. This presents dangers from fire and toxic carbon monoxide exposure.

But even if the flue isn’t blocked, poor venting from scale will create other dangers in the furnace. The reaction of the combustion gas with the heat exchanger will result in corrosion across the metal of the exchanger, a situation that makes it prone to develop cracks that will allow carbon monoxide to escape. The poor venting will also make it difficult for the furnace to work efficiently. Special high-efficiency furnaces depend on clean venting to achieve their energy-saving levels of performance.

Along with regular furnace flue cleaning, you should have the flue cleaned whenever you change your heating system. In some cases, you may need to have a completely new flue constructed to accommodate a higher efficiency furnace. Always check with professionals regarding your heater’s venting when you make a change to the heating system.

Contact us for furnace flue cleaning

Keeping your home safe is our number one priority at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. We have helped homes stay safe and warm with our services for chimneys and flue for many years.

When you need cleaning to take care of your furnace or chimney flue in Edina, MN, make the call to the team at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc.

Continue Reading

Why Do You Need To Have Your Chimney Flue Cleaned?

Monday, August 27th, 2012

Having your chimney flue cleaned is important to the health and safety of your family.  2nd Generation Chimneys is a Minneapolis chimney company that provides thorough chimney flue cleaning, call us today if you need to schedule an appointment!

The Importance of Having Your Chimney Flue Cleaned

When a fireplace or wood stove is used, smoke goes up the chimney where it finally reaches the outside air.  Creosote forms when wood is burned incompletely, or when it is a smoky fire without enough oxygen that causes black smoke to go up the chimney.  During this process the smoke often leaves behind creosote, a dark brown or black tar-like substance that gets deposited on the walls of the chimney.

Creosote can be a fire hazard if too much of it builds up on the inside walls of the chimney.

There are a few kinds of creosote that have differing degrees of stickiness and are each harder to remove than the previous one:

  • Soot that is feather-light and dull gray, brown or black in color that is easy to remove
  • Granular black accumulation that is still fairly easy to remove with a stiff chimney brush
  • Tar-like black coating that is very hard to remove, even with scrapers and power rotary whips
  • Shiny black coating that looks like the inside of the chimney has been glazed over and is nearly impossible to remove

Generally speaking creosote buildup happens during wood burning.  While gas fireplaces burn cleaner, they do let off a lot more moisture which can cause other kinds of build-up to occur.  Additional types of debris that can clog the chimney flue are droppings from animals, nesting of birds, and debris from the presence of insects.  The best way to prevent animals from nesting in the chimney is to have a chimney-top screen.

Having a professional chimney sweep  in Minneapolis such as those at 2nd Generation Chimneys perform your chimney flue cleaning will ensure that not only is it properly cleaned, but that any venting problems or chimney deterioration are identified, as well as any cracks in the liner are found and fixed, and that where applicable new liners are installed.

Continue Reading