How to clean soot from a boiler, stove and chimney

Cleaning the heating equipment of a house from soot is necessary to extend its service life and in accordance with fire safety requirements. The fact is that soot particles can ignite from random sparks, resulting in a fire, and their accumulation prevents the smoke from fully leaving.

Boiler cleaning

When a chimney is contaminated, automatic control systems are usually triggered, notifying residents of problems with smoke removal and the need to clean the system. This is not provided for inside the boiler, and it is necessary to monitor its pollution independently so that poisoning by combustion products does not occur, and the device continues to function normally.

Before cleaning the boiler, it is necessary to turn off the gas and power supply, wait until the boiler cools down completely, and then carefully disassemble it. Cleaning can be carried out in two ways - chemical and mechanical.

Chemical cleaning

The first option is less dusty, faster. Sulfamic and adipic acids are used, as well as special gels. But chemicals corrode not only the soot itself, but also the metal of the boiler. This harmful effect can be reduced by diluting cleaning products, but it will not work to make them completely safe for the metal. So it is recommended to clean only small contaminants that do not require long-term exposure to the metal.

If, nevertheless, it was decided to use the chemical method for large accumulations of soot, then neat grooves are left on their surface with a brush or scraper, which will help solvents penetrate better into the soot. Acids are diluted in water and pumped under pressure into the boiler, then they are washed with plenty of water.

Mechanical cleaning

This method of cleaning involves the physical separation of soot from the surface. It is also imperfect - it is a lengthy process, and if handled improperly, is also harmful to the boiler. When trying to remove soot, its walls can be severely scratched, which will lead to accelerated corrosion of the metal. To prevent this, objects that do not have sharp corners are chosen for cleaning. Tools for mechanical cleaning of the boiler often come with it - these are scrapers, wire brushes, brushes.

They clean the boiler either simply with brushes or use various abrasive substances with them. For a thin layer of soot in 1-2 mm, ordinary soda is also suitable.

In addition to soot, salts that have settled out of the water, scale, will also be removed during cleaning. From this scale it is necessary to periodically clean the boiler heat exchanger, mechanically or chemically. During mechanical cleaning, it is regularly washed with running water, and during chemical cleaning, it is pre-mixed with water and heated. Gel chemicals do not need to be diluted, but are added to the cooled heat exchanger immediately. They are slightly less effective, but at the same time less aggressive in relation to metal.

Filling the boiler with water, boiling it and then draining it will significantly reduce the amount of soot. Many boilers also provide air cleaning - there are openings for supplying air under pressure.

Tip

When cleaning the boiler and stove with any chemical preparations, work should be carried out with protective gloves and preferably in closed clothing, because all these products are more or less aggressive and dangerous to the skin.

Removing soot from the stove

The fact that it is time to clean the stove and chimney is indicated primarily by the color of the flame and smoke. The optimal color of the furnace flame is light orange. If significantly darker shades begin to prevail, this indicates a lack of traction in the system.The black color of smoke from the chimney signals the same thing.

In the furnace, soot accumulates much more slowly than in the chimney, so it needs less cleaning. So that you do not have to remove all the garbage from the oven again, it is cleaned after cleaning the chimney. This is usually done manually with stiff brushes, and a vacuum cleaner is used to collect soot that has scattered around the room.

The vacuum cleaner can be used as a special construction one, and some old Soviet device can be left for these purposes. After use, it is important to clean it well. It does not make sense to wash the filter - soot will only be smeared. Usually it is removed with dry sand - it is sucked in, the filter with sand and soot is shaken off, if necessary, repeat the procedure several times.

Chimney cleaning

Mechanical cleaning is carried out in case of significant clogging of the channel with soot or foreign objects getting there. Naturally, the stove is turned off, firewood is removed from it, all the shutters are also closed so that the soot does not fly around the room. A round chimney is cleaned with a ruff of a slightly larger diameter than the chimney itself. Square and rectangular chimneys are brushed. If an impenetrable blockage occurs during cleaning, they try to remove it or push it down with a pole. If this does not work out, then a device is used in the form of a ruff suspended from a rope with a heavy metal ball at the end.

The chimney can also be cleaned of soot by adding special substances to the fuel, which, when burned, contribute to the decomposition and burning out of soot - it partially burns and partially falls into the furnace, from where it is easy to remove. These preparations are available in the form of liquid, powder, and solid briquettes. To prevent the chimney from clogging, it is recommended to use them regularly, strictly following the instructions in the instructions for use, to prevent fires and poisoning by combustion products.

Tip

As a prophylaxis, one simple folk method is often used. About a bucket or two, depending on the volume of the potato peeling oven, it is burned without the use of additional fuel. Starch released during the process helps burn soot.

As you can see, there is nothing complicated in cleaning the boiler and furnace from the accumulated soot. Subject to safety and accuracy, this work is within the power of any person living in the house, and there is no need to call a specialist each time. But no less than competent cleaning of the furnace and boiler, it is important to use high-quality fuel. And even more so in no case should you use plastic objects, leftovers of food in this capacity. It is important to remember that proper operation of the furnace will help minimize soot and reduce the frequency of cleaning the heating system at home.