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TIL checking for creosote in summer is way different than winter inspections
I've been sweeping for about 8 years now and I always figured a dirty chimney looks the same no matter the season. But last July I got a call from a lady in Arlington whose fireplace was smoking back into the house. I go up top and the flue was absolutely packed with this flaky, drippy creosote that looked nothing like the hard stuff I see in winter. I scraped out a full 5 gallon bucket of it. The difference was moisture. In summer, the humidity mixes with the creosote and makes it turn into this sticky mess that clogs things up way faster than dry winter buildup. I started asking around and an old timer told me this is why a lot of off-season chimney fires happen. People burn a few fires in spring or fall and the creosote never gets a chance to dry out. Has anyone else noticed their summer cleanouts are way worse than winter ones?
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charlesb421mo ago
Yeah that thing about moisture turning creosote into a sticky goo makes total sense now that I think about it. I had a similar wakeup call a few years back when I pulled a summer plug that was practically dripping and it hit me that we're basically dealing with two different types of buildup depending on the season.
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loganm521mo ago
You're making it sound way more dramatic than it is, @charlesb42. I've run a stove for years and never bothered with seasonal analysis and it still works fine.
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