The honest truth now ...

[Millymollymandy]

I'm glad you are feeling a lot calmer and you've booked a sweep. I need to get mine done too.

Yup we all have great big stacks of logs here in France but pallets we don't, as they are reused in this country. Unfortunately I live in an area where wood is very expensive, but it is still the cheapest form of heating!

[Boots]

Here in Aus, we have wood fires, pot bellies and indoor barbeques. We also have chimneys and flues.

What we do not have... are chimney sweeps!

Nor have I EVER seen anyone ever clean their chimney in any of the eastern or southern states that I have lived.

The occupation of chimney sweep is, to the best of my knowledge, amusingly british.

I understand that our chimneys would not get the use that yours do, but surely over generations they would at some time equal the same use that yours do in the year in which 3 cleans a year is recommended?

What do you do it for?

Never have I heard of a chimney needing a clean here. Stuff falls down and is cleaned away with the ashes, but what is the point of speeding up that process? I can't see any environmental relevance to moving residue either - does it have a more useful purpose other than just hanging about up there? Does snow get in there and cause a problem? What is the problem exactly? Why do you clean it 3 times a year and what do you do with the residue?

In answer to the question, I use natural wood and and any other old wood that can't be reused for anything else. For a starter I use shredded paper, and I shred glossies. I don't put much weird stuff in my pot belly, but you would be surprised what ends up in the average barbie when folks are just sitting around tossing things in the fire. Folks cook in tins, melt bottles on purpose, toss in all their paper plates, disposable cups & containers etc...and the weird things just get bigger when you fire up a bonfire!

[PurpleDragon]

Well, one thing I know is that if you leave your chimney all summer and then light it in the winter, the crusty build up can cause a chimney fire, which can burn your house down.

Perhaps your chimneys are wider than ours - maybe the Aussies learned how to build a chimney from their days in Blighty - ensuring they incorporated a 'no-fire' fail safe or something ?

[red]

What do you do it for?

the chimney or flue builds up a tarry sort of residue, which eventually can catch fire - aka a chimney fire. this in turn can (not always) burn the house down. Another reason is that during the summer - birds - mostly jackdaws spend alot of time pushing twigs down your chimney to make nests.

I know alot of people who sweep their own chimney, and alot more who dont bother at all - but I think they are er...making a mistake.

a quick google gives lots of links to Australian chimney sweeps.

[Boots]

Yeah? A quick search of those key words gave me a link to a Melbourne mob, and may have provided the reason why we don't do it...

The following is a quote from an Aussie scientist who hails from one of my home towns. He was born in 1916 and later travelled to London to further his work.

People working in coal tar used to get skin-cancers, and cancer of the scrotum was found especially in chimney sweeps. Unless you wash soot off, it's on your skin for a long time. The main substance in coal tar had been isolated by the Chester Beatty people before I arrived and a lot of work had been done to show how cancer-producing that was and how many related substances were also cancer-producing.

An edited transcript of the full interview can be found at http://www.science.org.au/scientists/gb3.htm.

So maybe, with that info, it might be better not to clean your own? And tipping the guy that does, would be kind of expected?

Also searched Chimney fires, and there are news reports of 8 happening in the US during the last week!

I really have no idea why this is not a problem here... What could possibly make it different?

[PurpleDragon]

Crikey - so getting stuck in Victorian chimneys wasn't the only drawback to being a chimney sweep.

You've piqued my interest now ...

[Paddy's mum]

Oh my life ... what have I started?!!!

(Echo of my mother's voice from my right shoulder - 'Now look what you've gone and done! You'll learn!')

[Millymollymandy]

In France you must have your chimney swept at least once per year and keep the certificate, because if you have a fire which could be thought to be caused by your open fire/wood burner/whatever, you won't get a centime in insurance money.

Worth checking your insurance polices those of you in the UK!

[Wombat]

We've had a burning log open fire for 30 years - never swept the chimney once. but it is direct draft!

Nev

[2steps]

we don't have a wood fire inside but do like to have bonfires - had a great one on samhain. My kids love toasted marshmellows, mind you so does the dog anyway, we do try to be careful what we burn but have burnt laminate, junk mail and coated card like cereal boxes. I like to be able to put the ashes in my compost though so don't put that stuff on now. we save newspaper and brown cardboard to burn and my OH hoovers up wood from skips etc to use at home so we go through that to use too. I always fine it amazing how the big pile of stuff burns down to a few shovels of ash. even if it was going to be thrown away it makes it easier.

my neighbours on the other hand burn anything. they only moved in a few months ago and so had loads of packing stuff and wrapping fron new furniture etc and they burnt it all including plastic and it completly stank!

[Welsh Girls Allotment]

I've got a wood stove with a chimney liner and also burn most things on it,my friend makes wooden bridges and sculptures for a living and we have all his off cuts to burn - this is treated wood every now and then we get what we have nick named tinkles comes down the chimney - small lumps of black crusty bits coming down in a shower - so is this self cleaning to a degree?
I've had my windows replaced recently and have burnt all the old frames, varnished and painted, another friend works on a building site and brings stuff home for us.

For my birthday I have been given a paper log maker and use shredded paper of any type and newspaper cover and then burn merrily.

I don't burn plastic or cardboard but anything wooden or paper goes on

[Boots]

but it is direct draft!

What's that mean Nev?

[Wombat]

It goes straight up Boots! No kinks or turns, and only about 10 foot long so the hot gases and crap get shot out the top pretty fast. A bit of soot collects on the side but a bang on the side and it falls off! We occasionally have a bird fall down and that scrapes some soot off too

Nev

[Boots]

Ah, I see. That sounds like mine, but mine has a chinamans hat looking thing on it, so it would take a pretty curious (or stoopidly smart ) bird to find its way in there, I think.

[Wombat]

We have an "asiatics" hat too............................doesn't stop 'em!

Nev