Cleaning Your Chimney For The Spring
Your furnace flue vents the fumes that accumulate after what ever fuel burned to heat your home. Oil furnaces burn oil and oil soot is extremely dirty. This soot actually eats away at the chimney liner inside your chimney. If you can see decay from the outside as a result of neglect from your furnace flue it is too late and you will need a chimney liner installed. These are extremely expensive expect to pay around $2000 to have a stainless steel liner installed if you fall with in this category.
In many cases, the liquid discount cleaning supplies that are used are just as effective as more expensive name brand cleaners. What is important is that they must be used in the correct way to see good results. Spray-on products usually require a few seconds or minutes in order to release tough dirt or to be effective as an antibacterial agent. Powders almost always require some amount of water to activate ingredients like baking soda that will remove stains. It is also important to note that some types of cleaning products should not be combined, because they can release harmful vapors or potentially discolor a porous surface.
Lastly, you need a set of rags for wiping up spills and cleaning surfaces. Micro fiber cloth made its way into our homes a few years ago and for our money you can’t beat these for home cleaning. They are washable, last for a long time, are supper absorbent, and can be used for just about any task. Use them to clean your cabinet, wipe your counters, polish your tables, or wipe down your walls.whatever the task they are up for it. They cost a little more, but the value you receive from these clothes are well worth the price.
If you don’t want the risk of burning yourself with washing soda, you can use a white vinegar solution instead. Aside from degreasing your kitchen cupboards, the white vinegar also has the ability to kill bacteria and germs. You will need a spray bottle when cleaning kitchen cupboards with a white vinegar solution. Spray the cupboards with a mixed solution containing equal parts of warm water and white vinegar. You then have to wipe the cupboard using a sponge or scrub brush it (but not too hard). Do not rinse the white vinegar solution that has been applied but leave it to be air-dried.
Customer service is very important in the Chimney Cleaning business. This could likely be a very messy job, so it is important that they clean up after themselves completely as part of their customer service. This is, of course, only one aspect of customer service, but it is an important one. You will want a company that will be adept at all areas of customer service.
A good chimney sweep would be happy to show you what they are capable of. Do not hesitate to call some of their references and ask about the work they did at their house. This is important because chances are you will get the same treatment. Ask if they were happy with them and if there was anything they thought they could have done differently or better. Ask if they left everything clean. A professional would never leave a mess behind. If they do then they probably did a messy job with your chimney too. One thing to always keep in mind is to make sure that you hire someone that will do it right the first time so you do not have to hire someone else to do it again.
A leaky HVAC duct system can cause a condition known as back draft. This is when combustion gases from a furnace are vented into the living space instead of outdoors. Back draft can contribute to a dangerous buildup of Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas in the home. Leaky hvac ducts can contribute to poor indoor air quality by allowing dust, insulation particles, and pollutants from outdoors to enter the ducting and circulate throughout the home.
Just to clear up this misconception, Unless you see the technician go to your roof or basement with chimney rods and chimney brushes there is no way they cleaned your furnace flue. The furnace flue is inside your chimney and goes up all the way to the top of your chimney. No furnace technician is going to clean that. They may clean the furnace exhaust pipe but not the chimney flue!
So, what is the relationship between this home fire accident and chemical plant safety? The important point that I would like to deliver is Chimney Cleaning and its safety. Many of us may forget about the safety.
Prioritize which areas should be cleaned first. Generally these areas are the dirtiest. Once they have been attended to you are able to work on those other areas that require only a quick dusting or a wipe.
The primary tool that is used to clean the inside of a chimney is a special brush that has metal bristles. The brush can be very small so that it fits inside of a pipe or it can be over a foot wide for larger chimneys. The head of the brush can be shaped like a circle, square or triangle. The different brush shapes make it easier to clean chimneys that have awkward proportions.
Third are the kitchen floors. Depending on what type on floor covering, you should pay special attention to them. Ceramic and granite floor tiles are much easier to clean. You can wash them with a detergent or a kitchen cleaner and dry up with a towel. Hardwood floors, on the other hand, require a bit more attention. Try not to use cleaning products that contain wax, oil, or scents. The products that promise “shines” should be avoided at all times. These products tend to create a thin layer which with time will bring problems to you.
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