Do Gas Fireplace Chimneys Need To Be Cleaned

Fireplaces are the staple to any home subject to the four seasons.  Fall and wintertime would certainly lose their charm without a fireplace to get together effectually, warm up to and gear up the atmosphere when the days go darker and the nights become longer.

Maintaining a fireplace is as of import as maintaining anything else in your home, and by knowing what needs to be checked, cleaned, and inspected, you tin prolong the lifespan of your gas fireplace while prioritizing safety.

No Daily Budget Required

Forest fireplaces are known to have more maintenance, only many people don't want to part ways with their dear wood-burning fireplace because of its authenticity, nostalgic odour and the unbeatable sound of forest crackling.  That hasn't stopped the sale of gas fireplaces, however, and nowadays, gas fireplace sales are soaring.

While in that location are a handful of devout woods fireplace lovers, the remainder of us are attracted to the depression maintenance of its cousin fireplace—gas.

Unlike woods, there'southward no ash left behind from a nightlong fire, no soot, debris, or half burnt chunks of wood.  For the fireplace owner, this means less day-to-day make clean up.

The primary attraction to gas fireplaces is because of this hassle, and without bending over and scooping up the ashes, getting your hands blackened and dirty, a gas fireplace actually seems too good to be true.

While in that location may be an absence of daily cleanup for your gas fireplace, there are still a few steps you must exercise for its maintenance, which brings u.s.a. to our side by side point.

Go Your Annual Inspection

Gas fireplaces do require less upkeep than their wood counterpart, but the maintenance is still there.   The simple equation of gas-and-fire should exist routinely checked because even though you don't take the aforementioned budget as a wood-called-for fireplace, anything combustible still requires a yearly inspection.

Hire a professional fireplace inspector who is certified to perform your almanac safety bank check.  The technician will clean your fireplace, which if it'due south gas, should consist of some type of ceramic log that mimics the shape and look of existent forest.

Part of the cleaning process tackles these decorative pieces, removing dust, pet hair, debris, and other grime.  Your technician will probably be using some kind of vacuum and particularly designed soft bristled brush.

Your inspector will check for whatever natural gas leaks and ensure that the fireplace is venting properly through the chimney.  A professional technician will also make sure that at that place are no obstructions in the chimney and there are no potential carbon monoxide leaks, something that can be deadly to anyone inside of the house.

The unabridged inspection usually can be done in under an hr, and with it beingness so speedy, at that place's no alibi to not have this scheduled on an annual footing.  With safety on the line, having an inspection completed is a no-brainer.

Yous Can Clean Your Fireplace Yourself

Yes, you can clean your gas fireplace yourself, but information technology's important to read the transmission and make sure y'all follow all of the steps correctly, prioritizing condom.  Before you do annihilation, make sure the gas is turned off start because you don't want to accidentally ignite annihilation and injure yourself!

Any handheld vacuum tin be used to clean the clay out of the fireplace, carefully guiding it around the decorative logs and lava rocks.  Clean the screen in front of the fireplace and the fireplace surroundings, ensuring that you are using the correct cleaner for the job and thoroughly removing grime and build up.

Periodically check the lava rocks (the rocks that heat upwardly when the fireplace is on), and if any are showing signs of breakage, clothing or tear, then replace them right away.  The same approach goes for the logs.

Equally a alert for a safety business concern, if y'all have a drinking glass covering for your fireplace screen, note that these can become extremely hot to the touch.

Children playing nigh a gas fireplace should exist educated on keeping away from contacting these glass protectant screens because if touched, the estrus can cause serious injuries and burns.

Fifty-fifty if you opt to clean the fireplace yourself, it'southward still a requirement to have an inspection—yearly, at the very least.  Inspections of a gas fireplace don't take long to conduct and won't suspension the bank.  Your chimney should be cleaned annually, likewise, to articulate away any debris and nesting materials from animals.

Even With Gas Fireplaces, Problems Tin can Arise

You might recollect that with the easy operation of a gas fireplace, you lot're in the clear for smooth sailing with aught issues.  But end to consider that your gas fireplace is all the same functioning, using a flammable substance to go on fires crackling through the nighttime, and if it'southward never checked it could be a potential danger.

Problems can occur in any fireplace, and a gas fireplace is no exception.  According to the Chimney Safety Constitute of America, a few bug similar incomplete combustion and condensation are the leading cause of chimney and fireplace malfunctions.

For an incomplete combustion to occur, the chimney is likewise absurd to create a draft, and this fails to provide a substantial combustion air.  Without a draft, your fireplace can produce carbon monoxide, which lingers in the chimney, sometimes spilling back out into the living area instead of existence pushed up and outside the house.

No i wants condensation in their home, and if it's occurring in the fireplace and chimney surface area, then it could exist a sign of something going awry. Condensation is non exactly a split up problem from the common incomplete combustion issue that many dysfunctional chimneys face.

Condensation is more than similar an indication of improper typhoon and temperature.  A little extra water may non seem harmful, but it'southward really highly acidic and can even be corrosive.  This h2o produced inside the chimney has been contaminated and tin brainstorm to eat abroad at the mortar and masonry.

Yes, gas fireplaces do burn down make clean and there'southward no presence of creosote or soot in the chimney, dissimilar a wood-burning fireplace.  The chimney still plays an essential role in ventilation for a gas fireplace, and if there's anything wrong in its construction, the passage of the typhoon is compromised.

Stay Up-to-Appointment with Gas Fireplace Maintenance

For your gas fireplace, keep an eye out for damp patches on the surrounding walls (interior or exterior), white stains on the exterior brick of the chimney, crumbling bricks, croaky paint, separated and peeling wallpaper, stains virtually the chimney or on the ceiling in a higher place it, and eroding mortar joints.

All of these are indications that something is amiss in the working parts of your chimney and you lot shouldn't use information technology.  If yous see the presence of any of these concerns, then it's time to call in a professional.

In that location's a lot going on with the functionality of a chimney, and when in that location is flammability, corrosive condensation, and the potential of carbon monoxide, and then a safety cheque by an expert is not a bad thought.

Over time, the fireplace can show signs of vesture.  Valves and other connectors can erode or malfunction, and when gas is involved, that is a risk y'all don't want to take.

Hire Professionals for Gas Fireplace Maintenance

Fireplace maintenance tin can be easy if you hire the correct professionals who can inspect and clean your chimney. At Vertical Chimney Care, we have certified professionals that brand your chimney and your home, much safer.

Since 1985, nosotros've kept Chicago and surrounding suburbs clean with our professional inspection and cleaning for an unbeatable value. Contact united states today to speak to a specialist!

Source: https://verticalchimney.com/blog/gas-fireplace-maintenance/

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