Cleaning Masonry

[Garrin]

Howdy All,

I've got a multi-flue cap that, with the slow and low burns, gets a lot of black drippy goop coming down.

Any good way to clean this off? I know the guy who build the chimney put some sort of sealer on the whiteish cap, but I'd have to reach out to him to see exactly what it was.

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!

 

[sktrk]

You can gently clean the cap with a soft brush and warm, soapy water. Make sure to check what sealer was used first to avoid damage. Burning hotter occasionally helps prevent buildup.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Make sure the chimney doesn’t have a bunch of drippy black goop in it. I’d hate to focus on the cap aesthetics when the house and my family is in danger of a fire due to the black drippy goop.

 

[Garrin]

Make sure the chimney doesn’t have a bunch of drippy black goop in it. I’d hate to focus on the cap aesthetics when the house and my family is in danger of a fire due to the black drippy goop.

Good point. I keep it pretty well soot-eatered for the most part. I think I'm only getting the goop because my flue cap is so wide (and also probably a bit too low).

Though, I did find out the honey locust I thought was dry after like 2 years CSS is basically still green- so I'll check to make sure things didn't progress faster than normal.

Also, in response to earlier comment- I tried soap and water last summer and the stains didn't seem to respond. I've seen TSP referenced as a possible "next step up".

 

[stoveliker]

a sooteater won't really help with sticky goop - i.e. the most dangerous deposits you can have won't be removed by a sooteater.

You need to avoid depositing them and once that stuff is there, you may need professional help rather than a sooteater.

 

[Garrin]

Noted. Would it be glazing or just be goop that won't brush off? And as far as pro help, would just be a matter of using the right chemicals the right way, or is there a more extensive process in the event that I've got goop on down the liner?

 

[stoveliker]

Both goop and glaze
Chemicals is extensive and expensive

 

[Garrin]

Liner is clean all the way up, some crusty stuff at the opening that I could knock off with a wire brush pretty easy. A lot caked on the multi flue cap. Relatively low-temp smoke hitting a 2'x4' sheet of metal and condensing quick, I imagine. But I don't think there's enough left over after wire brushing/scraping for me to be too concerned about as far as chimney fires go.

 

[stoveliker]

I agree, if the liner is clean, it's unlikely a fire will happen at the top, unless you have burning paper or so floating up.
If you can get up there and use a proper (hard, steel) wirebrush (not a sooteater) and get it off, that's okay.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I doubt paper floating up would still have enough heat to touch it off.

I’m also not sure that burning chemicals would still be active enough to clean it once they left the flue. Maybe it would be though. It’s worth trying.