Soot/Ash staining on ceiling. Why?

[Darge82]

I purchased a house approx 4 1/2 years ago and it came with a QuadraFire Castile Pellet stove insert. I have been using it at night to heat the home for the past 4 years.The insert was installed in 2008. I have noticed a development of ash/soot streaks on my white ceilings and I am wondering what is causing it and how to address the issue. Or is it normal? I am thinking NO.

I notice it the most right above/directly inline with my sliding door to go out to my porch. The reason is that this door gets opened and closed the most from bringing my dogs in and out of the house frequently. It looks as the air pressure change in the room is pulling the ash/soot out of the house and dragging it across the ceiling and that is why I see it there the most. However, when I clean my windows as well, the rags are BLACK. You cannot see anything on the glass until you clean it.

So what is going on here? Clearly I am getting this ash from the pellet stove. I have cleaned out the pipe from top of the chimney all the way down to the blower very well. The blower is working well. I clean out the stove frequently as per the instructions. I have changed the seal on the door as well. The stove is working well from what I can tell. I really have not had any issues with it. Just the staining my ceilings, windows and I am guessing its stuck to everything else in the house but I just cannot see it until I clean.

I attached some pictures of what I am talking about. The smear is where I tried to wipe it off with no success and it made it look worse.

 

[jpeterson2322]

Check your gasket on the door as well as any seems in the exhaust. I had a similar issue with my old stove and it was a combo of those 2 things.

 

[kenora]

interesting...the marks appear to at the studs and ceiling rafters (looks like every 24")... if this was outside in the cold Wx that would be thermal bridging,..but inside... on the studs? I'm baffled!

 

[Darge82]

Check your gasket on the door as well as any seems in the exhaust. I had a similar issue with my old stove and it was a combo of those 2 things.

Will do. I changed the door gasket about 2 yrs ago but I still have some material left. I will give it another shot just incase I messed it up somehow. I will check the exhaust for small holes and wrap it with some thermal tape also.

interesting...the marks appear to at the studs and ceiling rafters (looks like every 24")... if this was outside in the cold Wx that would be thermal bridging,..but inside... on the studs? I'm baffled!

It is very strange. Here is another picture in another room. You can see the staining on the crown molding as well. My other concern is also health issues since we are breathing this in....

 

[kenora]

it looks more like infiltration through the sill plate and header plate... is this on the wall the wood burner exits or downwind from the chimney... just wondering if the house is running a bit neg pressure...maybe its pulling exhaust from outside through the wall (under the plates) and then inside... just my 2 Canadian cents worth (about 1.7 cents US)

if that's the case there is nothing you can do other than address the neg pressure or get that chimney farther from the house..how about a photo of the exterior chimney details

 

[Darge82]

it looks more like infiltration through the sill plate and header plate... is this on the wall the wood burner exits or downwind from the chimney... just wondering if the house is running a bit neg pressure...maybe its pulling exhaust from outside through the wall (under the plates) and then inside... just my 2 Canadian cents worth (about 1.7 cents US)

if that's the case there is nothing you can do other than address the neg pressure or get that chimney farther from the house..how about a photo of the exterior chimney details

The pictures I posted are actually in another room across the house. Probably 30ft away from the pellet stove

 

[Darge82]

This is the best picture I have of the chimney at the moment

 

[Highbeam]

Is that a vaulted ceiling? Insulating those is very hard near the eave. The rafters are cold and transferring that cold to the ceiling where condensation forms on the Sheetrock. So now you have a these wet strips and any random dust, soot, or even mold will collect on those strips. It’s called shadowing.

I don’t think your problem is a leaky stove.

 

[Darge82]

Is that a vaulted ceiling? Insulating those is very hard near the eave. The rafters are cold and transferring that cold to the ceiling where condensation forms on the Sheetrock. So now you have a these wet strips and any random dust, soot, or even mold will collect on those strips. It’s called shadowing.

I don’t think your problem is a leaky stove.

Yes it is a vaulted ceiling. That does make sense. But also, in the same room, the windows get really dirty which seems odd. Also the last picture I posted is in a different room with normal 8ft ceilings with an insulated attic above it and I have the markings there as well.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes it is a vaulted ceiling. That does make sense. But also, in the same room, the windows get really dirty which seems odd. Also the last picture I posted is in a different room with normal 8ft ceilings with an insulated attic above it and I have the markings there as well.

Do you have any way to monitor indoor humidity? Like one of those digital remote thermometers?

Start thinking mold. Look at the bottoms of windows and behind furniture on exterior walls.

 

[doghouse]

First picture dead give-away: black staining on the joists. Mold. Cold air meeting warm air, condensation.

 

[articcatbill]

On the ceiling what you are seeing are ghost stripes. That is pretty typical, basically the ceiling is less insulated where the ceiling joists are located hence they are colder in those spots, you get more condensation and the dirt sticks to those places. You can see these even without a pellet/wood stove. Especially if not painted in a while. The additional dirt from the pellet stove simply from cleaning dumping in pellets can make it worse. If you google ghost stripes on ceilings you will see many results that might be helpful for instance:

http://www.courant.com/real-estate/hc-xpm-2010-10-31-hc-do-it-yourself-1031-20101031-12-story.html

So like others have said, burning candles, wood/pellet stove..... can make these worse, controlling your relative humidity can help.

 

[drizler]

I for that striping while burning corn years ago. It could be what the others are saying but in my case it proved to be the door. Mine is a vaulted ceiling as well and the sponge was as yours is across the room at the top of the peak. Try giving that gasket a thorough cleaning so it’s nice and soft. Make sure it isn’t binding anywhere and the door is sitting square and CLOSES TIGHTLY. You might look for signs of leakage buildup at the pipe joints and seal with red hi temp RTV if you find any. I’m betting it’s your door seal though.