Found a way to clean heavy creosote without the nasty chemicals

I had this one house last month, old farmhouse out near Ellensburg, where the flue was caked with about a quarter inch of Stage 2 creosote. Normally I'd break out the chemical spray or spend an hour with the wire brush attachment grinding away. But I read online somewhere about using dry ice blasting for stubborn buildup. So I grabbed a small chunk of dry ice from the grocery store, tied it in a rag, and ran it up and down the flue on a rope. It worked way better than I thought it would. The cold makes the creosote brittle and it just flakes off. Saved me a good 20 minutes on that job. Has anyone else tried this method or am I just getting lucky with the conditions?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_angela20d ago

Saw a video on this a while back, guy was using dry ice blasting on a chimney and swore by it for tough jobs. Usually I just use a shop vac with a stiff bristle attachment to catch the loose flakes before they fall. Might give your rag trick a try next time I'm dealing with some nasty buildup.

mia44220d ago

@the_angela i've seen those dry ice videos too, they look wild but i bet it works. idk, I just use a really long handled brush and then tape a rag around the opening like you said. seems to catch most of the crud before it goes everywhere.