Help for a Chimney Brush Stuck in the Chimney

If you have a chimney brush stuck in the chimney, the first thing you should do is remain calm. It happens more often than you think. Even the most meticulous planners can occasionally get the measurements wrong for chimney liner brushes. Besides, your chimney liner might not be uniform in size or it could have become bent due to usage. So although this is not what you were hoping for, be assured that it’s an easy mistake to make and there are a few ways you can solve it.

The easiest way to retrieve a stuck chimney brush that has become lodged during cleaning is by accessing it from underneath. If you can reach up into the chimney from the fireplace, this should solve your problem fairly quickly. Be sure to wear heavy duty gloves that cover your arms because it is easy to scratch yourself when reaching up into a chimney.

Most people aren’t lucky enough to get their chimney brush stuck in an easily retrievable position. If the brush is stuck more toward the middle of the chimney, one thing you can do is try to feed a pair of pliers down into the chimney using a rope. Better yet, if the brush has become detached from the rod, attach the pliers to the rod. Here’s what you should do:

Chimney Brush Stuck in Chimney: Method #1

1. Pull the pliers open and tie one of the handles to the rod or rope with the jaw of the pliers pointing downward. If you have pliers that lock open, do not lock them. You might also want to reinforce your knot with a bit of duct tape.
2. Lower the pliers down into the chimney using the rod or rope with the jaws facing down. The pliers will probably fall open and this is perfectly okay. When they reach the stuck brush, they should close automatically. Force them down past the brush. After they pass the brush, the pliers will reopen on their own.
3. Now you are ready to pull the rod or rope back up. The open pliers will form a sort of hook that should be able to grab a hold of the stuck chimney brush and pull it back up to the top. Sometimes you need to make a few attempts before you manage to snag it but eventually you should succeed.

Stuck Chimney Brush Remedy: Method #2

1. Feed a rope down the chimney liner from the top all the way to the bottom.
2. Go to the bottom, or better yet enlist someone to wait there to assist with this step. Once the rope has made it all the way to the bottom, you will want to tie a bunch of old towels or rags to the bottom of the rope. Make sure they are bound together very tightly and you use enough of them to be strong enough to push the chimney brush upward. Towels or rags are recommended because they won’t scratch the inside of your liner and lead to further problems.
3. From the top of the chimney, pull the rope upward firmly and the attached rags should pull the brush upward toward you.

Getting a chimney brush stuck in chimney liners isn’t very much fun but it’s not the disaster you might think it is initially. One of these methods should be enough to help you retrieve the lodged brush and continue on your quest to clean your chimney. Once a brush has been stuck, you should discard and seek a new brush that is slightly smaller to avoid having a repeat of this pesky occurrence.

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How to Tell if Your Chimney Liner is Leaking

Do you think that your chimney liner might be leaking but you’re not sure? There are a few different ways that you can tell if your liner is leaking that you will want to know about in order to determine if you have a problem. It is nice to be able to sit in front of a nice cozy fire and enjoy a hot beverage on a cold winter day, but if your chimney is leaking then you will need to get it fixed before you light your next fire. If you want to know how to tell if the liner on your chimney is leaking, here are some tips.

One way that you may be able to tell if you have a leaking chimney liner is by looking for some common visible signs that occur when your liner is leaking. If you think that smoke is leaking out of your chimney or you can smell the smoke from the fireplaces in the rooms of your home then you may have a serious problem. You will want to check to see if you can see the smoke coming out of the chimney. If you do not have a fire going at the time that you check then you will be able to check by looking to see if there are any stains on the chimney. Stains on the chimney will let you know that smoke is coming out of the cracks that may be in the chimney lining.

There are a few different ways that your chimney liner could have become cracked or developed holes in it. One thing that you will want to think about is any upgrades that you have made to your fireplace since you have moved into your home. The liner that your chimney currently has may not have been changed during the upgrades and may be the wrong size or could be made out of a material such as clay that will cause it to crack or erode.

leaking chimney linerIf you want to be able to sit back in front of your fireplace with a big cup of hot chocolate then you will want to make sure that your liner is the right one and that it is not cracked. It is not safe to light a fire with a cracked chimney liner, so until you have determined if that is the problem you will not want to light one. If you are still unsure after reading this information you may want to get your chimney inspected by a professional.

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