By now you've seen the Chimney Sweeping Log, a fabricated log that's supposed to clean your chimney as it burns, advertised on TV. The commercial, with its urgent voice over and images of a house in flames, has the same "it's a miracle" tone as spots for Mighty Putty, Thigh Master, and other "As Seen on TV" products. Does the Chimney Sweeping Log work as advertised? From what I've read, it does what the commercials say it does.
The Chimney Sweeping Log is imbedded with the chemicals that chimney sweeps use to remove 3rd stage glaze, the most serious kind of creosote buildup, from chimney walls. The manufacturer claims the log can remove up to 60% percent of the cresote from a chimney. But that still leaves some flammable creosote in the chimney, and fire experts say that's a problem.
The Washington Public Fire Educators have stated they are concerned with what the Creosote Sweeping Log doesn't do. It doesn't remove all of the creosote. And it doesn't provide that visual safety inspection of the chimney that can find problems like cracks or chimney blockages.
In addition, the Chimney Safety Institute of America reports the Chimney Sweeping Log is not an adequate substitute for regular chimney cleaning and inspection. Fire safety experts recommend an annual sweeping by a certified chimney sweep, who can remove all of the creosote and look for any other chimney problems.
Below: The commercial for the Chimney Sweeping Log.
Links:
http://www.chimneysweeponline.com/hocslog.htm
http://www.wsafc.org/WPFE/Position%20Papers/Chimney%20Cleaning.pdf
http://www.csia.org/
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