No money to hire a professional chimney cleaner?   Here's a practical guide in cleaning your chimney. Chimney cleaning is a tough job but you can do it yourself.   Things to prepare   First thing that you need are patience and courage to do this job. Second, the things that you must have in hand before cleaning are the following:   * Brush * Gloves, masks, glasses * Torch * Hard broom, dust pan * Ladder * Rope   Things to remember   This job is dangerous and therefore it requires extra caution. Be careful in climbing the ladder. Notice if there are electrical wires above that may cause you trouble. Brushes have bristles which may cause accident to your eyes. To protect your hands, better wear gloves. It is advisable that you wear mask.   Likewise, it is advisable to close the passage of the dirt down to your house so that it will not flow inside your house.   Don't forget to cover your sofa, appliances and other stuff in your living room and in the surrounding area just outside your house which can possibly be reached by falling soot as you clean, because the soot and ashes can be flammable and thus may produce fire.   Procedure in Cleaning   Step 1: Connect several rods going to your brush or you may use a very long chimney brush to reach the inside of the chimney. Make sure that the brush you have is the appropriate size for the chimney or else you'll be creating a problem up there. Climb onto the ladder to reach the roof of your house. Take away the cover of the chimney. Make sure that ashes were already cool. In this way, you are cleaning it from top to bottom.   Step 2: Start cleaning by brushing the walls or sides. Wear glasses or mask to protect your eyes. Use also gloves to protect your skin from itchy ashes and dirt. Remove all the ashes and soot. Be mindful of the proper disposal of these ashes for they can still produce fire. Check with your torch to see if the inside is properly cleaned.   Step 3: Go down and get into your house. You will do the cleaning in a reversed manner this time, from the ground upward. Start sweeping the fireplace.   Step 4: Clean the fireplace by sweeping it with hard broom.  

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