Chemical Soot/Creosote Remover

[saxman]

I was at the local Rural King to purchase a door gasket for my fireplace insert and noticed some material to burn in your stove to remove creosote. I looked at the label to find that the main ingredient was trisodium phosphate. This is the same material in TSP a heavy duty cleaner that I have used in the past to clean the siding on my house. Does anybody here have any experience with this product? Does it work or is it more "snake oil"?

 

[mga]

try it out and report back for us.

 

[saxman]

I plan on doing some internet research on the properties of the chemical used. I don't see how it could hurt anything to burn some inexpensive TSP from time to time.

 

[mga]

how does it work on the siding? are we talking vinyl siding? i just hand scrubbed the north side of the house this summer with a brush and soapy water to get it clean. there has to be an easier way....

 

[Forest Steward]

I've talked to chimney cleaners about those types of products, and I haven't heard any good reports from them. They say it burns too hot and can cause damage to the pipes. Of course they might be a bit biased and worried about the loss of business, but what they say does make sense. To me it seems like a not so great way to cut corners.

 

[JAM]

Tsp

Yes, The main ingredent is the same TSP used for heavy duty cleaning.
I've used it quite a bit over alot of years with no adverse effects to my
flue or firebox. The brand I have now is called Safety Sweep and it calls
for two tablespoon sized scoops over a low fire each time you burn, this
sounds a little excessive so I use it every week or so with good results.
End of year cleaning is generally pretty easy since there isn't much buildup
inside the flue. It does seem to increase the build up on the cap and screen
and I've had to clean that up a couple of times throughout the winter.
The biggest problem is TSP is some nasty sh** so follow the safety warnings
religiously.

 

[saxman]

I think it is a very alkelyne materaial ( the opposite of an acid ). I wonder how it will remove or reduce creosote in a metal or masonary flue? I am going to do some research on this and see what I find out.

 

[JAM]

Tsp

I'm using a stainless flue pipe, don't know how it would affect a mild steel or masonary flue.

 

[saxman]

From what I can gather in my research so far, the trisodium phosphate along with copper sulfate which is used the the flue cleaning compound chemically reacts with the cresosote deposits and keeps them from building up in the flue, metal or masonary. I also found that trisodium phosphate is used in Crest toothpaste and copper sulfate is an ingredient in common fertilizers such as Miracle Grow, so how dangerous could it be! LOL

 

[NORTHERN NYer]

I use a product called a Creosote Sweep Log. You basically throw it on a hot bed of coals and choke your stove off and let it smolder for a few hours. The smoke has a chemical in it that penetrates the creosote and makes it flake off and fall back into the stove. About a week later when the heat from a good fire hits it you will hear it falling like rain. They claim it is good for all types of chimneys. I use one every couple of months during burning season. Around here you can get them at Home Depot or Walmart for about $12. I wait until the end of the year when they are having clearance on the winter seasonal stuff and get enough of them for the next year for half the price or better.

 

[JAM]

Just how much TSP do they put in that toothpaste? I've used full strength TSP for cleaning soot and it kinda burned my hands. Works real good on soot though. I'll bet it would clean that siding pretty good too.:fart:

 

[curdy]

I use a product called a Creosote Sweep Log. You basically throw it on a hot bed of coals and choke your stove off and let it smolder for a few hours. The smoke has a chemical in it that penetrates the creosote and makes it flake off and fall back into the stove. About a week later when the heat from a good fire hits it you will hear it falling like rain. They claim it is good for all types of chimneys. I use one every couple of months during burning season. Around here you can get them at Home Depot or Walmart for about $12. I wait until the end of the year when they are having clearance on the winter seasonal stuff and get enough of them for the next year for half the price or better.

Have you had a local chimney sweep out to check to see how well the product works? Be interested to see if they think its doing a good job...obviously they'd have to be a trusted source. Let us know, thanks!

 

[LarryTheCableGuy]

...I also found that trisodium phosphate is used in Crest toothpaste and copper sulfate is an ingredient in common fertilizers such as Miracle Grow, so how dangerous could it be! LOL

When I first saw this it pegged my B.S. Meter - but it's true! It IS an ingredient in toothpaste!

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/brands?tbl=brands&id=16003439

 

[wmscott]

The stuff really works!

I have used a simular product called Creosote Remover for over a year and it really works. I sweep my own chimney and had a real build up problem. I corrected my furnace problem by adding post combustion air, so I was no longer making a mess out of my chimney, but that didn't get rid of what I had. I even made a chimney scraper and scraped off all the loose stuff, but still had about 3/8 to ½ an inch of black glassy creosote coating the chimney. I started using the creosote remover, and the next time I swept the chimney about two months later, the built up was gone. The ash pit was sure full, but the stuff really works, the tiles had just a light coating of gray ash. I have done some searching on the subject too, and heard that TSP by itself is corrosive and will probably rust stainless steel and eat tiles. The products in the store have additives that buffer the Ph so it doesn't eat up your chimney. I would use TSP in a pinch, but not by choice since the remover products are a lot cheaper than replacing the chimney.

 

[saxman]

Thanks for alll the discussion. I will do some more research on the corosive nature of TSP, however I have a brick flue. I will look at the commerical soot/creosote products that have been mentioned.

 

[NORTHERN NYer]

Have you had a local chimney sweep out to check to see how well the product works? Be interested to see if they think its doing a good job...obviously they'd have to be a trusted source. Let us know, thanks!

I sweep my own chimney. I cleaned it 2 weekends ago and got about half of a small coffee can full of creosote off. Mind you I have been burning my stove at lower than ideal temps for the last month or so and I havent used a CSL since late last winter or early spring. So I am betting most of the stuff I got was from the low temp fires. I swept it last fall before starting to burn and there wasnt nothing in it brush off just a very slight residue. Hope this helps.