How to Make a Formula to Clean Chimneys
- 1). Wear protective gloves and goggles when working with chemical cleaners; ventilate the area by opening windows or installing fans to circulate fresh air. The chemical cleaners used in this formula can burn if they come in contact with skin and can cause throat irritation or damage if inhaled for long periods.
- 2). Fill a bucket with 1 gallon of warm water; the water should not be too hot for you to touch. Mix in 6 to 8 tbsp. of trisodium phosphate cleaner (TSP). The amount of TSP used will vary depending on the severity of your stains. You can use up to 1 cup of TSP (16 tbsp.) for the most severe stains, but this will be an extremely strong and caustic solution.
- 3). Add 1 cup of chlorine bleach if you used only 6 to 8 tbsp. of TSP; do not add bleach to a solution that contains more than 8 tbsp. of TSP, otherwise the chemicals could react and cause damage. The bleach will give an added cleaning boost to the weaker TSP solution.
- 4). Clean the chimney surface with a wire brush or scrub brush soaked in this solution. You can also use this mixture in the fireplace and fireplace surround area to remove soot stains or dirt.
- 5). Rinse all cleaned areas thoroughly with warm water to remove all residual TSP cleaner before using the fireplace again.
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