End of Season Cleaning of the Wood Stove & Stove Pipe

It’s that time of year again to clean out the wood stove and stove pipe after a winter of heavy use. We burn oak for the most part but still get some creosote build up in the pipes. So I clean them out yearly once the weather gets warm enough that we no longer need the stove. This post will show you how I do a yearly cleaning of the wood stove and how I use the stove pipe to exhaust the air conditioner with the change of seasons.

Below is a photo of our wood stove in use. The tile surround is more modern to fit our taste. And those are small brass accent pieces in the floor tile. More on that here if you want to check it out.

Cleaning Wood Stove Chimney :

The hero of our story is this stiff round stove pipe brush in the photo below. I have a 7 inch diameter brush in the attic to the chimney cap, so I use a 6 inch diameter brush. Otherwise, I’ve found using a brush that matches the pipe diameter is too stiff to move freely in the pipe. I also have a 4 inch diameter brush I use for the 6 inch diameter pipe sections below the ceiling. More on that later.

The garbage bag is usefully when I’m working from the living room. But before working in the living room, the first thing I do it get up on the roof and start cleaning out the pipe from the top of the chimney.

Midwest Hearth Poly Chimney Cleaning Brush

• POLYPROPYLENE BRUSH – Stiff poly bristles clean coal and soot from metal stove pipes, flue, and chimneys
• GALVANIZED STEEL STEM – Heavy duty double-spiral stem for long-lasting durability
• 1/4 INCH NPT FITTINGS – Features 1/4″ male pipe threads for use with our fiberglass rod kits (sold separately)

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Midwest Hearth Poly Chimney Cleaning Brush (8-Inch Round)

The photo below shows you the ladder I use. It’s a standard aluminum extension ladder. But I added the stabilizer brace that rests on the roof. That keeps the ladder from slipping side to side and protects the gutter from getting smashed by the ladder.

Below is a closer look at the ladder stabilizer on the roof.

First, I get up on the roof and take off the chimney cap. I get the cap on the ground so I can give it a proper cleaning. Then I get back on the roof with the 6 inch diameter stove pipe brush and a chimney rod extension kit. The rod extension kit allows me to get the stove brush deep down into the stove pipe. I spend a good 10 minutes moving the brush all around inside the pipe to brush off all the creosote. Remember, at this point, the pipe is still in place in the living room, so all the creosote is falling down to the stove. I’ll vacuum that up with a shop vac shortly.

It’s helpful to wear a headlamp so you can look down the pipe and check your work. I also wear a high-quality mask and some gloves to avoid breathing in soot and getting it all over my hands.

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Next, I brush out the creosote from the chimney cap. A smaller wire brush comes in handy here to get into the nooks and crannies. Below is a photo of the cleaned chimney cap. If you remember, a few years back, I refurbished this chimney cap and added the stainless steel wire mesh to bring it up to current code. More on that here if you like.

With the roof work done, I put the cleaned chimney cap back on to keep birds and rain from getting down the pipe.

Wood Stove Pipe:

Next, I take the stove sections in the living room outside so I can give them an aggressive brushing. These are 6 inch diameter pipes, so I use a 4 inch diameter stove pipe brush. Scrub the insides up and down and all around to get the creosote off the walls.

Below is a pipe section and you can see all creosote I’ve scrapped off the pipe coming out the bottom.

Here is a closer look at that creosote buildup after cleaning the wood stove pipe. If this builds up too much, you can get a flue fire where this stuff actually starts to burn. Its really tough to stop a flue fire once it starts, so do yourself a favor and clean your wood stove pipes yearly!

Finally, I move into the living room. Because the chimney is long, I do one last brushing on the chimney pipe from below. Here is a photo of my set up to avoid getting creosote all over the living room. Basically, I put the extension wand of the pipe brush through a small hole a garbage bag. Then I use a large rubber band to attach the bag to the end of the stove pipe. Then scrub away!

A close up of my garbage bag, rubber band, and brush contraption at the ceiling.

Last but not least to wrap up this seasonal cleaning of the wood stove, I use a shop vac to vacuum up all the creosote that landed in the wood stove. I also vacuum up the ash in the stove itself. Don’t do this with a standard vacuum! You’ll ruin the filters with the ash. That’s why I use a shop vac as it’s meant for all kinds of dust and dirt. Plus you can easily remove and replace the filter on the shop vac when needed.

Seasonal Change Wood Stove to Air Conditioner:

This Main House Fixer Upper did not come with central air conditioning. We did not want to pay to have a central air installed. Plus the house is only about 800 square feet, so a portable air conditioner is a perfect, budget-friendly solution.

In past years, we’ve vented the air conditioner out the window as you can see in the photo below. But this is a cluttered mess! Plus it stops us from being able to use the window at night to help cool of the house when the temperature drops.

Here is a somewhat clever way to use your newly cleaned wood stove pipe as a vent for a portable air conditioner. I removed the small pipe section near the stove and hooked up the air conditioner pipe directly. Easy peasy.

That’s much cleaner than venting out the window. Now we can use the window at night too!

Don’t mind that blue tape on the stove pipe. My husband insisted on it for the summer though it’s not really needed. Some things you just let slide. I’ll definitely take it off once we start the stove back up.

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