Even though Christmas in July probably won't have you cozying up to your fireplace, the summer is a great time to get your fireplace ready for the fall and winter.

Here are some tips for cleaning your fireplace in the summer.

Take a Look

Cleaning your fireplace in the summer should start by inspecting both the interior and exterior surfaces of your fireplace. To get this part of the job done, you need a flashlight and a long, rigged, stick, or pole (broom handles work perfectly).

Interior:

Inspecting the interior of your fireplace is likely a bit more complicated than just shining a flashlight inside of it and giving it a quick look. To properly assess the condition of your fireplace's interior surfaces, you'll need to start by dislodging any soot, ash, dirt, dust, or debris from the interior walls. Scrapping the surface with your broom handle or stick as a dentist might remove plaque from your teeth should expose the interior bricks.

Once all of the surfaces are exposed, take flash-pictures with your cellphone camera from both the top and bottom opening of your fireplace. When you look through the photos, pay attention to any cracks or missing sealant between the bricks. If an area looks damaged, consider sharing your photos with a fireplace cleaning contractor in your area.

Exterior:

Assessing the exterior of your fireplace is a much easier job. Aside from making sure that cracks aren't developing in exterior surfaces, you'll need to get a close look at the exterior surface of your chimney. If you notice that the sealant at the base of your chimney is starting to degrade, you may want to chalk a rubber sealant around the base.

Give it a Scrub and Polish

Finishing the job of cleaning your fireplace in the summer requires a bite of elbow grease and a chimney sweep. Chimney sweeps are commonly sold at big box home improvement retailers and by local fireplace cleaning contractors in your area.

Scrub:

Scrubbing your fireplace is often a job best completed from your roof. Because you can comfortably stand on your roof, you'll have more leverage to scrub more forcefully. Start with the base of each side of the fireplace and work with the sweep until you reach the top of the chimney.

Polish:

You can remove any excess sediment from your chimney by cleaning the surfaces with a mixture of baking soda and water. Dip a towel in the solution and drape it over your chimney sweep.

For further tips, reach out to a service that offers fireplace cleaning in your area.

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