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Monday, May 17, 2021

A Guide to Cleaning Your Own Chimney

 

Staying Safe and Warm This Winter:
A Guide to Cleaning Your Own Chimney

During fall and winter, few things are more universally loved than a warm, crackling wood fire.

But this could come at a steep price should a dirty chimney cause a chimney fire. Difficult to contain, chimney fires can quickly spread to the rest of the house.

Even if a dirty chimney does not lead to an accidental fire, it can still mean a slow-drawing chimney that builds up smoke within the house.

Find out how to accurately determine whether your chimney needs cleaning, and learn do-it-yourself methods for cleaning your chimney by yourself.

Why It Is (Deadly) Important to Clean Your Chimney

Roaring inferno. Rumbling like a train. Black, oily material raining down. Cracking, snapping. Gunshots.

Those are phrases that homeowners have used to describe their terrifying experiences with chimney fires. Once this fire starts, the only solution is to call the fire department, as the fire can spread quickly to the rest of the house.1

What causes this is the accumulation of creosote, soot, and organic matter such as bird’s nests and pine cones in the chimney flue.

The flue is the masonry or metal duct that extends from the fireplace up to the top of the chimney.2

Creosote and soot are caused by wood fires. Gas-burning fireplaces will not have this problem.

Eight Stages of a Chimney Fire

The groundwork for a chimney fire is laid well in advance of the devastating event itself – often years prior.3

  1. Poor Burning Conditions: Burning green or unseasoned wood can produce creosote, even in the short term. Even burning seasoned wood over time without cleaning the chimney causes creosote and soot to form.
  2. Condensation: Unburned gases condense on the walls of the flue.
  3. Stage 1 Creosote: Condensation hardens in the form of creosote, a thin powdery layer. At this point, this is still normal and should not cause an accidental fire. Creosote at this stage is easy to brush away.
  4. Stage 2 Creosote: As time goes on, large, flaky, and shiny creosote builds up. This is the earliest point at which accidental fires can develop.
  5. Stage 3 Creosote: Flakes accumulate and become thick and fluffy, the most dangerous condition of all. Stage 3 creosote is best left in the hands of a chimney sweeping company, which will use a rotary head with chains to break down this extra-hard formation.
  6. Fire Started: Homeowner starts intended fire in the fireplace.
  7. Ignition: As heat rises through the flue, creosote superheats. The accidental fire begins.
  8. Chimney Fire: Flames blast out of both chimney top and down into house. Do not attempt to stop a chimney fire. Call the fire department immediately.

Collateral Damage

Even if the chimney fire does not consume the structure, your home will suffer substantial and costly peripheral damage.

  • Masonry flue may crack at a mid-point, where it is hidden behind walls and inaccessible. A cracked flue renders the chimney inoperable until fixed.
  • Water from fire department is directed downward, flooding the home.
  • Thermal shock causes exterior brick masonry to crack.
  • Roofing materials and flashing near chimney warp and distend.

Signs That Your Chimney Needs Cleaning

Chimney sweeping companies typically recommend that you clean your chimney annually in the late summer or early fall, before you have started any fires for the year.

In addition, here are other indications that it may be time to clean your chimney:

  • You often burn unseasoned or inadequately seasoned wood or wood that otherwise had a difficult time burning completely. Wood usually needs six months or more of seasoning to expel enough moisture for proper burning.
  • Soot and creosote sometimes fall into fireplace.
  • Thick and puffy or honeycombed creosote is present inside the flue.
  • Thinner, flaky creosote more than ¼-inch thick is present in the flue.
  • Smoke accumulates in the house when you have a fire.
  • You frequently burn artificial logs.
  • You tend to keep the damper semi-open to slow the fire and keep it burning longer.4

How to Sweep Your Own Chimney

As long as you are willing to invest in a few tools and materials, you can sweep your own chimney.

This investment will quickly pay you back by reducing the frequency of visits from a chimney sweeping company. In fact, it is prudent to have a sweeper or technician certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) perform the intial cleaning.5

Self-sweeping augments, rather than replaces, regular cleaning performed by a certified technician.

Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Sweeping

As long as you can access the roof of your home, sweeping from the top down will be more efficient and cleaner than will the alternate method, sweeping from the bottom up.

Sweeping top down means you can fully seal the front of your fireplace. Soot and creosote will not fall on you as you sweep. It also means that you will be better able to move the brush through the flue, avoiding the “dog-leg” smoke shelf portion at the bottom.

  1. Downstairs Interior: At the fireplace, open the damper, lay out the dust cloth in front of fireplace, and tape sheet plastic against face of fireplace.
  2. Tools and Materials: Assemble your cleaning supplies in a duffel bag: cleaning brush, extension poles, cordless drill, and dust mask.
  3. Access Roof: Place extension ladder against eaves of house. Carry the duffel bag to the top of the ladder and place the bag on the roof before getting on the roof yourself.
  4. Remove Chimney Caps: You need to remove the protective chimney caps from the top of the chimney before cleaning. Do this by turning out the screws with your cordless drill and placing the screws in your pocket for safekeeping. Carefully place removed chimney caps on the roof so they do not slide off.
  5. Attach Brush: Screw the chimney sweep brush onto the first extension rod.
  6. Insert Brush: With only one rod connected at this point, push the brush into the flue and scrub vigorously up and down. Continue scrubbing while gradually pushing the brush farther down the flue.
  7. Add Rods: When you reach the end of that rod, thread on another rod. Repeat the previous step, successively adding rods until you reach the smoke shelf and can go no farther.
  8. Remove: Instead of pulling upward in one continuous motion, bring up the rod/brush assembly slowly, scrubbing along the way while progressively unscrewing extension rods.
  9. Replace Caps: Replace the chimney caps and screw them back into place.
  10. Leave Roof: Bring tools with you as you exit the roof area.
  11. Downstairs Interior: Wait about five minutes for dust to settle before taking down the sheet plastic in front of fireplace. Sweep the firebox with the smaller wire brush.
  12. Clean Up: Clean fallen debris with the shop vacuum. Remove and discard plastic covering floor.

Tools for Sweeping Your Own Chimney

Chimney Sweep Tools

Tools that are specific to chimney sweeping that you must purchase:

  • Chimney Brush: While on the roof, take note of the shape of your flue (square, rectangular, or round) and measure its length and width. These measurements determine the brush you will purchase.
  • Fiberglass Extension Rods: 48-inch-long rods connect end to end and carry the chimney brush down the flue. While on the roof, also run the tape measure down the length of the flue to determine how many rods to buy.

General Tools and Materials

  • Sheet plastic
  • Duct tape
  • Extension ladder
  • Shop vacuum
  • Old clothes, including long-sleeve shirt
  • Dust mask
  • Safety glasses
  • Cordless drill
  • Duffel bag
  • Tape measure
  • Small wire brush of the type used to clean barbecues

Chimney Sweeping Safety

Chimney sweeping is a safe project as long as you take a few precautions. Protecting yourself and your property against soot, creosote, and other debris is one precaution. You can stay clean by wearing a dust mask, gloves, hat, and long-sleeve clothing. Because the chimney brush has sharp metal bristles, be sure to wear safety glasses, too.

The second and most important safeguard is to properly access and stand on your roof.

  • Use an extension ladder, not a step ladder.
  • Raise the ladder so that it rests against the eaves and extends at least two feet above the eaves.
  • Make sure that the base of the ladder is resting on a hard surface, such as concrete or asphalt. If the ground is dirt, use a plywood sheet as a base on which to rest the ladder.
  • Mount the ladder slowly, making sure to keep both hands on the ladder at the same time.
  • Once on the roof, go to the chimney area and place the duffel bag on the roof ridge so that it does not roll off.
  • Do not go near any edge of the roof except when climbing the ladder.6

Cleaning your woodburning fireplace’s chimney by yourself is an economical way to keep your family safe from accidental fires. It also ensures that your fireplace will work efficiently by drawing smoke up and out at a maximum rate.

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Monday, 14 December 2020

How to Do Pushups

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How to Do Pushups

Proper Form, Variations, and Common Mistakes

Push up

Verywell / Ben Goldstein

Targets: Chest, arms, shoulders, core

Level: Beginner

The pushup may just be the perfect exercise that builds both upper-body and core strength. Done properly, it is a compound exercise that uses muscles in the chest, shoulders, triceps, back, abs, and even the legs.

It has many modifications so beginners can start with easier versions and work up to the standard pushup, while you can find a challenging variation if you are advanced. You can do the pushup as part of a bodyweight exercise session, a circuit training workout, or a strength workout.

Benefits

The upper body muscles that come into play in the pushup are the deltoids of the shoulders, the pectoral muscles of the chest, the triceps and biceps of the upper arm, and the erector spinae of the back. The abdominal muscles used to hold the body rigid during the pushup are the rectus abdominis and the transversus abdominis. As the pushup involves multiple joints, it is a compound exercise.1

In daily life, you will often need to push against objects, from doors to shopping carts. The functional fitness you develop with pushups will serve you well. Working the stabilizer muscles around the shoulders can help protect you from rotator cuff injuries. Pushups are also a measure of overall fitness, allowing you to assess whether you need to be doing more to keep your body in good working condition.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Get on the floor on all fours, positioning your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.2
  2. Extend your legs back so that you are balanced on your hands and toes. Keep your body in a straight line from head to toe without sagging in the middle or arching your back. You can position your feet to be close together or a bit wider depending on what is most comfortable for you.
  3. Before you begin any movement, contract your abs and tighten your core by pulling your belly button toward your spine. Keep a tight core throughout the entire pushup.2
  4. Inhale as you slowly bend your elbows and lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle.
  5. Exhale as you begin contracting your chest muscles and pushing back up through your hands to the start position. Don't lock out the elbows; keep them slightly bent.

Repeat for as many repetitions as your workout routine requires. If you have to pass a fitness test (such as the Army Physical Fitness Test) you can use a few simple strategies to build your strength and endurance in order to do more pushups. One popular strategy is the "one more pushup a day" approach. This is when on day one you do one push-up, then on day two you do two push-ups, and so on.

Common Mistakes

It is easy to start making errors with pushups if you are fatiguing or if you haven't built enough core strength. Look for these and switch to an easier variation if you can't maintain the best form.

Sagging in the Middle

The most common problem is sagging in the middle, caused by not properly bracing the core and keeping the torso stiff throughout the movement. This is not only bad form, but it can also cause back pain. You can practice with a modified plank exercise to build your core strength. Once you master that, try doing a pushup on your knees, practicing keeping your torso stiff.3

Neck Alignment

Your neck should be in neutral alignment with the head in a straight line with the spine, eyes to the floor, and the top of your head pointed at the opposite wall. If you point your chin up or drop your head so you much that you can see your toes, you are out of alignment.

Locked Elbows

Locking your elbows at the top of the movement is a mistake you might make as you fatigue and want a little rest. But this places too much stress on the joints and can lead to strain or injury. Always keep a slight bend in the elbows. If you are fatigued, it's time to take a rest before doing another set.

Hands Too Far Forward

If your hands are farther out from your body than your shoulders you are placing more strain on your shoulders. While you can vary how close your hands are together to get different effects, they should be under your shoulders.2

Limited Range of Motion

If you are only going down partially with most of your pushups, you aren't getting the full benefit. It is better to switch to an easier modification (such as knee or incline pushups) that you can do with the full range of motion.

Modifications and Variations

Whether you are a beginner or you need more challenges, there is a pushup for you. One of the great things about the pushup is that by varying the exercise you can change the stimulus on your muscle. Beginners can build the strength they need to work up to standard pushups while advanced exercisers can work their muscles in new ways.

Need a Modification?

Try these variations if you need less difficulty:

  • Incline Pushups: If a standard pushup is too difficult, you can start by doing pushups against a table or bench.3 Stand several feet away from the object. Use the same pushup technique as above to lower yourself until the elbows are 90 degrees, then raise back up. Keep your core tight the whole time.
  • Bent-Knee Pushups: This is a modified version of the standard pushup performed on the knees rather than on the toes. Be sure to keep the knees, hips, and shoulders all in a straight line. Do not allow yourself to bend at the hips.

Up for a Challenge?

Try these pushup variations for increased difficulty and to work your muscles in different ways.

  • Stability-Ball Pushups: Add core stability work for increased difficulty and effectiveness. Make sure you can do about 20 basic pushups before trying these.
  • Pushup Lat Row: This variation adds alternating dumbbell lat rows to the top of each rep. This modification increases the intensity of the exercise, activates the core stabilizers, and engages the latissimus dorsi (back) muscles.
  • Medicine-Ball Pushup: Perform a standard pushup with one hand on top of a medicine ball. This works the shoulder in a slightly different range of motion which increases shoulder stability.
  • Alternating Medicine-Ball Pushup: This variation adds core stability as well as a modified range of motion during the basic pushup movement. Roll the medicine ball between each hand after a rep and add a new balance challenge.
  • Decline Pushups: This is a more difficult pushup, performed with the feet raised up on a box or bench.3 You can adjust the box height to increase or decrease the resistance using just your body weight.
  • Diamond Pushup: The diamond push up is done with your hands close together and the index fingers and thumbs of one hand touching the other hand and making a diamond shape. You then do pushups with your hands touching the center of your chest and elbows close to your sides during each rep.
  • Clapping Pushup: This is a plyometric exercise in which you push yourself up with enough power so that your hands come off the floor and you clap in midair. This exercise is not for novice exercisers. You can get injured very easily if you haven't worked up to these one at a time.

Safety and Precautions

You should not do pushups if you have a shoulder, wrist, or elbow injury. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to see if this is an appropriate exercise. If you want to protect your wrists, you can place your hands on dumbbells or pushup bars to keep them in a neutral position. If you feel shoulder pain during the pushup or hear a clicking noise in your shoulder, end the exercise.

Try It Out

Incorporate this move and similar ones into one of these popular workouts:

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