What causes creosote or “soot”?
Creosote or “soot” is caused by simply burning materials in your fireplace, such as wood. Creosote is basically unburned fuel that gathers in the form of black powder, flakes or a baked-on glaze, depending on the degree of build up. Creosote build up is one of the main causes of chimney fires. When there is an excess build up of creosote on the chimney flue and the temperature rises, the soot is ignited and an actual fire is started inside your flue, showering your roof with sparks. Using wood that has been well seasoned along with burning hot fires can help slow the accumulation of creosote, but there is no way to prevent the build up of creosote.
Creosote or “soot” is caused by simply burning materials in your fireplace such as wood. There is no way to prevent the build up of creosote. Now you are probably asking, “What is creosote?” It is basically unburned fuel that gathers in the form of black powder, flakes, or a baked-on glaze, depending on the degree of build up. This is one of the main causes of chimney fires. When there is an excess build up of creosote in the chimney and temperatures rise, the soot is ignited and an actual fire is started inside your chimney, showering your roof with sparks.
