Bits and debris falling down chimney!

Why ‘bits’ fall down your chimney

First things first. If you suspect there’s a bird in a chimney, visit our dedicated ‘bird stuck in chimney‘ page. Otherwise, if it is just debris falling down chimney, keep reading.

It is very common for bits to fall down a chimney. This is most common if you have a gas fire, an electric fire or don’t use your fireplace at all.

Chimneys are often lined with what’s called ‘pargeting’. This in older properties is generally made from lime mortar, though in newer houses it can be a sand and cement mix.

When the chimneys were lined with this material, the intention was that there would be a fire at the bottom. The soot in the smoke from the fire would be absorbed by the pargeting, and this would keep it strong.

If a fire is not in use, or there is a type of fire that doesn’t make a lot of soot, the pargeting will crumble. This will fall down and end up on the hearth, carpet, or whatever is at the base of the chimney. The problem can be made worse by heavy wind and especially rain. The loose bits of mortar get washed down by the rain, and the bits that aren’t so loose turn to powder as they dry and fall down.

How can debris falling down chimney be stopped?

To be honest, it can’t usually be stopped completely. It will continue to shed until there isn’t any left.

There are a few ways to improve it, however..

First of all, using the fireplace with a solid fuel fire would greatly improve the situation. This isn’t always possible if you don’t have a fireplace, and even if you do you’d need an integrity test (Click here for information on integrity tests) before bringing it back in to use.

If there is a a gas fire, the best thing that can be done is a sweep of the chimney, to give it a gentle clean, and if possible fit a bird/rain guard. The clean removes all the loose mortar. The bird/rain guard will reduce the amount of water entering the chimney and in turn slow down the degradation of the pargeting, meaning less ‘bits’ falling down.

If there is not a working fireplace, the best thing to do is have a chimney sweep give the chimney a good abrasive sweep. This differs from the cleaning a gas fire chimney as you don’t need to make so much effort to preserve the pargeting, as the chimney doesn’t need to contain smoke or fumes. Once this is done, a cap should be fitted to stop any rain entering the flue.

What if the bits are falling down because there’s a bird in my chimney?

Sometimes birds can fall in to a chimney. This can make an awful mess, and a chimney that doesn’t usually make a mess can suddenly crumble profusely.

If a bird falls in to a chimney, the front of the fireplace should be covered, and a chimney sweep who can safely rescue the bird and clean the remaining debris in the flue should be contacted. Once the bird is safely out, a birdguard should be fitted to prevent the same happening again.

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