Do It Yourself and Other Educational Chimney and Fire Safety Articles

The chimney access door is also called a clean out door, soot door, and ash dump door. It is a grate or door opening where the ashes are dumped. It is usually located in the basement or the exterior of your home but it is under the "floor" of the chimney for models with ash bins.  It is not hard to identify the chimney access door because like the word itself, it is a door that can be opened and closed. It should never be blocked by any other appliances or equipment so if you are having trouble finding it, it might be hidden.  Make sure you move any obstructions out of the way if this is the case.

You can easily access your cleanout door for regular cleaning which entails cleaning out the ashes collected inside with a shovel. When opening the chimney access door, make sure that there’s no fire in the fireplace and allow some time after the fire is out for all the smoke and gases to vent upward. Check out the access door regularly to remove the dumped ashes inside the chimney and the fireplace. Before you open the door, check that it is airtight and non-rusting.

Your access door may be square or rectangle and it is also made of fire-resistant materials. It should have a lever or a knob so you can easily pull it if you want to open it.  If your access door has deteriorated or rusted, you can find many replacements.  You’ll need to get the exact model of your current door and replace that, or measure the exact dimensions of your access door and find a replacement that is the same size and material.

The things or objects found inside the access door will let you know if there is something wrong with the chimney or the fireplace. Aside from the ashes, you might find small pieces of bricks or any other foreign objects. Pieces of brick or clay chimney liner found inside the chimney access door means that there might be something wrong with the flue and it is deteriorating.  Any small animal remains found inside the access door means that there is something wrong with your chimney cap. If you find a pool of water in your access door, this is another indicator that you need to check for water damage and cracks inside the flue.  If you find a lot of debris, you should definitely contact a certified chimney sweep to do a full safety inspection of your chimney before using it again.