A catalytic powder or log — and what it does not replace

Soot removers, and the sweep they do not replace

A soot remover is a catalyst: powders and logs that release metal salts into the flue gas so that deposited tar oxidises at a lower temperature than it otherwise would, drying hard glaze into a friable soot that a brush can take. That is what the makers claim, in those terms, and it is what the pages here report — with the sentence every serious maker prints alongside it, which is that the product does not replace sweeping and in most countries does not replace the inspection either. The figures are simple: the form — loose powder sprinkled on a hot fire, sachets thrown in whole, or a compressed log burned alone — the dose per use, the recommended frequency, and the pack size, which together give a cost per season rather than a cost per box. One distinction is worth making because the listings blur it: a catalytic cleaner works on existing deposit, while a combustion improver is sold to reduce new deposit, and several products claim both. Then the practical constraint that the good listings state and the rest omit: most of these need a flue at working temperature to do anything at all, which means the product cannot be used on the stove that is already too cool to draw. We compare format, quantity, active substance, ingredients, dose, interval, claimed effect and stated appliances.

These parts, set out figure by figure

1. 

   Favorit High-Performance Soot Remover, 10 Sachets

   Ten individual sachets for wood, tiled and oil stoves — the cheapest product on this shelf, and the only one divisible by the dose.

   Format

   Powder in 10 individual sachets

   Quantity

   The maker does not state it.

   Active substance

   The maker does not state it.

   Ingredients

   Not published

   Dose

   One sachet per application, by construction

   Interval

   Not published — regular use is stated without a frequency · Not published

   Claimed effect

   Removes soot and deposits, and increases the draught with regular use · Not addressed

   Stated appliances

   Wood stoves, tiled stoves and oil stoves

   Amazon reference

   B005LD3D8W (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4006822112682

   • Sachets rather than a tin, so the dose is fixed and nothing is measured by eye
   • Ten applications, which is a season at most sensible intervals
   • No ingredients published — as with every listing on this shelf

   Best for: Regular light maintenance between sweeps, at a fixed dose and the lowest price here

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2. 

   Testrut High-Performance Soot Remover 1255 T

   A soot remover with no published features of any kind — the listing is its title, its reference 1255 T, and nothing else at all.

   Format

   High-performance soot remover, from the title · Not published

   Quantity

   Not published

   Active substance

   The maker does not state it.

   Ingredients

   Not published

   Dose

   The maker does not state it.

   Interval

   The maker does not state it.

   Claimed effect

   Not published

   Stated appliances

   Chimneys and stoves, from the title · 1255 T · None — the listing carries no feature text

   Amazon reference

   DE B009J78CZ0 · GB B003YZ2IN0 · FR B003YZ2IN0 · IT B003YZ2IN0 · ES B003YZ2IN0

   EAN

   4009977376152

   • One of the cheapest entries in this family
   • A named reference, which suggests a catalogue behind it
   • No published features whatever: no format, no quantity, no dose, no method

   Best for: A repeat buyer who already knows this reference and wants it again

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3. 

   Fermit Vettelschoß Combustion Chamber Soot Remover, 500 ml

   Five hundred millilitres aimed at the firebox rather than the flue — on a listing whose only real sentence is cut off mid-word.

   Format

   The maker does not state it.

   Quantity

   500 ml

   Active substance

   The maker does not state it.

   Ingredients

   Not published

   Dose

   The maker does not state it.

   Interval

   Not published

   Claimed effect

   The combustion chamber, named in the product title — not the chimney · Not published

   Stated appliances

   18002, also given as 18002-F · Three: two reference numbers and one sentence that ends mid-word · An agent for cleaning and maintenance of — the sentence stops there on the listing

   Amazon reference

   B009A2IWKY (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4030777180021

   • Names the combustion chamber specifically, which is a narrower and more honest target than the chimney
   • A 500 ml volume, so the quantity is at least known
   • The one descriptive feature on the listing is truncated in the middle of a word

   Best for: A firebox and a baffle that have blackened, rather than a chimney that needs sweeping

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4. 

   Sadpal High-Performance Soot Remover, 1 kg

   A kilogram of powder with the only duration published on this shelf: the cleaning process takes about twenty minutes.

   Format

   Powder

   Quantity

   1 kg

   Active substance

   The maker does not state it.

   Ingredients

   Not published

   Dose

   Not published

   Interval

   The cleaning process is stated to take about 20 minutes — the only duration in this family

   Claimed effect

   Wood stoves, tiled stoves, oil stoves and the chimney · Increases the draught and reduces consumption

   Stated appliances

   Stated to free them of soot and residues without danger

   Amazon reference

   B07YGBTSTN (one reference across 4 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5903138000025

   • The only listing in this family to publish how long the process takes
   • A kilogram, which is the largest quantity on this shelf alongside one other
   • No dose published, so a kilogram cannot be converted into a number of applications

   Best for: Somebody who wants the largest quantity of powder and a stated idea of how long the job takes

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5. 

   Hansa Chimney Soot Remover, 1 kg Concentrate

   The listing that says the chimney is cleaned without a brush and without outside help — the boldest claim on this shelf, and the one to weigh hardest.

   Format

   Concentrated powder, 1 kg

   Quantity

   The maker does not state it.

   Active substance

   The maker does not state it.

   Ingredients

   Not published

   Dose

   Not published

   Interval

   Stated to assure lasting cleanliness in the chimney · Not published — regular use is stated without a frequency

   Claimed effect

   The chimney is cleaned without a brush, stated · Simple and effortless maintenance of the chimney without outside help, stated

   Stated appliances

   Metal and masonry chimneys, straight or curved, of any height and diameter

   Amazon reference

   B00HF3HWIS (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4779022360183

   • States which flue constructions it is for — metal and masonry, straight and curved — where most of this shelf does not
   • A concentrate, so a kilogram is a large number of treatments
   • Claims the chimney is cleaned without a brush, where another listing in this family states its product does not replace prescribed professional cleaning

   Best for: Regular flue maintenance between sweeps — not as a substitute for one

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6. 

   FLAMMBURO Cleaning Log, 3-Pack

   A pressed sawdust log with an active core, an interval of sixty to ninety days — and the only listing here that says it does not replace professional cleaning.

   Format

   A pressed log laid in the fire, in a paper wrapper · 3 logs, described as a supply for the heating period

   Quantity

   The maker does not state it.

   Active substance

   Pressed wood sawdust with an active substance in the core, no binders, made in the EU · Not named

   Ingredients

   The maker does not state it.

   Dose

   The maker does not state it.

   Interval

   Every 60 to 90 days, stated

   Claimed effect

   Laid in a well pre-heated fire; the effect is stated to develop over the following days · Releases an active substance that can loosen soot and tar deposits — stated conditionally · Does not replace the prescribed cleaning by qualified personnel

   Stated appliances

   The maker does not state it.

   Amazon reference

   B0BBRPLPCH (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4007467347071

   • The only listing in this family to state that it does not replace professional cleaning
   • The only one to publish an application interval
   • The active substance itself is not named, as on every listing in this family

   Best for: Ongoing maintenance alongside sweeping, on a stove that is already running hot

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7. 

   Pyro Feu Cleaning Log, 3-Pack

   Three cleaning logs stated for coal as well as wood — the only listing on this shelf to name coal, and one of the least documented.

   Format

   Cleaning log, laid in the fire

   Quantity

   3 logs

   Active substance

   Not published

   Ingredients

   The maker does not state it.

   Dose

   The maker does not state it.

   Interval

   Not published

   Claimed effect

   Not published · Not addressed

   Stated appliances

   Wood and coal, stated — the only listing here to name coal · Three: one repeating the title, and two single words

   Amazon reference

   B009X5VOUI (one reference across 3 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4260268654278

   • Names coal as well as wood, which no other listing in this family does
   • The cleaning log format, which is laid in the fire rather than thrown as a powder
   • Three published features, two of which are single words

   Best for: A coal or mixed-fuel fire, where nothing else on this shelf names the fuel at all

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