Black Stain in living room above stove

Avfcsc2

Good Morning, I have a wood burning stove in my living room which was installed over 2 years ago. Ive had no problems with it thus far. Last night i noticed the development of a black oily substance on the chimney stack above the stove and outside of the area that was opened up to fit the stove. This is the first time this has appeared and im pretty sure it wasnt there yesterday before i lit the stove. Im currently getting my house rewired which means the place is covered in dust and theres been a lot of drilling and movement of floorboards in the last few days. Last night was the first time i lit the stove since the work began.

Can anyone please advise what the issue here is, how do i clean it and how do i prevent it from happening again?

Many thanks

upupup

Avfcsc2 wrote: »

Good Morning, I have a wood burning stove in my living room which was installed over 2 years ago. Ive had no problems with it thus far. Last night i noticed the development of a black oily substance on the chimney stack above the stove and outside of the area that was opened up to fit the stove. This is the first time this has appeared and im pretty sure it wasnt there yesterday before i lit the stove. Im currently getting my house rewired which means the place is covered in dust and theres been a lot of drilling and movement of floorboards in the last few days. Last night was the first time i lit the stove since the work began.

Can anyone please advise what the issue here is, how do i clean it and how do i prevent it from happening again?

Many thanks

Is it an old chimney/old house?
It may be creosote seeping through from a poorly constructed or old chimney which can be fixed by getting it lined with a flexi flue

Avfcsc2

Thank you, yes it is an old house, approx 50 years old. When the stove was installed the chimney was lined with a flexi flue for it. I find it strange that it happened all of a sudden, if creosote was seeping through wouldnt this seep through slowly and not after one fire?

upupup

If it is lined then its not creosote..If it comes back again,some chimney sweeps have cameras so it can be examined to make sure the liner is not damaged