We have recently moved house and currently have an open fireplace - something we didn't have before. Our cats are very interested in the opening and on one occasion one of the cats ran up the chimney - in fright - and it was a few hours before she finally emerged...filthy! We are not going to use the fireplace for an open fire and would like to block off the opening. Does anyone have any experience of chimney balloons as we have heard that these are quite effective?
We have recently moved house and currently have an open fireplace - something we didn't have before. Our cats are very interested in the opening and on one occasion one of the cats ran up the chimney - in fright - and it was a few hours before she finally emerged...filthy! We are not going to use the fireplace for an open fire and would like to block off the opening. Does anyone have any experience of chimney balloons as we have heard that these are quite effective?
A pile of newspaper scrunched up the chimney stopped our intrepid explorers (one of whom was once spotted with his head out of the chimney looking around quite casually).
They work well, easy to fit, simple to take out when you want to use the chimney for proper fires and easy to put back again afterwards. They stop a lot of heat loss and when inflated properly according to the instructions they do allow for ventilation.
I'm sure you could achieve a similar thing using newspaper etc but for the cost, they're handy, no fuss and quick and simple to use and reuse. I'd buy them again if I needed more.
I'm Not sure if cats claws would burst them though, they are quite tough but I'm not sure. We've got 3 cats but none of them have ever been up a chimney!
Anyway whoever told you that was a downright liar. They are a pointless waste of time and money. If you get a good strong wind as we have today you will find the balloon being sucked up the chimney. And you will have to re-inflate them far too often.
I you're closing a fireplace (mad option IMO) then do so properly. Have it capped with adequate ventilation arranged at the time and have the opening blocked off.
Better IMO to have enclosed stoves or to have an inset with a glazed door. That stops the cats getting into the fireplace and also makes use of them.
To effect a temporary but acceptable solution we simply shaped a piece of decorated cardboard into the opening. It allows a small amount of ventilation, no feline ingress and is easily removed when we wish to use the fire.
Well if your looking to just stop the little critters from getting up there then I would say a chimney balloon would do the trick. I use one to keep bats from comming down my flue and I imagine it will work in reverse. You could go with the glass door or inserts with doors that were mentioned but that is a pretty steep investment if you are just trying to keep cats out. Personally i dont use my fireplace so i chose a chimney balloon because it went in easy and kept the bats out. I do suppose there is some energy benefit to it to though. I suppose the DIY route may work by going with newspaper or wire (although i just cant envision how the wire ball trick works). I wouldnt go with the bed pilllow trick though. If some idiot lights a fire under that you will have a smokey burnt duck smelling mess with of without a fire blanket.
I used a bit of that recycled-plastic-bottle insulation B&Q do that's a bit like fibreglass & rockwool but not itchy and harder to tear or cut. Rolled a bit up and stuffed it up the open flues. Reckon it allows ventilation to clear damp but stops much heatloss due to the chimney effect. Also stops soot coming down & cats giong up :-)
I deliberately didn't wrap it in plastic because I want it to be breathable so that any water that comes down the chimney dries out and there's a path for water vapour and a slight flow of air to pass through it, but without a heat-sapping chimney draught.
A problem with the one we had was rain. It was in a bedroom fireplace with a clear view to the sky and in heavy rain some came down the chimney and produced a very loud drumming noise. This was eventually solved with a disc of plywood in the chimney top which needed a roof expedition.
The balloon would fall out every so often and after ten plus years got a slow puncture. It has been replaced with a bin bag full of bubble wrap.
That doesn't seem to happen, our bedroom one has been in situ for 5 years and only needed re-inflating once, the dining room & living room ballons get removed either when there's a longish power cut, at xmas time - last time was last December and they're both still inflated and in place. We've never had a balloon get sucked up a chimney despite the storms we've had and living a rather windy part of the Cotswolds.
Granted, there are a lot of windier part of the UK but they work here. The ability to removed them and put them back eaily has been invaluable given that we live in a village that seems to have a third world power supply and can be without electricity (to power the pump on the gas boiler) for 12 hours or more 3 or 4 times a year.
Obviously there are a lot of cheaper ways of doing this, but the balloons do work and are convenient.
It's a lovely idea but the cost of doing that for 3 openings vs £20 for the balloons, just wasn't do-able at the time. Our main living room fire-place *will* have a stove in a year or so when we get around to that room, but given the cost of the balloons they've been a useful stop-gap (literally!). Sometimes you just have to work with what you've got until you can get what you want.
The Fireplace Plug is a clean alternative - no need to get covered with soot when installing the plug as it is quickly installed below the damper as opposed to up in the chimney. Available for about $50 from
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