FAQs

No, Co-Mate^® is completely safe to handle. The product is inert, non-toxic, non-corrosive and non-flammable. Co-Mate^® is made from carefully sourced and modified mineral compounds. It's not poisonous or harmful even if you were to accidentally ingest a small amount. In that case, just drink a glass or two of water or milk as a precaution.

The usage guidelines on the product labeling call for different amounts of Co-Mate^® depending on the type of appliance you have. For wood stoves and fireplaces, sprinkle evenly 2-3 tbsp (1-1.5 oz. or 28-42 g) over a fully developed fire once per day for 14 days of continuous operation. During this period, creosote deposits in your chimney will begin to fall, sometimes in large chunks, so check your system regularly to make sure these fallen creosote deposits do not block any flue gas passageways.

For larger appliances, or in cases where you’re using poor quality fuel or starting with significant creosote buildup, you may need to use Co-Mate^® a little longer before your chimney could be considered clean. In cases of severe creosote buildup, have your chimney professionally cleaned before using Co-Mate^®.

The easiest way to see if Co-Mate^® is working is to simply look up your chimney from inside your heating appliance or down from your roof. If you have opportunity to do this, and you have been using Co-Mate^® regularly for several weeks, you may even notice a light-colored coating in your chimney instead of creosote accumulation. This is the anti-corrosion protection that Co-Mate^® provides throughout your entire heating system.

If you can’t easily see inside your chimney, you will eventually notice that the air in and around your home will smell cleaner. This is an important indicator that tells you that not only is your chimney operating cleanly, but Co-Mate^® is also preventing new creosote from forming.

Finally, a clean chimney means more consistent and efficient heat transfer from the chimney to your home. You may be able to notice this directly, and in time, you may notice that you are burning less fuel.

Co-Mate^® will begin working immediately, which you may notice in the first day or two of use. However, Co-Mate^® will not clean your chimney immediately. This is intentional. If Co-Mate^® were to bring down all the creosote in your chimney all at once, those deposits could block off flue gas flow through your chimney, which would be dangerous and cause smoke to accumulate.

Spreading out Co-Mate^® ’s effects over time allows these creosote deposits to accumulate in your ash collection device along with the rest of your ash. In general, Co-Mate^® will get your chimney clean enough for safe operation in up to 2-3 weeks of continuous use.

This is the Co-Mate^® sweet spot. A clean chimney is generally safe from potential chimney fires, and a continuously clean chimney is peace of mind. Using Co-Mate^® to keep your system clean and efficient allows you to enjoy all of Co-Mate^® ’s benefits. Clean glass on your wood stove door, corrosion protection for your entire heating system, reduced odors from your heating appliance in and around your home, continuous and efficient heat transfer from your heating appliance and chimney, and all of this without using any harsh or dangerous chemicals.

Once your system is clean and conditioned to a Co-Mate^® regimen, you can start a maintenance routine by reducing the dosage you used for cleaning your chimney by about a third (1/3) and apply once every two or three days you are burning wood regularly. Adjust the dosage amount and frequency as needed to keep your chimney operationally clean without using more than you need.

In general, you will not need a lot of Co-Mate^® for a maintenance routine. In fact, how often you use Co-Mate^® is more important than the amount. We encourage you to experiment and find out what works best for you. Once you get used to how Co-Mate^® works and how effective it is, you'll quickly learn how best to use it for your particular situation and usage habits. Remember, other than wasting it, you can’t use too much Co-Mate^®.

No. The only thing Co-Mate^® needs to activate is heat. The type of wood you burn, how often you burn it, or the status of your appliance's air intake or damper device has no effect on Co-Mate^® 's ability to function. As long as you have a chimney and you burn a fuel that produces ash, Co-Mate^® will be effective.

Yes. In fact, Co-Mate^® works very well in low fire conditions where creosote formation tends to be more prevalent. While the potential for creosote formation is present any time a fire is present, creosote formation is particularly aggressive during the fall and spring times when heating requirements are at their minimum. Even the temperatures of a low fire are more than enough to activate Co-Mate^®.

For best results, do not add Co-Mate^® to a newly built fire on a cold system. Allow some time for your appliance and chimney to heat up before you start using Co-Mate^®.

Water will deactivate Co-Mate^®, rendering it ineffective. This cannot be undone. If Co-Mate^® is exposed to water, allow it to dry as much as possible and then separate the dried material from the remaining unaffected product. You can safely dispose of Co-Mate^® in any regular waste receptacle.

Co-Mate^® cannot replace a professionally trained chimney sweep or chimney inspector. Beyond creosote accumulation, there are other aspects of frequent wood burning that should be monitored on a regular basis, including for regular maintenance and inspecting for structural damage. We recommend you always follow a regular inspection regimen as recommended for your area. Most countries have professionally trained technicians regulated through certification boards, such as WETT in Canada or CSIA in the United States.

In most cases, Co-Mate^® will keep your chimney operationally clean indefinitely if you use it on a regular basis. You'll be able to monitor this through regular inspections. With regular Co-Mate^® use, even if there is some accumulation, it will be easily removed with a mechanical brush or similar device. In general, this is usually not necessary as Co-Mate^®-treated ash is weak and friable and will eventually collapse under its own weight.

Yes. Co-Mate^® is safe for use in all types of chimneys, inserts, and liners.

This is possible. Co-Mate^® itself does not burn, but one of the mechanisms through which Co-Mate^® works is by improving combustion efficiency, which will temporarily increase flame temperature. This effect reduces the amount of carbon available for creosote formation.

Yes, but be careful.Co-Mate^®, when used properly, will help significantly reduce ash accumulation in your chimney. If you burn a lower quality fuel, which generally has more ash, Co-Mate^® will still be just as effective, and your chimney will generally remain free of creosote.

However, Co-Mate^® DOES NOT make ash magically disappear. The ash, treated with Co-Mate^®, still must go somewhere. This is generally in the ash collection device of your heating appliance, but it may fall and gather on other elements in your system. Be prepared to clean out your ash collection more often if you change to a fuel with a higher ash content.

We would not recommend changing to a lower quality fuel if the manufacturer of your heating appliance recommends against it. There may be other reasons other than ash or creosote for these instructions.

No. Natural gas and propane produce very little ash and therefore their heating appliances are not generally designed to collect ash and allow for disposal. If your fuel doesn't produce ash, Co-Mate^® will not provide much benefit.

Co-Mate^® can, however, be used effectively in a multi-fuel stove, which may at times use propane or natural gas as a fuel (see below).

Yes. As long as your heating appliance has the means to collect and allow for the removal of ash during normal operation, Co-Mate^® can be safely applied. You’ll find that the amount of Co-Mate^® needed will be proportional to the amount of ash content in the fuel, with lower ash fuels requiring the least amount of Co-Mate^® and vice-versa.

Yes. Co-Mate^® will have no adverse effect whatsoever on the condition of your catalyst but will simply keep everything running clean and more efficiently. You can also use Co-Mate^® with both metal and ceramic catalysts.

Absolutely! Co-Mate^®-treated wood ash is perfectly safe for use as a soil amendment. In fact, Co-Mate^®-treated ash will help the soil retain moisture and nutrients, and even help neutralize soil acidity.

For most maintenance situations, one bottle of Co-Mate^® will last an entire heating season. For chimney cleaning, or considering factors like heavy fuel use, lower quality fuel, or larger sized appliances, you may need to increase the amount of Co-Mate^® you use.

The only difference is the packaging – the Co-Mate^® itself is exactly the same. As we sell Co-Mate^® using e-commerce channels where the product is delivered through the mail, our old containers would sometimes fail during shipping, causing the contents to leak out. Our new plastic bottles are much stronger and more suited for mail delivery. They also contain 10% more product than our old containers, have an easy-to-use flip top cap, and are 100% recyclable.

If you burn wood in a wood stove, fireplace, or similar device, what remains after combustion is complete is called ash. Most of this ash remains in the combustion chamber or falls below it, making it easily collectible. However, some of it escapes up the chimney where over time this ash, along with unburned compounds from the wood, accumulates on the inside walls of the chimney. This substance is commonly known as creosote and presents a significant fire hazard as it can easily reignite, causing devastating chimney fires.

Creosote is an unavoidable side effect of safely burning wood inside a building. You may have a super-efficient wood burning appliance, an optimally designed chimney, and you are burning the finest quality wood. No matter the setup, it's only a matter of time before creosote deposits will have to be dealt with responsibly. This is why Co-Mate^® Chimney Cleaner is the perfect companion for any wood stove or fireplace. With regular use, your chimney can remain virtually free and clear of harmful deposits indefinitely.

Co-Mate^® is made from a blend of naturally occurring mineral compounds, carefully sourced and modified for effect. The manufacturing process does not include any harsh or dangerous chemicals, detergents, or fillers. Co-Mate^® may contain a little magic, but we can’t confirm or deny that.

Co-Mate^® is simply a shortened version of the term “Combustion-Mate”.

Well, glad you asked. “Cignis” is the amalgamation of two Latin words. “Ignis” is the Latin word for fire, and the root of the English word ignition. “Cinis” is the Latin word for ash. Combining the terms for fire and ash we get “Cignis”, pronounced the same way as the constellation “Cygnus”.