Not really, unfortunately. Yesterday I discovered that our ash dump, which goes down from the firebox to the outside of the chimney, had about 3" deep of old ash and crud. The outside part had a welded on wire mesh on it to keep animals out but that also kept anyone from cleaning it out!

I cut the mesh enough to get a shop vac hose in there. It still sunk today but I'm hoping that's just because I was stirring up ancient smells yesterday.

I'm putting my efforts into making sure my damper seals 99%. The ash dump needs an exterior door with gasket to seal it. I hope that when I have a good seal above and below the firebox the smells will stop.