Insights For Having Your Chimney Cleaned
Having a fireplace can make an already comfortable home, all the more pleasant. It keeps you warm during the chilly months, but also creates a welcoming environment for you and your family to gather and spend quality time together. As great as your fireplace is though, it still needs to be cleaned regularly, or else you put your family at risk to spontaneous fires and even poisoning.
“Rule of Thumb” Chimney Cleaning
Many people set a specific rule on chimney cleaning: “once every 50 uses”. This is a common rule of thumb, and it’s a decent way of keeping your chimney in working order. However, to get the most out of your fireplace, you should gauge exactly how dirty the chimney flue is.
Freshly-Cut Wood and Slow-Cool Fires
The things that are going to make your fireplace the dirtiest is if you are burning fires using green wood (freshly cut wood that hasn’t had time to dry), slow cool fires, or slow cool small fires in conjunction with green wood. With these fireplace practices, you can clog up the chimney with creosote, which can actually catch on fire if enough accumulates, and it can burn the whole house down.
Insects and Rodents
Even a chimney that has not been used for a wood burning appliance can become blocked by dead rodents or insects, such a hornet’s nest. Don’t forget to inspect the flue before lighting the first fire of the season, because animals and insects could have obstructed the flue over the summer. If you have a properly screened cap on your chimney top, you’ll keep out the animals but unfortunately not the insects.
Oil & Gas-Fired Chimneys
Part of regular oil-fired heating service includes dis-assembly and cleaning of the flue vent connector. Ask your heating service tech to check the chimney itself and order a cleaning if needed. Gas fired heating appliance chimneys ought to be inspected regularly. A blocked off gas-fired chimney can create a serious risk of improper gas appliance operation, which is likely to produce dangerous, potentially fatal carbon monoxide.
Future Cleanings
Once you’ve had your chimney cleaned, future cleanings can be scheduled based on how many fires you’ve had, and the type of wood you’re burning.
Whether you want a simple inspection, or you’re chimney is in desperate need of a cleaning, please Contact Us Today. We’re the authority in Atlanta chimney sweep service!
