Every homeowner needs to do specific maintenance on their home annually. Duct cleaning is one important part, and having your ducts cleaned regularly ensures that your furnace runs smoothly. It also helps to clear out allergens and prevent impurities from being circulated throughout your home.
Chimney cleaning is another very important procedure in your home’s maintenance schedule. Most insurance companies require an annual inspection and/or cleaning of your chimney, and it is definitely worth spending the minimal amount to have your chimney professionally cleaned. A clean chimney is much more efficient and safe than a dirty one. As you burn wood in your chimney, the soot and other impurities build up within the flue and create a blockage, which can cause a dangerous chimney fire. In addition, the build up of deposits in your chimney can cause dangerous carbon monoxide to build up in your home. If you use a fireplace, you should definitely consider installing a carbon monoxide detector for safety reasons.
Another important reason to have your chimney cleaned, and one that many people do not consider is that during the summer months when you are not using your fireplace, birds and animals can enter your chimney. Bird nests or animals in your chimney can cause dangerous blockages and prevent efficient operation of your fireplace.
The entire procedure to have your chimney cleaned is very quick, and should be completed in under an hour. The chimney sweeper will climb up on your roof with the use of a ladder and then proceed to clean the chimney from the top down with a series of brushes. The brushes are inserted into the top of the chimney and these serve to loosen and then clear the build up from the inside of the chimney. All of the debris brushed from the inside of the chimney will fall down into your fireplace in a pile, so it is very important that the door is closed on your fireplace before the process begins. Once the sweeping has been completed, the chimney sweeper will need to enter your home and clean the firebox. Usually, a shop vac is used to remove all of the debris that has dropped down from inside of the chimney.
Annual maintenance is crucial to the performance of your fireplace. If your chimney is dirty and not venting properly, then you will not have an efficient source of heat. Wood is and has always been one of the best heat sources, because it gives off a nice comfortable and most importantly, very warm heat. It is also very important to ensure that the wood that your burn is thoroughly dried out. Burning wet wood, or wood that is not completely dried out causes build up much more quickly within your chimney than dry wood.
One of the most important aspects of chimney cleaning performed by your chimney sweeper is the inspection of your chimney. They should be able to report to you on the condition of your chimney as well as if anything needs to be replaced or repaired.
