Chimney Sweeping
If your chimney hasn't been cleaned in awhile then it is time to do so.
Chimneys need periodic examination and thorough cleaning to maintain efficiency and to reduce the chance of a chimney fire. But cleaning your chimney doesn’t mean just making it look nice and shiny. When your chimney is cleaned, it involves the removal of all of the hazardous and extremely flammable creosote in addition to the soot that tends to build up with regular use.
Build-up of creosote and soot that accumulates on the chimney walls reduces the draft needed by the stove or fireplace which may cause smoke to come out the opening or door. Creosote is flammable and can easily fuel a chimney fire.
What steps are taken to sweep a chimney?
Upon arrival, a top inspection of the chimney is performed. We then inspect the fireplace, and then inspect the furnace flue if needed.
If it is determined a sweep is needed, drop cloths are laid down at the hearth area, and a vacuum is brought in. The intake hose is placed in the hearth, and the outtake is placed in a window or out a door so that dust and smells exit the home.
Dan then takes down the damper plate, checks the flue again before he begins and then places the correct size chimney brush on the rod and proceeds to place the brush up through damper. He continues doing this, adding rods until he reaches the top. Then he brushes the flue up and down as he brings the brushes down the flue back to the damper and removes the brush.
He then brushes down the back and side walls of the firebox, useing his hands or sometimes an attachment elbow from the vacuum and sweeps off the smoke shelf. The damper is then brushed down and re-installed.
Dan then uses a shovel to clean up and place any ashes and soot into a paper bag, and then vacuums up the firebox completely.
The hearth and other areas around the fireplace are then vacuumed as well, as well as the glass doors being wiped clean.
What about a woodstove?
A sweep for a wood stove is similar. After a roof inspection, drop cloths are placed around the wood stove hearth and sometimes on the wood stove itself, depending on the installation. Dan inspects the stove, but now the sweep is down from the roof top down. If stove pipe has been disconnected, it is brushed down and re-installed. Again, any hearth area around the stove is vacuumed up, and anywhere he has touched is wiped clean.
Call (781) 585-5990 or Email us for an appointment.
