Our Company Blog

Home Builders Are Not Chimney Professionals

While it may seem logical to hire a home builder to inspect your fireplace and offer services as far as repairs and cleaning, this is not the best option for adequately maintaining your chimney. While home builders have many important skills, fireplace maintenance is rarely one of their focal points. Overall, the best option for chimney care and cleaning is to hire a professional who specializes in that field. If you are due for an inspection or are worried that your fireplace is in need of repairs before burning season, make sure the person you are hiring is qualified by following these guidelines.

CSIA Certification

A proper chimney expert will be certified with the Chimney Safety Institute of America. This is a nation-wide certification that ensures the person you hired has gone through various training and schooling to become the best that they can be in their field. Those who are certified take pride in their accomplishment and appreciate the learning advantages that they were offered while gaining this honor.

Another advantage to hiring a CSIA certified professional is knowing that they are up-to-date on all current chimney-related practices. The CSIA requires that their certification be renewed on a regular basis to make sure that everyone is informed of the latest techniques and practices. They recognize that things often change and staying updated on current technologies is vital for ensuring safety.

Proper Business Techniques

Look at how long the company has been in business and see if they have any reviews or references that will offer insight into their level of service. Never be afraid to ask for proof of proper insurance and licensing certifications. Any good company should be proud to show off their credentials. Take a look at any possible complaints the company might have received as far as lack of professionalism or not enforcing proper techniques.

Why Professionals are Necessary

You may be wondering why it is so important to ensure that a professional examines and works on your chimney. It comes down to ensuring the longevity of your chimney and making sure that your home and family is protected when you put your fireplace to use. If a chimney is not up to code or properly cleaned the likelihood of a house fire increases immensely.

A chimney fire can occur for many reasons, but a major one is creosote build-up. When you start a fire in your fireplace, creosote starts to form. Creosote will accumulate more quickly if all of the parts of the chimney are not running smoothly, inhibiting air flow. Since creosote is very flammable, the importance of having a properly cleaned and maintained chimney cannot be stressed enough. Chimney experts will be able to tackle excess debris and offer many other services and advice in regards to whatever chimney problems might be occurring within your home.

The fireplace professionals at Olde Town Chimney Sweeps are trained and certified to fulfill your exact needs. Call 804-693-2859 and make an appointment today.

Chimney Cleaning Logs Should Not Replace Your Yearly Cleaning

When one is first introduced to the concept of chimney cleaning logs, they seem like the most convenient and inexpensive way to go. You burn the log, just as would a normal fire, and do not need to worry about the hassle and cost of a yearly inspection. As with most things that seem too good to be true, chimney cleanings logs are not an easy way out of an inconvenient task. That yearly cleaning and inspection is still vital to maintaining chimney health and ensuring that all aspects of your chimney are safe for use.

Tackling Creosote

The physical task of thoroughly cleaning a chimney simply cannot be matched with a chimney cleaning log. The removal of creosote is vital to the longevity of your chimney and the safety as your home, as it is an extremely flammable substance. While the logs may loosen the creosote in the chimney, allowing it to flake off, that still leaves the substance with nowhere to go expect back into your fire or resting in the bottom of your fireplace. Both of these locations will provide hazards, increasing the danger you and your family are exposed to.

A professional chimney sweep will remove creosote from your chimney and dispose of it properly, along with any other types of debris they might find, such as soot and animal nests. The logs also do not account for creosote that has built up more extensively. These situations require different tactics, which should be approached by a knowledgeable professional.

Professional Insight

Nothing will replace the professional insight you gain from yearly chimney inspections. A log cannot tell you if something obscure is obstructing airflow through your chimney or if there are structural issues that should be addressed. Having someone regularly check to ensure your chimney is safe and up-to-code is one of the most important aspects of being a responsible homeowner. By neglecting this step, you are putting your home and family at risk.

Trust the Experts

The CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America) states that “regular chimney inspections are always recommended.” They claim no opposition to the general use of chimney cleaning logs, but say that they definitely should not serve as a replacement for a yearly cleaning. They support the notion that inspections, cleaning, and repairs should all be done by a certified chimney professional to ensure the safety of one’s home and family.

To maintain proper fire safety, follow these guidelines:

– Get a professional cleaning and inspection done at least once per year .
– Buy smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure that you and your family will be warned of any hazardous elements that enter your home. Regularly check the batteries and ascertain that they are up-to-code.
– Make sure that your family is educated on proper procedures and escape routes, should a fire ever start inside of your home.
– Burn properly by using seasoned wood and only burn fuel appropriate to your fireplace.

Olde Town Chimney Sweeps is a professionally certified chimney service company who can clean your chimney and offer solutions for other chimney and fireplace issues. If you live in and around the Middle Peninsula and Gloucester, VA areas, give Olde Town Chimney Sweeps a call at 804-693-2859.