A chimney sweep can be done every couple of weeks, but typically, it is done only once a year.
The frequency on which you’ll have this service done depends on several factors:
- The number of times you use
- The type of wood you burn
- Which wood-burning unit you have
- How you use your wood-burning unit
Most homeowners don’t use the fireplace enough to have a cleaning schedule for every couple of weeks, but still:
You should never skip the yearly chimney sweep!
“We dream of having a clean house — but who dreams of actually doing the cleaning?” - Marcus Buckingham
Fire Safety
Did you know the most common cause of chimney fires are dirty chimneys? When the solution is as simple as getting a chimney sweep, there’s no reason why you should put your life and your family’s life in danger because of it, right?
Let me explain a bit more about this:
When wood is burning, it creates creosote. That’s a highly combustible substance that can easily start a fire when it accumulates in your fireplace.
When a fire takes place in your chimney, it can either be a big one, with dense smoke and strong smell, or it can be a slowly burning fire that won’t be visible. Still, both cases will spread the fire into walls and/or onto the roof of your house.
And all of that can be avoided with a simple chimney sweeping!
More Efficient Heating
It’s natural that small birds, squirrels, rats, and insects enter your chimney for protection. However, they can clog the flue and block the exit of toxic fumes. These toxic fumes can end up clogging the chimney with the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning - which, believe it or not, kills more than 200 people each year.
Not only a chimney sweeping will help keep people safe, but it will also make the fireplace (and, therefore, the heating) more efficient - keeping warm air in, and toxic fumes out.
More than that,
The creosote we were talking about before also helps DEcrease your fireplace efficiency. So getting that out of the way with a chimney sweep will also make the fireplace work better.
Prevent Chimney Repairs
With everything that accumulates when wood burns in your fireplace, including:
- Ash
- Bits of wood
- Soot
These can cover and harm parts of your chimney, like:
- Flue liner
- Smoke shelf
- Damper
- Masonry
Dirt, grime, and other particles can accumulate and wear out your chimney faster than it should. So a chimney sweep can help prevent costly repairs and even a fireplace replacement before its time.
Besides,
A chimney cleaning service can be of use to find masonry problems before they become bigger issues too.
Healthy Environment
As previously mentioned, carbon monoxide (CO) causes over 200 deaths each year. In lower levels, this has can cause you poisoning symptoms like:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Confusion
- Fainting
If you or anyone in your family is having one or more of these symptoms, a chimney sweeping might be one of the things you need to worry about.
And just to reinforce:
Chimney sweeping will also prevent unexpected fires in your home, which is obviously a way of keeping a safe place for everyone around!
Avoid Smoke Damage
When soot accumulates in your chimney, it will make it harder for the flue to do its job.
That is,
Draw the smoke upwards and out of the house.
Meaning the smoke will enter your room and cause some serious damages with staining your chimney and soiling furniture, carpeting, and decorations around the fireplace.
And you already know the answer to what will prevent that from happening, don’t you? Get your chimney swept!
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