Spring Cleaning Tips for Chimney Owners

Spring is the perfect time to clean your chimney. During the winter months when you were enjoying the fire with your family, lots of gunk has been building up on the inside of your chimney. While this type of cleaning should be left to professionals, some people would like to take a do it yourself approach to this task.

There are a number of benefits to cleaning your chimney:

• You will feel much better about your home and yourself when you are done.
• You will feel less stressed out due to the clutter.
• It is much better for your lungs and respiratory system.

Most homeowners consider chimney cleaning during the fall time, right before the winter season. I like to do this during the spring, to give my house a nice smell throughout the summer time. Homeowners who enjoy being in their house throughout the summer should opt for a spring cleaning.

Chimney Cleaning Tips to a Prevent Fire

The “fireplace smell” might be a nice note, but over time this smell will start to seep into your furniture and clothing. The warmer your house gets, the worse the smell will get.

Cleaning your chimney in the spring will also reduce the possibility of corrosion within the chimney that is often caused by harmful emissions such as creosote. One of the byproducts of enjoying a fire in the winter is creosote. If this becomes too thick, it can even catch fire! Heavy creosote can also stop the flow of air (and also carbon monoxide) which as you know is a very dangerous and poisonous gas to your family and pets.

Also do not forget to check your chimney liner (which we offer here on our site for sale in a number of different varieties.)

For safety reasons, it is very important to not only get your chimney cleaned, but inspected as well.

Do a quick check of your chimney walls and at the base. Is there a build up?

While some homeowners might want to take the DIY approach, be warned: this is an extremely dirty job. Even the cleanest of chimneys will leave soot all over the place. Also be warned that this dust will fly all over your house, and you might not notice until it is done that you have a film all over your entire house.

Be weary of handymen who do this job on the side. This job should always be left to a professional chimney sweep that has the appropriate tools for the job. Untrained chimney sweeps might also not know what to look for.

In short, call a professional when in doubt. If you need help locating a good chimney sweep in the area, give us a call and we can point you in the right direction. Thanks!