Chimney Care Company's Blog
Benefits to Maintaining Your Fireplace
Pretty much every homeowner with a fireplace or hearth appliance knows that the industry standards call for having their chimneys swept and inspected at least once per year. Your annual sweeping and inspection ensure that your chimney is clean and your fireplace is prepared for safe operation, reducing your risk of a home fire. Going beyond safety, however, there are other benefits to maintaining your fireplace.
Keep your fireplace operating efficiently. 
A poorly maintained fireplace, fireplace insert or heating stove won’t operate as efficiently as it could. Rust and dust can block blowers, fans and pilot lights. By properly maintaining your fireplace, you can increase its efficiency and lower your home energy bills.
Reduce smoke in your home.
If creosote or other debris is blocking your chimney, it’s going to have an impact on the way smoke travels up and out of your home. A dirty chimney can negatively impact your chimney’s draft, forcing smoke back into your home. By keeping your chimney cleaned and well-maintained, you will reduce the amount of smoke that enters your home.
Avoid unpleasant odors.
Dirty chimneys can be horribly smelly. Moisture mixing with creosote can smell like hot asphalt. Natural debris in your chimney can smell like rotten compost. Trapped animals or left-behind animal droppings can smell even worse. By keeping your chimney cleaned and maintained, you can avoid unpleasant odors filling your home by way of your chimney.
Keep your hearth looking attractive.
In most homes with fireplaces, the hearth serves as an anchor point. It’s often located in a central living space and placed to serve as a focal point. So naturally, a beautiful, well-maintained fireplace can add to the décor and ambiance of your home, while a poorly maintained, dirty or damaged fireplace can drag down the appearance of your home. Keeping your fireplace maintained can help you maintain your hearth as a beautiful, beneficial feature in your home.
Extend the lifespan of your hearth appliance.
Just like any hearth appliance or home structure, regular maintenance keeps it working well and can expand its lifespan. For a hearth appliance, regular maintenance ensures that all of the working components are in good repair so that the appliance will run properly. Regular cleaning clears away dust, debris, soot and creosote that can degrade both the working and static components of the chimney and fireplace systems. When you maintain your fireplace, you ensure that your that your hearth appliance will last as long as possible.
Good fireplace and chimney maintenance begin with an annual sweeping and inspection. If your fireplace and chimney are overdue for their regular maintenance, call the Chimney Care Co. to schedule an appointment today! We’ll help you maintain your fireplace and chimney so you can realize all of the benefits of a well-maintained hearth system.
Off-season chimney sweeping
When most people plan out their annual home maintenance schedule, their annual chimney sweeping and inspection is automatically planned for the fall, just before the start of the fire-burning season. That doesn’t have to be the case! In fact, off-season chimney services — in the spring and summer — have many benefits.
Spot chimney damage early
Winter is hard on your chimney. Moisture, ice and low temperatures can cause cracks in your chimney’s structure and lead to water leaks in your chimney and into your home’s roofline. By having your chimney swept and inspected in spring or early summer, you can spot problems early. That gives you time to plan, schedule and execute needed chimney repairs during the time of year that you don’t plan to use your chimney. When you have your chimney inspected in the spring, you can be sure that you’ll have it ready for the next fire-burning season.
Protect your chimney from creosote
You know that creosote raises your risk of a chimney fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. Creosote also carries another hazard: It is acidic in nature, which means that it can cause corrosion and damage to your fireplace and chimney materials when it is allowed to sit for a long period of time. Removing creosote from your chimney as soon as you’re done burning fires for the season reduces that amount of time that creosote can damage your chimney. When creosote sits in your chimney during the warm, humid summer months, it also can cause an unpleasant smell to fill your home. A chimney cleaning will keep you fireplace, chimney and home smelling fine.
Keep your home and family safe
Regardless of the time of year you schedule it, your annual chimney sweeping and inspection is crucial for keeping your home and family safe. Removing flammable creosote from your chimney drastically reduces your risk for a chimney fire. It also allows the smoke and gases from your fireplace to safely exit your home, cutting your family’s risk for carbon monoxide poisoning.
Avoid the rush
Because most people plan to have their chimneys swept in the late summer or early fall, that’s our busy season. When you schedule a spring or summer chimney sweeping, you can beat the rush. With a spring or summer cleaning, you’ll be able to schedule your sweeping quickly. And, if damage is found and repairs are needed, you won’t have to delay repairs because of scheduling. We’ll be able to address your chimney problems immediately.
If you prefer to be on top of your home maintenance, call The Chimney Care Co. to schedule your chimney sweeping and inspection today! You’ll reap all of the benefits of an off season chimney sweeping; you’ll be able to spot and address any needed repairs, keep your chimney safe from the damaging effects of creosote, keep your family safe from the dangers of a chimney fire or carbon monoxide poisoning, and you’ll beat the fall rush for chimney services.
Top 10 Reasons Not to Clean Your Chimney
There are certain dangers in operating your fireplace without having it cleaned and inspected annually.
Keep this information in mind when thinking about your chimney.
Have a Chimney Inspected Before You Buy or Sell a Home
The Chimney Care Company has frequently told you how important it is to have your chimney professionally inspected annually to guarantee that your fireplace and chimney system operates correctly and safely. The average annual chimney inspection is generally the most basic Level 1 inspection, but if you are buying or selling a home, you should let us know this information when you schedule your appointment so that we can prepare to provide you with the more detailed Level 2 inspection. This level of inspection is also known as a real estate chimney inspection and will give more in-depth information about the fireplace and chimney system to assure everyone that everything functions properly. The chimney sweeps employed by our company are all certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), and this means they have been trained to perform the three different levels of inspections that were established by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in its code NFPA 211, the Standard for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel Burning Appliances. Our sweeps can thoroughly examine the condition of your chimney no matter which level of inspection it needs.
Can you explain the differences between Level 1 and Level 2 chimney inspections?
During a Level 1 chimney inspection from The Chimney Care Company, our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps examine all of the accessible parts of your chimney system, including the firebox, the flue, the chimney cap, and the chimney crown. To ensure nothing is causing the chimney system to function unsafely or inefficiently, our chimney sweeps look out for any problems, including cracks and gaps in the masonry and the liner, blockages of the flue, accumulations of creosote deposits, and rusting and corrosion. Everything involved in a Level 1 chimney inspection is also part of a Level 2 real estate chimney inspection. This level of inspection also includes an examination of the attic, basement, and crawl space. Our chimney sweeps will also address all proper clearances from combustible materials in a Level 2 chimney inspection.
Why would I need a Level 3 chimney inspection?
Whenever our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps find a possibly hazardous problem that needs a deeper inspection, a Level 3 chimney inspection will be recommended. In a Level 3, our sweeps will need to take a closer look at the less accessible areas of your chimney, and this may require us removing doors, drywall, and even parts of the chimney itself and using specialized tools and equipment. We understand that a Level 3 chimney inspection sounds destructive, but we want you to remember that safety is our top priority. You do not want to buy a home with an unsafe fireplace and chimney system. In order to resolve safety issues and hazardous situations, a Level 3 chimney inspection is necessary.
Are you buying or selling a home? Contact The Chimney Care Company to schedule an appointment for a Level 2 chimney inspection.
The Importance of the Chimney Chase Cover
Chase covers fit over the top, outer opening of your chimney. These covers are designed to keep precipitation, debris and animals out of your chimney and are custom made to fit your specific application; it’s similar to the lid on a shoebox. Buying a chase cover is extremely important and absolutely necessary to the life and maintenance of your chimney and your home. Because of its job function, a chase cover is more than an option; it’s a necessity!
Material Options for Every Budget…
Everyone loves knowing that they have options. For those of you in the market for a new chase cover, you’ve got options, too. Chase cover materials run the gamut and can accommodate all budgets: galvanized steel, aluminum, copper and stainless steel. Galvanized steel covers are the least expensive; unfortunately, they rust quickly and need to be replaced within a few years. Aluminum covers don’t have the same rusting issues as their galvanized counterparts, however they’re not typically used for this function simply because the metal is too soft.
Copper is, by far, the highest quality choice and is accompanied by the largest price tag as well; if you’re in the market for that type of look (and can afford the additional cost associated with it), you can’t go wrong with copper. Stainless steel is the strongest of the four materials. It costs a bit more up front than galvanized steel, however, the mere fact that it won’t rust and should never need to be replaced again more than makes up for the increased initial investment.
Never Trust the Rust…
Many homeowners do not notice that their chase cover has begun to rust. This is because it’s all the way up on top of the chimney, which isn’t exactly the easiest place to see. Sometimes it’s easier to spot a rusted chase cover after it has rained. This is due to the fact that when the water runs off of the chimney cap and down the sides of your chimney, it carries the rust down the sides with it, leaving stains and discoloration.
It is your responsibility as a homeowner to have this problem repaired as quickly as possible to prevent more significant damage from occurring to the chimney system. If rust damage isn’t repaired, the middle of the cover may begin to sink in, which will lead to an accumulation of water, leaves, and other debris. This buildup puts more stress on your already damaged cover and could cause it to cave in completely, thereby exposing the inner workings of your chimney system to the elements.
If you’re in the market for a chase cover for your chimney — either as a replacement for a damaged cover or as an enhancement for your chimney — contact the professionals at Chimney Care Company. Our professional technicians will inspect your entire chimney system and, if necessary, will properly fit a chase cover to your chimney’s exact dimensions to ensure that it is properly sealed from the elements. Your home is an investment, and we want to help you protect it. No matter what your chimney or vent needs, contact us today. We look forward to serving you!