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Add a Chimney Sweeping to Your Holiday Checklist

The hearth and a crackling fire is a traditional part of the holiday season. So, now you will want to make sure that your fireplace and chimney are ready. This is for your friends and family to gather around. Make sure you add a chimney sweeping to your holiday checklist!

Make sure your chimney is safe for holiday fires

An annual chimney sweeping and inspection is a vital part of your home maintenance. If you have not yet had your chimney swept and inspected since the last fire-burning season, you need to before you light your holiday fires.

Your annual chimney sweeping and inspection ensures that your chimney is safe for use and ready for holiday fires. In addition, your chimney sweeping clears away dangerous and flammable creosote, as well as any blockages that may have formed within your chimney. The inspection looks for any weaknesses in your chimney or firebox that could lead to chimney failure. Why do this now? A chimney sweeping and inspection for the holiday season dramatically lowers your risk of a chimney fire or deadly carbon monoxide poisoning!

Have your fireplace ready

Don’t let your fireplace be a point of frustration this holiday season. Turning on your fireplace to find that the pilot won’t ignite?  Lighting a fire to find that smoke billows back into your living space? This can definitely dampen your holiday gatherings. Your chimney sweeping and inspection will include an inspection of your fireplace and all of its working components. Your sweep will help you make sure that your fireplace is in good repair. Also, make sure it’s ready to warm your home this holiday season.

Have a cleaner home

A dirty chimney can mean a dirtier home. A dirty chimney can fill your home with unpleasant smell. This includes smoky, rotting or decaying smells. Having your chimney cleaned can help to clear away those unpleasant smells. This way your home is fresher and cleaner as you prepare for holiday parties and holiday guests.

Enjoy a more efficient fire

A chimney sweeping also can have you enjoying more efficient fires this holiday season. A clean chimney and freshly tuned fireplace operates more efficiently. For a wood-burning fireplace, that means less tending to the fire. For a gas fireplace, that means lower energy bills.

If your chimney needs to be swept and inspected as you prepare for your holiday gatherings, call Your Chimney Sweep to schedule your chimney and fireplace services today! Your Chimney Sweep can help you to check your chimney sweeping and inspection off of your holiday to-do list. In addition, help you have your home ready for your holiday guests and holiday gatherings.

Protect Your Chimney With Flashing and Waterproofing

To you, winter means warm and cozy fires in your fireplace. However, for your chimney, winter means something else entirely. It means wet and potentially damaging weather. The water and moisture that comes with winter’s rain, snow, sleet and ice can do major damage to your chimney. In addition, not only your chimney, but through your chimney, and to your home. That’s why the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) cautions homeowners to protect their chimneys from water damage. As you prepare your chimney for winter weather, there are two things you should consider: Your chimney flashing and waterproofing.

Flashing

Your chimney flashing is the sheet metal material that connects your chimney to your roof-line. This seals off the seam from potential water intrusions. Over time, that flashing can rust and corrode. It can develop cracks and holes that allow water to make its way into your home, along the base of the chimney. Those in the chimney repair industry report that most chimney leaks are in the flashing, around the base of the chimney.

Leaks in the chimney flashing are especially dangerous to your home. This is because leaks in the flashing don’t just let water into your chimney.  They also let water leak into your home’s roof and structure. Leaks through the chimney flashing can cause water rot and damage in your home’s joists and studs. It can cause mold in your attic, and it can cause discoloration and sagging in ceilings and wallboard. So, as you prepare your chimney and your home for winter weather, you should have your chimney flashing inspected.  Have any damage to the chimney flashing repaired before leaks develop.

Waterproofing

Chimney masonry materials are highly porous. Bricks, mortar and stone absorb and retain water. In the winter, the water inside the masonry materials freezes and expands when temperatures drop. That freezing causes bricks to cause spalling and mortar to crumble. That spalling and crumbling degrades the chimney structure over time. Consequently, this leads to chimney leaks or weakness in the chimney structure.

One of the most effective ways to protect your chimney from water damage is with waterproofing. Waterproofing involves applying a solution to your chimney that prevents chimney masonry from drawing in water and moisture, while still allowing your chimney to breathe. Waterproofing can protect your home and chimney from water leaks. In addition, it can save your chimney structure from major damage.

Call Your Chimney Sweep Today!

Make sure your chimney is protected from rain, snow, sleet and ice this winter. Call Your Chimney Sweep to schedule an appointment today! We can inspect and, when needed, repair the flashing around the base of your chimney.  Plus, we can waterproof your chimney to protect your chimney masonry from all of this winter’s wet weather!