If you are wondering whether you should get your chimney cleaned this spring or summer in preparation for the next fireplace season, here are four good reasons why you shouldn’t.
Four Good Reasons NOT To Get Your Chimney Cleaned This Spring
You probably never thought we’d give you reasons to skip chimney cleaning, did you?
You never use your fireplace or stove.
But… if you use it even occasionally, chimney cleaning is like changing the oil in your car. It’ll keep your fireplace or stove in good operating condition by ensuring the chimney is safe and will produce a good draft when you burn. Our technicians clear out any creosote that may have built up in the chimney (creosote is the #1 cause of chimney fires).
What we call “chimney cleaning” is so much more: it’s a thorough cleaning and inspection of the entire unit, to ensure safe and efficient operation.
Believe it or not, stoves and fireplaces - though incredibly tough and durable - can fail. Over-firing, or building a fire that’s too hot, can cause warping and even cracking of the metal. Cracked glass can also be a problem - one that’s often masked by soot and creosote build-up on the glass.
Your chimney is in pristine condition.
There are no cracks, no creosote, no debris, you have a good chimney cap, the chase cover is in good condition, and all of the roof-chimney interfaces are perfect (no leaks, missing flashing, cracked sealant, etc.).
But… Unless you get up on the roof, how would you know? Most homeowners have no idea what is going on with their chimney or for that matter, the roof itself. Out of sight, out of mind.
And did you know that many chimney sweeps don’t even bother to go up on the roof? It’s sometimes easier to clean a chimney from below, but unless they can get eyes on the chimney from above, they will miss a lot of critical information. We always go up on the roof because that’s the only way to properly inspect a chimney! We clean and inspect your chimney from above and from below.
You prefer big repairs to small ones.
Yes, we’re being a little facetious here but trust us, repairs are a lot more expensive than cleaning. What can break? A chimney could be leaking, the stove rope (gasket) around your fireplace glass could be loose, the glass could be cracked, the chimney flue could be loose, a masonry chimney could be cracked, a chimney could be missing a cap… or, there’s a lot of creosote build-up that’s just waiting to burst into flames. These problems are a lot cheaper and easier to fix while they’re small. You don’t want to wait until they’ve mushroomed into big expensive problems.
You don’t mind waiting.
You don’t mind waiting. When fireplace season arrives sometime in September, many people want to enjoy that first cozy fire. Whether or not they “should” is another thing altogether! A chimney that hasn’t been maintained since last season could be all gunked up with creosote, there could be debris in it, or any number of problems we’ve already discussed.
Four Good Reasons to Get Your Chimney Cleaned Now
If you don’t like to wait, hate paying big money for repairs, your chimney hasn’t been cleaned and inspected in over a year, or you use your fireplace/stove more than once a season, don’t put off chimney cleaning until fall.
Bonus: we use forward-scheduling so that once you’re in our system, we will reach out to you next time your fireplace or stove is due for service, so you never have to wonder when you had it done last!
