Do you really need to clean your chimney?

Q:

Do you really need to clean your chimney?

A:

This is a question I receive from many of my clients after I have built them a new home.

You absolutely have to clean your chimney. The amount that you have to clean the chimney is the real question.

If you seldom use your fireplace then you only need to have the chimney cleaned once a year. You should have the chimney cleaned in the late summer or the early fall just before you will be getting ready to use it.

The reason that you clean it at that time is so that if any birds or animals have made their home in the chimney flue then the cleaning will remove it.

If you use your fireplace a lot then you should have it cleaned twice a year, once in the early fall and once late in the winter.

The reason that you have to get your chimney cleaned is because when you burn wood you release creosote that rises up the chimney in the smoke. As the smoke cools near the top of the chimney the creosote is deposited on the sides of the chimney walls. Over time the creosote builds up and will create problems.

Some of the problems that built up creosote creates are as follows;

• The more creosote that builds up on the side walls of the chimney lining the more is restricted. When air is restricted in the chimney the fireplace has trouble drawing air and so in turn the fireplace doesn’t work as well because it is starving for air.

• Creosote builds up and causes heat to stay trapped in the chimney, as heat builds in the chimney the creosote particles can ignite causing a fire in the chimney. Many houses have burnt down because of chimney fires.

Prevention of chimney fires is the most important reason to clean your chimney.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.