To keep your fireplace and chimney working safely, you must keep up with some important chimney maintenance tasks. One of these tasks is an annual professional chimney sweeping, which is essential before you light the first fire of the year to get all of the creosote deposits removed from your chimney. Creosote removal is so important because it reduces your risk of a chimney fire. When you hire a chimney sweep to clean your chimney, you want a sweep who will work hard to remove every bit of creosote from the inner walls of your chimney. All of the sweeps at Ashbusters have been certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and have the training and experience to get all of the creosote from your chimney. We would like to tell you a bit more about creosote and why it is so important to be removed from your chimney.
What is creosote?
If you have a wood-burning stove or fireplace, creosote forms naturally during combustion. When the byproducts of combustion pass through the cooler upper chimney, condensation occurs, and creosote is the resulting residue from this process. According to the CSIA, creosote can vary in appearance and color. Whether it is black or brown, sticky and gummy, hard and shiny, or crusty and flaky, creosote is highly flammable. If you have large deposits of creosote deposits accumulated on the walls of your chimney, a chimney fire can easily be ignited if the internal temperature of the flue gets hot enough. For this reason, the CSIA has named creosote as a leading cause of chimney fires.
Do certain conditions encourage the development of creosote?
Yes, there are a few factors that will actually accelerate the buildup of creosote in your chimney. Burning unseasoned wood will produce a lot of creosote because the fire spends so much energy to dry out the water in the logs, which results in cooler smoke. Restricting air supply by closing the fireplace doors or not fully opening the damper also accelerates the development of creosote because the smoke lingers longer inside the chimney due to lack of air. Ashbusters recommends only burning seasoned wood as well as keeping the fireplace doors and the damper open during a fire.
What can I expect from a chimney sweeping from Ashbusters?
We begin by laying down tarps and drop cloths over the area that surrounds the fireplace to keep this area clean. We start by scrubbing the firebox clean and then work our way up the chimney with rotating brushes on rods to remove every bit of accumulated creosote from your inner chimney walls. Once we have finished, we will properly dispose of the creosote we removed so that it will be completely out of your chimney and home.
Reduce your risk of a chimney fire. Contact us today at Ashbusters to schedule your annual professional chimney sweeping.