Santa's Friend Chimney Service

Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

When Was the Last Time You Had Your Dryer Vents Professionally Cleaned?

So many of our customers are surprised to learn that their clothes dryer venting system should be professionally cleaned once a year. Although it can be easy to neglect and ignore this maintenance task, neglecting to thoroughly clean your dryer vent annually can lead to a dangerous house fire. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), 15,000 residential fires, 15 deaths, and 400 injuries caused by dirty clothes dryer vents were reported to the US Fire Administration each year between 2002 and 2004. To keep your dryer from becoming a fire hazard, an annual professional cleaning of the venting system is crucial for the safety of your house and family. The dryer vent technicians at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service are experienced in performing this task and can guarantee that you will receive the best possible service. To help you understand why your dryer vents should be professionally cleaned every year, we would like to share with you some of the reasons behind the importance of this annual maintenance task.

Pro Dryer Vent Cleaning - Jackson MS

A Dirty Clothes Dryer Vent Decreases the Efficiency of Your Dryer.

If your dryer vent is clogged with lint and debris, your clothes dryer will not work as efficiently as it should. Have you ever noticed clothes still being wet or damp after going through a full drying cycle? When this occurs, it is one of the main signs of a dirty vent and should be a clear signal that your venting system needs professional cleaning. If you have to use your dryer at its highest temperature to dry a load of clothes, it decreases the life of the appliance and can also lead to your heating element burning out or even a fire igniting.

Dirty Dryer Vents May Also Lead to the Possibility of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

When your clothes dryer is powered by gas, safety reasons make it necessary to ensure that it is properly vented and that its exhaust vent has no blockages from lint and debris. This is crucial because if there are problems with the ventilation of your dryer’s exhaust, poisonous gases like carbon monoxide may be forced back into the home. If you do not have a carbon monoxide detector installed in your home, you may never realize you are breathing in carbon monoxide until it is too late because this toxic gas is odorless and tasteless. Even if you have an electric dryer, you still have the possibility of carbon monoxide leaks due to a dirty vent.

Just Because You Clean Your Dryer Vent Filter from Lint After Each Load Does Not Mean You Do Not Need an Annual Professional Vent Cleaning.

Yes, the routine removal of lint from the lint filter does reduce the risk of fire by 90%, but you still need to schedule a professional cleaning of the dryer vent every year. Large clogs of lint can be found in the venting ducts as well as in the inner side of the wall. To guarantee proper cleaning of your dryer’s venting system, you need to call an experienced dryer exhaust technician from Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to do this job for you.

Want to schedule your annual dryer vent cleaning? Contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to make your appointment today to be sure your clothes dryer is not a fire hazard.

By Jim Robinson on January 30th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Is It Time to Replace Your Firebox Refractory Panels?

If you have a prefabricated (also known as a factory-made) fireplace, your firebox is surrounded by refractory panels on its sides and bottom. Although a prefab firebox is mostly constructed from metal, these panels are made to withstand high temperatures and add strength and durability to your firebox. A crucial component of the factory-made firebox, refractory panels are built to last for years; however, due to the stress of exposure to repeated fires during a cold, long winter, these panels eventually begin to wear out. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service strongly recommends replacing your firebox panels when they start to show signs of wear, such as cracks or breaks in the panels. Burning fires in a prefab firebox with damaged refractory panels can be dangerous, so replacing these panels at the first signs of wear is important to the safety of your family and your home. We would like to answer some questions about firebox panel replacement to inform you of why it is necessary to perform this maintenance task.

Replacing Firebox Panels - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney

Why are cracks and chips in firebox refractory panels so dangerous?

Firstly, toxic gases like carbon monoxide can leak through these breaks and cracks and enter your home. Since carbon monoxide is odorless and tasteless, it can be impossible to detect a leak without a carbon monoxide detector alarm installed in the home. Prolonged exposure to this gas can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning, which can cause organ damage and even death. Secondly, cracks in your firebox refractory panels can be a fire hazard. Cracks allow heat and debris to become close enough to the combustible materials around your fireplace to ignite a fire that could possibly destroy your home.

What causes the cracks and breaks in firebox refractory panels?

Numerous things can contribute to the wear and tear of your firebox refractory panels. Exposure to repeated fires and their high temperatures is the typical cause of the cracking and breaking of firebox panels. However, user error can also lead to damaged refractory panels. Always be careful when loading your firebox with firewood. If you just toss a log onto the fire, chances are you will eventually cause the panels to crack. A heavy object hitting the extremely hot refractory panels over and over can be very damaging. Your fireplace grates can also play a role in the cracking of your firebox refractory panels as some grates scrape the back wall and cause spots in the panels. These spots become weaker over time and will begin to crack.

How do I know if my firebox refractory panels need to be replaced?

According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), most prefab fireplace manufacturers require replacing the firebox refractory panels when a nickel, on end, can fit into a crack in the panel or when the surface of the firebox panel has abraded more than ¼” from its original surface. The CSIA also recommends you have a professional like our chimney technicians replace the firebox panels for you as it is very important that you have the correctly-sized panels installed.

Have more questions about firebox refractory panel replacement? Contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service today, especially if you have noticed cracks in your firebox panels.

By Jim Robinson on January 16th, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment