Santa's Friend Chimney Service

Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

Proudly Serving Jackson, Mississippi

Since 1988, Santa’s Friend Chimney Service has been proud to serve the fireplace and chimney needs of residents of Jackson, Mississippi, and over the years, we have increased our service area to include the entire central Mississippi area. You cannot find a more experienced staff of chimney technicians in the whole state. Our chimney sweeps have been trained and certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) to maintain, repair, and install chimneys, fireplaces, stoves, inserts, and other heating appliances. We also provide dryer vent cleaning services as well as sell and install various chimney products, including chimney caps and chase covers. We would like to take this opportunity to tell you about the services we offer in the central Mississippi area.

Proudly Serving Jackson Missisppi - Jackson MS - Santas Friend Chimney Service

FIREPLACE AND CHIMNEY SERVICES

The CSIA and other national fire safety organizations all recommend that you have your chimney professionally swept and inspected once a year. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can take care of these tasks for you, and you can trust us to remove all of the hazardously flammable creosote from your chimney and to carefully inspect your chimney for blockages and other damage. We can also repair several common chimney problems, including relining your chimney with HeatShield or with a new stainless steel liner. We specialize in fixing leaky chimneys as well as in waterproofing your chimney to prevent water penetration from occurring.

DRYER VENT SERVICES

If you have never had your dryer vent professionally cleaned, you may want to contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for our services. The most important reason you should have this done is to reduce your risk of experiencing a clothes dryer fire. Lint, which is what clogs your vent, is so flammable that the Boy Scouts recommend using it as a fire starter, so you can imagine how dangerous a large accumulation of lint can be within your dryer vent. Our professional dryer vent cleaning services also will prolong the life of your dryer and save you energy and money on your utility bills.

CHIMNEY PRODUCTS & INSTALLS

In our warehouse, we keep an inventory of several important chimney components, including chimney caps, top-mounted dampers, bird screens, chase covers, mesh spark screens, and replacement firebox panels. Our CSIA-certified technicians can install all of these products for you so that they will work efficiently and safely. We also sell and install wood-burning fireplace inserts that can convert your older traditional fireplace into a more energy-efficient heating appliance.

If you live in Jackson, Mississippi or anywhere else in the central state area, contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service for any of your fireplace and chimney needs. We are here to help you enjoy your fireplace, and you can trust us to do the best possible job.

By Jim Robinson on March 11th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

It’s My Job: Chimney Sweep

My name is Jim Robinson, and I’m the owner of Santa’s Friend Chimney Service in Jackson.

Jim Robinson Newspaper PIc - Santa's Friend

Courtesy Greg Jenson/ The Clarion Ledger

I grew up in the Shiloh community between Brandon and Pelahatchie and still live here. In fact, I live on the house site of my great-grandfather, James Thomas Knight, whom I was named after.

I graduated from Brandon Academy and attended Mississippi State for two-and-a-half years. I grew up on a dairy farm, so I majored in dairy science at MSU. We had a fairly large family operation, but I knew I was ready for a career change. I had no idea in my wildest dreams it would turn out like it has!

To make a little extra money, I started selling firewood in the mid-‘80s.  One of my customers told me about cleaning the chimneys of the firewood customers. So one very hot Saturday afternoon in June 1988, I “cleaned“ four chimneys. I can look back now and see how unprofessional I was, starting out.

This rocked on a few years until 1994, when I first got certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Up until that time, I had no idea what a code book was. When you are CSIA certified, you become aware of proper clearances, codes, standards and practices as they relate to chimneys. I attended a National Chimney Sweep Guild convention shortly thereafter and saw the potential in this industry and, in 1996, I went full time.

Today, I have one full-time employee, Justin Perkins, a chimney sweep who has been CSIA certified since 2010. My wife, Terri, is also very involved in the office, and she is the one who came up with the name for our business!

We offer a wide range of services related to the chimney— of course, sweepings, but also masonry repair, firebox repair and rebuild if needed. Solving water leaks in chimneys is a big part of our business. We reline a lot of chimneys with stainless steel or, if the situation is conducive to it, we resurface the interior flue.

We also clean dryer vents. This is needed when the dryer is not located on an outside wall and the long vent to the outside collects lint. Over time the vent will restrict the airflow and overheat the dryer. As you can imagine, lint is very flammable.

One of the main services we specialize in is solving chimney problems, whether it is a performance problem with a smoking chimney or a smelly, stinking chimney. Both of these problems are very common and are directly related to indoor air quality.

It’s important to have a chimney cleaned regularly, because as the smoke cools going up the chimney, it condenses on the interior chimney walls as soot or creosote, which is flammable. Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t matter what type of firewood you use, as long as it is not treated wood and is dry.

There are a lot of variables, but generally it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to clean a chimney.  As a general rule, we sweep the chimneys from the bottom using a rotary drill, adding rods until it reaches the top. The attachments on the head can be either “Weed Eater” string for light deposits, steel cable for medium deposits or twist link chains for heavy, glazed creosote. The vast majority need the steel cable. If I have a question or concern about the flue, I have a video camera that will inspect every inch of the interior flue. It has the capability to capture the image, and we can email a report to the customer.

When we’re working, we always wear black, of course — it is a dirty job. We take precautions because soot and creosote are carcinogenic. We have a couple of methods for dust control and, of course, put tarps in front of the fireplace. We get comments regularly on how clean and neat we are.

The best part of this job, without a doubt, is the people I have met — customers and chimney sweeps — and the places we’ve been able to go. My customers are some of the finest people anywhere — as a general rule, anyway. By going to the NCSG convention almost every year, I’ve made very good friends with fellow chimney sweeps all across America. We are very unique in that we freely share information with each other, whether it be business practices or the latest code developments.

The most interesting was the trip in 2004 that Terri and I took to the International Chimney Sweep Festival in Santa Maria Maggiore, Italy. This is held every year in September in this small village in the northern Alps. It was started to commemorate the small children who were forced to work inside chimneys in the early to mid-1900s. Of course, they had no respirators, and a lot of them died from cancer before they were 25 years old.  During that week, there is a parade through the village with about 800 chimney sweeps dressed in traditional attire. Several countries are represented, with the lead person in the group carrying their country’s flag. Of the 800, probably 700 are German. You better believe it is a party with that many Germans!

We attended again in 2006 and in 2008 toured Europe with some chimney sweep friends.

The biggest challenge in my job is definitely having too much work from the middle of September until Christmas.— but, the rest of the year, the work load is just about right!

By Jim Robinson on March 9th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Maintaining the Bird Screens on Your Chimney Cap

If you have ever heard the sounds of chirping coming from your chimney, you know what a pain it can be to have birds living in the flue. Not only can they be noisy, but they can also bring germs and diseases into your home. Even when they leave, you will still have their nesting materials inside your chimney, which can block your flue and force carbon monoxide back into your home. The straw and other debris from birds’ nests also creates a dangerous fire hazard as these materials are extremely flammable. The best way to deal with birds and other wild animals and your chimney is to prevent them from being able to get into your chimney at all. At Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, we sell and install bird screens that we can add to your existing chimney cap to give it even more protection from animal and bird invasions. We would like to tell you a bit more about keeping birds out of your chimney as well as maintaining the screens to work at the highest efficiency level.

 Bird Screens on your Chimney- Jackson MS - Santas Friend Chimney Service

WATCH OUT FOR CHIMNEY SWIFTS

You may not know that it can be illegal to have a certain kind of bird removed from your chimney if you have one living inside. According to The Humane Society of the United States, chimney swifts and other migratory birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Anybody who knowingly destroys these types of birds or nests that could contain eggs or baby birds can be either penalized or fined, or even both. If you do find a family of chimney swifts living in your chimney, you will have to be patient and wait until the spring when they will leave on their own. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can then check out the inside of your chimney and remove any nesting left behind. We can then add bird screens to your chimney cap to keep these birds from returning in the fall or winter.

KEEP YOUR SCREENS CLEAN

You need to be sure your bird screens are clean and not clogged to keep your chimney working efficiently and safely. Leaves and other debris can get blown into the screens and get stuck. Another thing that can clog up your bird screens is creosote. This substance is a natural residue produced during the combustion process of burning wood, but you can slow down its development by only burning seasoned firewood that has been dried for at least six months. If you burn wet wood, you will definitely have a problem with an abundance of creosote and soot accumulating in your bird screens because wet wood creates a lot of smoke and other byproducts of combustion. You also have cooler fires, which provides the perfect temperature for the rapid development of creosote. If you notice that your bird screens look as if they are clogged with a black or brown substance, give us a call at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for our chimney sweeps to clean your screens. When your screens are clogged, you will have draft problems, like not being able to get a fire started or smoke filling your home when you do get the fire started. You will also be at a higher risk for a carbon monoxide leak because this toxic gas will be forced back into your home if it cannot exit through the screen. We can help you keep everything working smoothly.

Keep birds and other wild animals out of your chimney all year long. Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to talk to our staff about our bird screen installation and maintenance services.

By Jim Robinson on February 24th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Reducing Fire Hazards

When you own a home with a fireplace, you must take on a few extra responsibilities, such as cleaning up ashes, storing firewood, and, most importantly, protecting yourself, your family, and your home from fire hazards that are involved with a fireplace. While a roaring fire can be beautiful and relaxing, fire is a potentially dangerous element. If you do not take certain precautions, you could find yourself experiencing an accidental fire, carbon monoxide poisoning, and other hazardous situations. Our staff at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service places great value on fire safety, and we feel strongly about promoting fire safety tips to our customers. We would like to share with you some ways to reduce fire hazards so that you can safely enjoy cozy and warm fires this year.

Be careful about what you burn in your fireplace.

Santa’s Friend Chimney Service recommends that you only burn seasoned firewood in your fireplace. This type of wood has been allowed to dry for at least six months after it has been cut. When you use seasoned firewood, you will have longer-lasting and cleaner-burning fires that produce less smoke. You should never burn treated or painted wood, paper, or anything else in your fireplace, according to HouseLogic.

Keep the area surrounding your fireplace clear from combustibles.

To prevent an accidental fire being ignited from hot sparks and embers jumping from your fireplace, keep flammable items like furniture and curtains at least six feet away from the hearth.

Place a metal fireplace screen in front of the hearth.

Fire screen in fireplace - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney Service

In order to keep kids and pets from getting too close to the fireplace, you should install a mesh metal screen in front of your fireplace. Be sure the screen is secure so that it cannot be easily knocked over.

Have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected once a year.

This professional chimney maintenance service guarantees your chimney is free from damage and other problems that could make it unsafe to use. It will also greatly reduce your risk of experiencing a chimney fire as all of the accumulated creosote deposits will be removed from the interior of your chimney.

Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarm detectors throughout your home.

These lifesaving alarms should be installed in the same room as your fireplace, outside each bedroom, and on every floor in your home. Make a habit of changing the batteries in these alarms when you change your clocks in the spring and fall for Daylight Savings Time.

Have a question about reducing fire hazards? Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to learn more about fireplace safety recommendations for your home.

By Jim Robinson on February 10th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , , | Leave a Comment

Have You Had Your Dryer Vents Cleaned?

Preventing fire hazards is a top priority at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, which is why we are proud to offer professional dryer vent services along with our chimney maintenance and repair services. Many people are surprised to learn that their dryer vents should be inspected and cleaned once a year, so if you have never had your dryer vents professionally cleaned before, you are not alone. However, neglecting to have your dryer vents cleaned puts you at a much higher risk of experiencing a residential fire. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), statistics from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission show that 5,100 reported house fires were caused by clothes dryers in 2012, and the majority of these fires were from dirty and clogged dryer vents. We would like to tell you more about the importance of this maintenance service.

Why do I need my dryer vents professionally cleaned?

clean dryer vent - Jackson MS - santa's friend chimney service

This service greatly reduces the risk of your clothes dryer catching on fire. Your dryer produces lint, which is so flammable that it is recommended by the Boy Scouts of America as a way to start campfires. Lint can accumulate in your dryer vents, and these accumulations clog up the vents and trap hot, moist air in your dryer. Since this causes your dryer to overheat, it is only a matter of time before that lint could ignite a dangerous fire. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service will remove all of the lint from your dryer vents to prevent this hazardous situation. You will see other benefits from this service as well. It will prolong the life of your dryer. When your dryer gets overheated, it can cause the heating element to wear out more quickly than it should. You will also save energy and money because you will not have to run your dryer as long when the dryer vents have been professionally cleaned.

When should I have my dryer vents cleaned?

The CSIA and other national fire safety groups recommend having this service done once a year, but there are some signs that signal that the dryer vents are clogged. If you notice that your clothes are not completely dried after a drying cycle, you should contact Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for our dryer vent cleaning services. Other signs include your dryer shutting off mid-cycle and your dryer becoming hot to the touch when it is in use.

What should I expect from your dryer vent cleaning services?

We begin this process by moving your dryer to remove the vent so that we can attach a blower to the vent. We will find the end of your vent so that we can use the correctly sized rods to loosen the accumulations of lint and other debris. As the rods are spinning to break apart the debris, we run the blower to get all of that lint out of the vent. After we have cleaned the entire length of your vent, we will clean up before reattaching the vent to your dryer. We then move your dryer back exactly where it was before we started.

If you have never had your dryer vents cleaned, contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for our services and reduce your risk of a devastating house fire.

By Jim Robinson on January 22nd, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Chimney Relining

Your chimney system consists of several components that are necessary for it to function properly and safely. Included in these components is your chimney liner, which has several important purposes, such as protecting your home from the extremely high temperatures that are produced within your chimney. Unfortunately, chimney liners do not last forever and can suffer damage over the years that can cause your chimney to be unsafe to use. If you live in an older home with a masonry chimney, your liner may not be in the best condition and could be in need of repair. At Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, we offer a couple of chimney relining options that will restore the safety and efficiency of your chimney. We would like to tell you more about our chimney relining services by answering some frequently asked questions we have received from our customers.

Chimney Relining - Jackson MS - Santas Friend Chimney Service

Why is a chimney liner so important?

According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), chimney liners serve three crucial functions. They prevent your home from catching on fire from the high temperatures produced when a fire is burning. They protect the masonry materials of your chimney from the corrosive byproducts of combustion. They also allow your chimney to function efficiently and safely by providing a correctly sized flue for your heating appliance.

What kind of chimney liner do I have?

There are three main types of chimney liners: clay tile, stainless steel, and cast-in-place. If you have a masonry chimney, you most likely have a clay tile liner, but it is possible to have another type. Our CSIA-certified chimney technicians can inspect your chimney to find out exactly what type of liner you have as well as to examine its condition.

What chimney relining services does Santa’s Friend Chimney Service offer?

To reline clay tile liners, we offer HeatShield, which is economical, reliable, and much less time-intensive than constructing a new clay tile liner. Also known as a cast-in-place liner, HeatShield is a specially formulated sealant that restores the integrity of your clay tile liner by filling in the cracks and gaps. Our chimney technicians have been trained on how to apply HeatShield and know exactly how to apply the cerfractory sealant to repair your liner and make your chimney safe to use again. You can trust us to restore your clay tile liner with HeatShield, which comes with a 20-year material warranty.

If you do not have a clay tile liner, we can reline your chimney with a durable stainless steel liner, which has a lifetime warranty. Durable and strong, a stainless steel liner is guaranteed to protect you from hazardous situations, including chimney fires and carbon monoxide leaks. This type of liner also allows us to create a correctly sized flue if you are converting your old fireplace to a new insert. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service has years of experience with installing stainless steel chimney liners, and we will ensure your chimney will function efficiently and safely.

Want to know more about our chimney relining services? Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to talk to our staff about your options.

By Jim Robinson on January 8th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment