Santa's Friend Chimney Service

Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

Getting A Jump-Start On Your Fall Chimney Inspection

Summer is drawing to an end. State fairs are starting and last minute summer vacations are being taken. Kids are asking about buying school supplies and new clothes to start the school year off right. You’re probably starting to think about getting your house cleaned and ready for the winter months. Even if you aren’t, there’s one part of your house that definitely needs to be inspected before fall and winter move in, and that’s your chimney! Now is the time to call to book your annual inspection and cleaning and beat the fall rush.

Inspection

When a chimney inspector comes to look at your chimney, they are looking for several things. He’ll be looking for obstructions. This includes any type of damage that might have occurred over the past year of use. He will also look for creosote build up. If you’ve had some type of trauma to your home, such as some type of traumatic weather system, your chimney specialist might ask to look at your roof or your attic. This is in order to see if there’s any structural damage that will need to be repaired. If a really catastrophic event such as a chimney fire has occurred, then your inspector will need to take a deeper look into your chimney. It may even turn into a tear down/rebuild job!

Reasons for Inspection and Cleaning

There are several things that can happen to your chimney that cause the need for it to be cleaned. First, it’s pretty obvious that your chimney gets dirty during use. In addition, when you build a lot of fires over the winter months, that build up just gets thicker and thicker. What is building up is creosote! This is a mixture of the gases, water vapors, and other chemicals that are released in smoke.

When the smoke hits the higher, cooler part of the chimney, it condenses onto the sides of the chimney and forms a black, sticky (or possibly brown and shiny) substance that is called creosote. The thing is, this substance is highly flammable. Unfortunately, if it’s left on the there year after year, the likelihood of a chimney fire will continue to increase dramatically! CSIA certified sweeps, like those at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, know what to look for. Also, they have the tools to remove the creosote from your chimney.

Another thing that your chimney professional will be looking for is obstructions. If you have a mild winter and don’t use your chimney much, you might think that you don’t need to worry about creosote build up. Well, there are other things that can cause some chimney trouble. Animals and birds are drawn to your chimney as a great place to build a nest. When the critters leave, the nest remains. That nest is also a fire hazard! This is another thing that Santa’s Friend knows how to remove – nests and other debris that may be obstructing the chimney.

Professional Cleaning

Call Santa’s Friend Chimney Service today to get ahead of the fall rush. When you do this, you’ll have one less thing to worry about as the busy fall season approaches!

By Justin Perkins on August 8th, 2017 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Importance of Annual Chimney Inspections

It’s so easy to see the importance of some of the things we do. Do you have your car serviced every three to five thousand miles? Of course, because you don’t want to be caught standing on the side of the road with your hood up, waiting for someone to help you. Do you have an annual physical? Yes, because you want to continue to be healthy and know what to do to prevent or cure illnesses. Do you check the batteries on your smoke detector once a month? Yes, because you want to make sure you’re protected in case a fire breaks out. And how often do you check your credit score? It’s important to stay on top of these things so your physical, material, and financial status stay positive and healthy. So, why do people think it’s okay to skip a yearly chimney inspection and cleaning?

Why Have An Annual Inspection?

The first thing your chimney sweep is going to look for is creosote build up. Over the course of the winter months, your chimney undergoes a lot of wear and tear. When you burn that wood fire, water vapor, unburned wood particles, minerals, and even tar fog are released, and these organisms escape up your chimney in the form of smoke. Unfortunately, not all of these elements make it out into the open air.

When the smoke hits the cooler chimney surface near the top of your chimney, it condenses and forms creosote, a highly flammable, black or brown, hard or tarry substance that can cause a lot of problems. And the more often you use your fireplace, the more this creosote will build up. As with any other highly flammable material, all it takes is a spark to start a roaring fire – just what you DON’T want inside your chimney! Your chimney sweep will be able to determine how deep the creosote layer is and then will use the proper tools to break this free and eliminate it from your chimney, all the while keeping the residue out of your home.

Structural Damage

Another thing your chimney sweep will be looking for is structural damage. Your sturdy chimney is just that: sturdy. But sturdy does not mean impenetrable, and even the strongest chimneys are susceptible to the wear and tear of time. One of the most damaging elements your chimney faces is precipitation. Rain can beat on the mortar of your chimney and, over time, cause it to wear and weaken. And when that rain gets in the pores of your mortar and then freezes, the expansion that occurs will cause those cracks to get deeper, which leads to instability.

Chimney Fire

Your chimney sweep will also be looking for signs that you have had a chimney fire. You think that you would know if you’ve had a chimney fire, right? Well, that’s not always the case. Sometimes a chimney fire can take place without the homeowner knowing, and that’s dangerous because structural damage can occur. A well trained, CSIA certified technician from Santa’s Friend Chimney Service will be able to spot that damage and any other problems, recommend solutions, then follow through with the necessary repair work.

Schedule Your Spring Chimney Inspection and Cleaning

Once the weather starts to turn warmer, thoughts of summer activities start to fill your mind. This might include swimming at the beach, or picnicking at a park, or planning your vacation. Before this happens, however, many people like to get their spring cleaning done. Things like washing the windows, cleaning cupboards, or repainting the interior walls can make the house look refreshed. But there is another thing that you’ll need to do in order to make sure everything is spic and span. Get your chimney inspected and cleaned. There’s no better time to get this done than right away in the spring; you can get it checked off your to do list and get on with the fun times of summer.

Why It’s Important to Get Your Chimney Cleaned

Using your chimney throughout the winter can cause some serious creosote build-up inside your chimney. What is creosote, you might be asking? The GuideOne Insurance website states, “The chimney is the main escape for fire extracts, such as water vapor, unburned wood particles, tar fog and various minerals. These extracts create what is called creosote, a build-up of residue in the chimney.” Although you could wait until fall to get your chimney cleaned, there are perks to getting it done in the spring.  Spring appointments allow you time to get any repairs fixed that your chimney service finds during its inspection.

Another reason that it’s important to get your chimney cleaned is to make sure that your chimney cap is in good shape. There are several functions that your chimney cap performs:

  • Reduces moisture: moisture from precipitation can cause damage to stainless steel liners, chimney mortar joints and dampers, and it can also cause mold and mildew. A chimney cap helps protect your chimney’s interior from precipitation.
  • Helps stop downdrafts: depending on the direction of the wind, downdrafts can go down your chimney. This can cause outside air to flow down into your house.
  • Keeps animals and debris out: animals and birds like to use chimneys to climb down. In some cases, they’ll build their nests there, and you won’t be able to move them until their young are old enough to be out on their own. In other cases, these critters could get stuck in your chimney, and if they die, they will eventually become odorous. If other debris blows down your chimney, it can also cause obstructions that will need to be cleared out before using your fireplace next winter. A well-fitted chimney cap can keep these things out of your chimney.

Check It Off Your List

You’ll want to make sure that the chimney service you use offers professional service. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service offers complete chimney cleaning services, as well as any repairs or rebuilds that may be necessary. They are CSIA certified and are members of the National Chimney Sweep Guild. They have also received the Angie’s List Super Service Award for three years. Call them to set up your spring chimney inspection and cleaning!

By Jim Robinson on March 21st, 2017 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Never Too Late To Have Your Chimney Swept Before Winter

Before winter hits, precipitation and wind can leave a chill in the air, even here in Central Mississippi. You may have already caught the scent of wood burning from a distant neighbor’s fireplace. All the sudden, the smell reminded you to order some wood. You haven’t had the chimney swept in a while. Is it too late in the season for an appointment? The truth is that it is never too late to have your chimney swept before winter.

All we ask:

Never Too Late To Have Your Chimney Swept Before Winter - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney Services

We only ask for 24 hours. However, we don’t need 24 hours to do the work. All we ask that you refrain from using the fireplace for 24 hours to give the whole system time to cool down. You can also help us out a lot as well. For instance, giving us at least 6 feet of clearance around your fireplace so we can place tarps on the floor. This will keep your home clean. We love pets, but oftentimes pets don’t love us, or the noise of our vacuums. So, for their well-being, we ask that you crate your pets or put them in another room while we work.

What we’ll do:

Believe it or not, in this dirty job of chimney sweeping, we will keep your home clean. That’s right! The designation of a CSIA-trained and certified chimney sweep means that we know how to do our work efficiently and without a mess for you to clean after we are gone. Drop cloths are placed in the work area and the powerful vacuum we use contain the grime and debris. So, when we leave, the only reminder of our visit is a gleaming chimney!

Plus…

We won’t take up your whole day either, unless there have been heating systems changes or there are major problems with the chimney. For example, a chimney that requires a Level 2 or 3 inspection. Otherwise, the job shouldn’t take more than 1 ½ hours with a Level 1 inspection. In that time, your system will be scrubbed from the fire grate to the top of the stack both with special brushes and by hand. We’ll make any needed adjustments to the damper. We check for fire hazards, and also perform a visual exterior check of the masonry. We share with you our findings and leave you with a written evaluation, so you know the condition of your chimney and fireplace.

Now that you know what we need to do the job, you can rest assured that it’s never too late to have your chimney swept before winter. Contact us today at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service for an appointment and look forward to those cozy days and evenings in front of your fireplace.

By Jim Robinson on November 3rd, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Schedule Your Chimney Sweeping Before Fall

The old saying, “Time flies when you’re having fun” is certainly true in the summer. School will be starting back before you know it, which means the cooler temperatures of fall are right around the corner. To be sure your fireplace is ready to use on the first cool day of fall, you should schedule your annual chimney sweeping and inspection in the summer. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other fire safety organizations recommend to have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected before you light the first fire of the year. If you wait until the fall to schedule this appointment with Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, you may not be able to get this important maintenance task taken care of as quickly as you may wish. Starting in September, our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps are booked solid through December, so it can be difficult arranging an appointment on the date that is the most convenient for you. Scheduling this appointment in the summer makes it easier to get the appointment you want with no waiting. We would like to tell you what you can expect from our professional chimney sweeping services.

Schedule Your Chimney Sweeping Before Fall Image - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney Service

No-Mess Guarantee

When we arrive at your home, we begin the chimney sweeping process by laying down tarps around the hearth to protect the area from soot and dust. We also set up a high-powered dust collector to keep soot and debris out of your home.

Chimney Sweeping

We begin the chimney sweeping task by scrubbing the firebox with hand-held brushes. Then, we work our way up the chimney to clean it from top to bottom with rotating brushes on rods. You can count on Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to take great care to remove all of the accumulated creosote deposits from the inner walls of your chimney. A natural compound that forms during the combustion process of burning wood, creosote is so highly flammable that the CSIA has named it as a leading cause of chimney fires.

Chimney Inspection

After we have cleaned the chimney, we will then inspect the inside and the outside of your chimney. We will be looking for problems like chimney blockages that could lead to toxic gases like carbon monoxide being forced back into your home. We also check for any damage to the bricks, mortar, and chimney crown. If we find any damage, we will note the problem and take pictures to give you a clear idea of the repair work that is needed. We will also provide you with a written evaluation of the condition of your chimney, along with a written estimate of any needed repairs.
Our chimney sweeping service comes with a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee! Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for your annual chimney sweeping today.

By Jim Robinson on July 13th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment