Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

The Dangers Of Creosote

Think about your fireplace. Your mind probably goes to thoughts of cozy family get-togethers, gathered around a crackling fireplace. Who can resist the smell and sounds of a great wood fire? However, one word that no fireplace owner likes to think about is creosote! Although you may not like to spend a lot of time thinking about this unpleasant substance, it is something that needs to be taken care of. Fortunately, there are great companies like Santa’s Friend Chimney Service  that can take care of your creosote problems.

Creosote Buildup

Do you know what the smoke that rises from your fire is made up of? Included in that smoke is water vapor, benzene, carbon monoxide, acetic acid, formic acid, sulfur dioxide. Have you heard enough? The good news is that most of that smoke is guided right out of your chimney and into the outside air. The bad news is that some of it doesn’t! Smoke from your fire can climb and reach the relatively cooler surface near the top of your chimney. This causes it to condense and form a layer of what is known as creosote.

The more often you burn a fire in your fireplace, the thicker the layer of creosote will build. Creosote can appear as a black, oily substance or a hard, brown substance. It doesn’t really matter what it looks like. The big issue with creosote is that it is extremely flammable. Creosote can become too thick and catch a spark from your fireplace. Consequently, you might be faced with just what you don’t want – a roaring chimney fire!

One More Thing…

Another issue that creosote can cause is odor build up. You might notice this more often in the damp spring and summertime. The warm, damp air that works its way down your chimney mixes with the creosote on the interior of your chimney. This creates an odor that is, to say the least, unpleasant! You can use some do-it-yourself ideas to try to get rid of the odor. Unfortunately, though, many times these are just temporary fixes at best. Although this isn’t as devastating a problem as the flammability factor, you still want to get rid of this problem.

Problem Solved!

The best approach to getting rid of this dangerous and smelly problem is to hire professionals to come in and clean your chimney for you. Although you could probably get to some of the creosote on your own and scrub it off the interior of your chimney, to have a thorough job of getting rid of the problem, special brushes are used. If a severe creosote problem exists, video inspection can be used to find the root of the problem. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service uses all the latest tools and procedures to make sure your creosote problem is cleaned up! Schedule your annual inspection and cleaning today so you’re ready for the start of fireplace season.

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.

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.