Getting Your Chimney Ready for Maintenance

If you have ready any of our posts, you know we recommend that you have your chimney and fireplace professionally cleaned and inspected at least once a year. Doing so ensures that your chimney is safe to operate and that the structure is sound both inside and out. However, before you have a professional chimney sweep come into your home, there are a few things you need to do to make sure your chimney is ready for maintenance.

1. The chimney and fireplace should not be used at least 24 hours prior to any maintenance. This ensures that the fireplace and chimney have properly cooled before the technician performs their tasks.
2. The area around your fireplace may need to be cleaned. By this we mean move your photos and such off the mantle to avoid them getting dirty or broken. While chimney sweeps take the greatest care in protecting all homes they work in, there is no need to invite and accident to happen.
3. Clear out the immediate area around the chimney so the sweep has plenty of space in which to work. If you have chairs or other furniture within about six feet of the fireplace, just move it to the side to allow plenty of space for the technician.
4. Once the chimney sweep arrives in your home, ask them any questions you may have about the process and what they will be doing. You are also encouraged to sit in the background and watch them work. This often serves as an education for the homeowner in that they can learn basic maintenance tasks from the sweep.
5. When the cleaning is done, go over any procedures again with the sweep of which you are unsure. For instance, if you want to know the best way to sweep out the chimney, demonstrate it in front of the sweep to ensure you are following the safest procedures.