Santa's Friend Chimney Service

Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

Why We Recommend Top-Mounting Dampers

If you would like to see a reduction in your heating and cooling bills and an increase in the energy efficiency of your home, you may want to consider updating your damper. A traditional throat damper can become rusted over the years, and this can cause it to not provide an airtight seal to your chimney, which means heated and cooled air from inside your home can easily escape out of the chimney. This makes you have to spend more money to make your home more comfortable. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service recommends installing a different type of damper – a top-mounting damper. There are several advantages to a top-mounting damper over a traditional throat damper, and we would like to tell you more about these benefits.

Why We Recommend Top-Mounting Dampers Image - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney Service

Multi-functional

One of the reasons Santa’s Friend Chimney Service is in agreement with Chimney.com in recommending a top-mounting damper over a traditional throat damper is that this type of damper is installed at the top of the chimney and also serves as a chimney cap when the damper is closed. When we need to replace a chimney cap, we will recommend the homeowner consider going with this option instead of a new cap. The rubber silicone seal that keeps heated and cooled air from exiting the chimney also prevents water from getting into a chimney. Some models of top-mounting dampers are equipped with mesh metal sides that allow them to work as a chimney cap even when the damper is open.

Energy efficiency

When you have a traditional throat damper, cold air, ice, and snow can get into your chimney during the winter to create a cold core. A cold core in your chimney is a huge waste of money and energy because it is trying to cool down your home at the same time you are trying to heat your home. Since a top-mounting damper is located at the top of the chimney, a cold core does not have a chance to form inside your chimney because cold outside air cannot get past the rubber silicone gasket. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service knows you will save money on your utility bills after we install a top-mounting damper on your chimney.

Ease of use

Opening and closing a traditional throat damper can be challenging, especially when it is old and rusted. It can get stuck in a position and not be able to close completely, which can allow even more heated and cooled air to escape your home. A top-mounting damper has a stainless steel cable that drops down the chimney to a handle on the side of the firebox, which makes it easier for you to open and close the damper. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service will show you how to operate the damper after we install it in your home.

Save money and energy this winter with a top-mounting damper. Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to learn more about our damper sales and installation services.

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

The Dangers of a Clogged Dryer Vent

Unfortunately, many homeowners do not realize the dangers of dirty dryer vents until it is too late. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), clothes dryers were involved with an estimated 16,800 residential fires that caused 51 deaths, 380 injuries, and $236 million in property damages in 2010. The leading cause of these fires was failure to clean clogged dryer vents. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can help prevent your clothes dryer from being a fire hazard with our professional dryer vent cleaning services. Recommended by the NFPA, the Chimney Safety Institute of America, and other national fire safety organizations, an annual professional dryer vent cleaning also has other advantages. We would like to tell you more about the benefits of having your dryer vent professionally cleaned.

The Dangers of a Clogged Dryer Vent Image - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend

Reduce the risk of a residential fire

The statistics from the NFPA speak for themselves. Clogged dryer vents are dangerous fire hazards, and a professional dryer vent cleaning from Santa’s Friend Chimney Service can keep your home from becoming part of these statistics. The reason why clogged and dirty dryer vents are such fire hazards has to do with lint. Although your lint screen does trap a great deal of the lint produced from drying a load of clothes, lint still gets into the vent where it can accumulate to the point of blocking the vent. Lint is so flammable that it is recommended to start campfires by the Boy Scouts of America, so when the clogged vent causes the dryer to overheat, lint can easily and quickly ignite into a fire that can spread throughout your home. Our experienced technicians will be sure to remove every bit of lint to reduce this fire hazard.

Improve the efficiency of your dryer

When the dryer vent is dirty and clogged, your dryer has to work harder to operate, and this causes the appliance to overheat. If you continue to use your dryer as it overheats, it will cause important components like the heating element to wear out prematurely. Repairing the heating element can be very expensive, and it could even be more economical to replace your dryer. A professional dryer vent cleaning will actually prolong the life of your dryer. After Santa’s Friend Chimney Service has cleaned your dryer vent, you will notice a big improvement in the efficiency of your clothes dryer.

Save money and energy

If your dryer vent is clogged, the dryer will have a hard time drying a load of clothes in one cycle. If you have ever noticed damp clothes at the end of a complete drying cycle, your dryer vent is most likely clogged. Having to run your dryer twice the time to dry a load of clothes not only wastes energy, but it is also very costly. You will see a reduction in your utility bills after a professional dryer vent cleaning from Santa’s Friend Chimney Service.
You should never ignore the dangers of a clogged dryer vent. Contact us at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to schedule an appointment for our dryer vent cleaning services.

By Jim Robinson on July 28th, 2016 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment

Top-Mounted Dampers Are Best for Your Chimney

If you have an older chimney, you most likely have a traditional throat damper for your fireplace. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the damper is an important component of your fireplace and chimney system to keep the heat in and the cold air out of your house, which increases your energy efficiency and reduces your heating costs. The damper is also important for safety reasons because it controls the flow of smoke, gases, and the other byproducts of combustion up the chimney to leave your home. However, a throat damper has many flaws and issues. Fortunately, you have another choice for a highly effective damper that will give you a better seal than the traditional throat damper: the top-mounted damper. Santa’s Friend Chimney Service strongly prefers and recommends this type of damper. We would like to tell you more why we feel a top-mounted damper is the best choice for your chimney.

Top Mount Dampers - Jackson MS - Santa's Friend Chimney

This clip is courtesy of Richie Baxley at Environmental Chimney Service in Asheville NC.

A top-mounted damper takes care of two functions at once.

One of the best features of a top-mounted damper is that it also serves as a chimney cap when the damper is closed. To be completely honest, we feel that this type of damper actually gives you better protection than an ordinary chimney cap. With its silicone rubber gasket to seal in heat and air conditioning as a throat damper does, a top-mounted damper also provides an air-tight seal to keep out water, debris, birds, squirrels, and raccoons — just as a chimney cap would. If our customers need a new chimney cap, Santa’s Friend Chimney Service recommends installing a top-mounted damper instead of a chimney cap. Some models of top-mounted dampers are even equipped with protective meshing, so when the damper is open, your chimney is still protected from animals and debris.

A top-sealing damper saves you both energy and money.

You just cannot get as good of a seal from a throat damper as you would from a top-mounted damper. You will have no worries of cold air, ice, and snow coming into your flue and making a cold core within your chimney. This cold core will attempt to cool your home at the same time that your heating system is trying to warm it up, which wastes both fuel and money. Since a top-mounted damper is at the top of your chimney, cold air does not have the chance to get inside the chimney as your entire flue will be sealed air-tight with the silicone rubber gasket. Believe us when we tell you that you will save money on your energy bills by installing a top-mounted damper.

A top-mounted damper is easy to operate.

Some throat dampers are difficult to use because you have to almost stick your head up the fireplace to open and close them. With a top-mounted damper, opening and closing the damper is simple. A stainless steel cable from the damper comes down the chimney and connects to a handle you can easily access from inside the firebox. Different models will have different opening and closing methods, but we promise you will find all easy to use.

If you would like to know more about top-mounted dampers, get in touch with Santa’s Friend Chimney Service to find out even more advantages to this type of damper.

By Jim Robinson on May 31st, 2015 | Tagged with: Tags: , , | Leave a Comment