Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

Log vs. Sweep

In our lives, we applaud each other for working late, laugh at those who don’t, and measure our self-worth in time stamps.  Meanwhile, those who take the proverbial “easy way out” are ridiculed, criticized and/or passed over for promotions.  An online search returns pages of blogs explaining how to kick the habit of taking it easy.  By all accounts, taking the easy way out seems harmful and counterproductive.  Why, then, do so many of us seem so drawn to the path of least resistance?  If the hard route leads to more profitable outcomes, why aren’t more people willing to go that route?  Why do we tend to look for the easy way out of a situation?

Chimney Sweeping Logs: The Easy Way Out   It’s easier that way, for one.  Physics says that the path of least resistance is generally the one taken.  The decision on the best method for cleaning your chimney should not be one in which you opt for the easy way.  There are all sorts of advertisements for chimney sweeping logs (CSLs) flooding the marketplace today.  These products claim to do the work of a chimney sweep, all for a price of around $15 per log.  Sounds too good to be true, huh?  If you answered yes, you are correct.

Using a log that claims to rid your chimney of creosote may cause more problems than it promises to solve.

What the CSLs Actually Do   It really isn’t the logs that are supposed to do anything; it is the chemicals and minerals they’re impregnated with that do all of the work.  When a CSL is burned, the chemicals and minerals are carried up the flue by the rising exhaust gases.  After entering the flue, they attach themselves to the creosote in your chimney and, over the course of several subsequent fires, break it down, causing it to crumble away from the chimney walls.

What’s in a Name   The name, CSL, is a bit misleading.  One would expect a product called a chimney sweeping log to actually sweep the chimney, or at least perform an equivalent function.  According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the use of CSLs alone is not an adequate substitute for mechanical chimney cleaning and inspection because they do not provide for the same level of protection to your chimney system.  The CSIA mandates that all CSL manufacturers include a CSIA Accepted Product logo, including the following message: “When used according to the manufacturer’s instructions, this product is accepted by the Chimney Safety Institute of America.  For improved safety and home heating efficiency, CSIA recommends that all chimney and vented appliances be inspected every year by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep.”

This CSIA recommendation of regular chimney inspection and cleaning should be proof enough that CSLs aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.  If you want to spend your hard earned money on CSLs, please feel free to do so.  However, keep in mind that nothing can ever replace the services provided by a qualified chimney sweeping professional, including annual inspections and cleaning.

Your Chimney Liner’s Job

Your Chimney Liner Is An MVP

A chimney liner’s name doesn’t necessarily accurately convey the heavy lifting it does, or its supremely important role in your chimney system. We usually think of liners as add-ons — the shelf liners in our cabinets make things look a little cleaner, our jacket liners make things a little more comfortable, but it is different with chimney liners. If the chimney industry was going to be a little more clear about the importance of the chimney liner, we might call them chimney suits of armor for their protective properties, or chimney foremen for how they make the system work well.

The Chimney liner defends the exterior of your chimney wall from too much heat.

Overall, from the vantage point here at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, a clean, strong chimney liner is definitely an MVP.

What Your Chimney Liner Does

If we were to boil it down, the chimney liner was developed to solve three key problems with chimney systems: the heavy wear-and-tear of heat and moisture on masonry; the susceptibility of building materials behind that masonry to heat and moisture; and the impeded draft that comes with inconsistencies in damaged flues.

First, your chimney liner provides protection. Whether your liner is made of terra cotta clay or stainless steel, it stands up to heat from your fire and potential moisture intrusion, allowing the masonry that makes up your chimney itself to stand stronger, longer. It also provides a needed extra layer of protection between the flammable beams and building materials in your walls behind the chimney, lessening the chances of a fire hazard.

Protection is just part of the chimney liner’s role, though. The liner also contributes immensely to performance, and draft. Air needs to flow smoothly up and out of your flue for the chimney to properly vent. If you think of your flue kind of like a straw, you’ll get a sense of why “smoothly” is so key. If you try to use a cracked straw, the pressure necessary to draw up becomes near impossible to create. The same kind of thing happens when cracks or gaps are present in your flue. A smooth, properly sized and intact flue liner creates a surface that encourages draft, and makes your chimney work more efficiently. (That’s part of why it’s so important to maintain your flue liner too, and to have damaged flue liners repaired or replaced as soon as possible.

A Flue Liner’s Size Is Important

A damaged clay tile liner is often the reason why Santa’s Friend Chimney Service technicians end up relining a chimney. But damage isn’t the only thing we look for when we’re inspecting a chimney system. A chimney needs to have a clean and intact liner in order to function correctly, but that liner also needs to be the right size. A flue that’s too big or too small for the appliance it’s venting will result in poor draft, increased byproducts and other issues.

To resize an incorrectly sized flue, we’ll install a stainless steel liner. These are great products that will last through years and years of use (when installed by a professional, most carry lifetime warranties).

If you have any questions about what a flue liner does, or what the process of relining or liner repair is like, Santa’s Friend is always willing to help. Give us a call with any questions, or to book an appointment with our experienced technicians!

Getting the Gunk Out

Watch Out for Creosote

There’s just something about fireplaces and chimneys during the winter season that draw you in, again and again. The chill in your bones dissolves into the blissful crackle and pop of a roaring fire. But, if you built that fire with green or wet wood, you’d also have a smoky fire and a rapid buildup of creosote. It is a natural by-product of burning, but when the creosote isn’t regularly removed, it becomes a real concern.

Creosote or a substance commonly known as soot is formed through the condensation of gases and incomplete combustion of wood particles. It is found in your chimney flues and areas in the stone masonry and the four walls of your chimney. It is identified as silky black or dark brown dust.  This is formed by the specific element in creosote which is carbon (doubles the flammability level of creosote) and is also composed of ash which is non-combustible.

We are experienced in identifying and removing creosote from your chimney. Have you had your annual inspection?

Thick formation of creosote is otherwise known as glaze. This is ten times more flammable than typical low-level creosote. This can accumulate a great amount of fuel to burn and is more difficult to remove compared to subtle amounts of creosote.

There are a few reasons why this exists; it might be that enough supplemental heat has already been provided and too much smoke is occupying your room rather than going up the chimney flues. When there is too much soot build-up in the chimneys, this might trigger blazing fires to erupt and destroy your homes in a matter of seconds. The formation of carbon monoxide is not far from the picture and can poison the people in your home and cause unfortunate accidents as well.

Sure enough, you wouldn’t want this dangerous chimney deposit to ruin your home. So it’s best to have your chimney and fireplace checked annually.  This is to control and remove the build-up of creosote and to prepare your chimney for heavy duty work during the winter season. The best and only option for the people of Mississippi is Santa’s Friend Chimney Service. After over twenty-four years of service, we are glad to offer you professional service and peace of mind.

Teach Fire Safety to Your Kids

Teaching kids fire safety

It’s fun to foster a love of your fireplace in your kids, making s’mores, sitting by the fire with a mug of cocoa, hanging Christmas stockings, talking about Santa’s arrival. But since kids are naturally curious, it’s important to put some time aside for the serious aspects of owning and using a fireplace or stove, too: fire safety. It can feel like a hard topic to broach, but preparing kids to safely interact with a heating appliance — and to understand how dangerous that appliance and the fire in it can be — can make all the difference in keeping them safe from injury or harm.

Develop an escape plan for your home and practice it.

Fireplace Safety Starts With You

There’s a lot you can do to make your fireplace and the area around it safer for kids, including having a safety screen installed. Making sure you never leave children alone with the fireplace — even if you’ve just put it out or turned it off — is key. It can take 45 minutes for gas fireplace doors to cool down (and they can get as hot as 200º F or hotter, very quickly), and smoldering embers can cause serious burns.

It’s helpful to bolster talking about boundaries — staying a safe distance away from the fireplace — with clear information about fire: how fast it can move, how dangerous it is, and how important it is to be careful around it.

Safety Around The Fireplace Is Just A Start

Teaching your kids how to be safe while enjoying the fires you build in the fireplace is just part of the equation. That natural curiosity leads a lot of children to light fires on their own, finding matches or lighters and playing with them in secret. Keeping those tools safely confined away from little hands is one step. Talking with kids about those tools, their safe use and the danger that comes along with fire is a key second step.

Creating An Action Plan, And Practicing

Keeping up with the regular maintenance of your fireplace and chimney, of course, reduces the chance of a chimney fire. But fire is always a danger, and one that we can’t predict, so being prepared is worthwhile for both adults and kids. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends practicing an escape plan with your kids, and it makes sense: Having a plan helps your whole family react quickly when you need to, and since kids often learn best by doing, practicing will be particularly valuable for them.

That learning process should including hearing what the fire alarm sounds like, and knowing what it means. You can also talk to kids about firemen: what they look like, what they do and why we shouldn’t be afraid of them. Knowing how to react if their clothes were to catch fire — the stop, drop and roll method — is important too, as is developing several escape routes and meeting places, and practicing all of it.

An escape plan is a serious thing, and fire safety is a serious topic, but practicing can be fun — and that definitely helps kids learn, and remember.

Getting Your Wood Stove Ready During Summer

Keep Your Wood Stove Clean

Summer is the time to get your wood stove ready cooler nights. During the seasons of heavier use, your wood stove should be cleaned out at least once a month. However, in warmer months, it is time to schedule a certified sweep to take a look at the parts of your stove you aren’t trained to inspect or clean. An unclean wood stove is not only messier and hazardous, it is also inefficient.

Keep Wood Stove Clean – Jackson MS – Santa’s Friend Chimney Service

Let’s start with the most important reason why you need to regularly clean your wood stove and chimney — safety. According to the EPA nearly 7% of house fires are a result of creosote buildup in your chimney. Creosote is the unburned remainder of gases and is highly flammable. If you burn anything other than dry, seasoned wood, you increase the amount and the frequency with which the creosote accumulates. This includes any type of paper. A certified sweep will let you know if the layer of creosote in your chimney must be removed. Believe it or not, any more than one-quarter inch is perilous.

Now you are ready to clean the stove…what do you need? Here is a good checklist:

• A drop cloth or newspapers to protect your floor.
• Old newspapers or paper towels for glass cleaning
• Gloves to protect your hands while cleaning.
• Small brush for ash
• Small ash shovel to scoop out the ashes.
• Metal ash container to collect the ashes in for disposal later. Make sure the ash is well-cooled before removal.
• Spray bottle containing a vinegar, water, and soap solution, two parts water to one part vinegar with a squeeze of dish soap.
• Dust mask to protect yourself from breathing in ash.
• A fireplace ash vacuum is great, but not necessary. A household vacuum isn’t recommended. You can use fireplace ash in your garden if distributed evenly and lightly.

Hiring a sweep to clean out your stove pipe will ensure that creosote doesn’t become a fire or health hazard for your family. Remember to always follow any directions provided with your wood stove. Keep a fire extinguisher close at hand for emergencies. You are on your way to toasty rooms in winter and a worry-free mind.

Common Repairs to Chimney Liners

Common Chimney Flue Liner Repairs

 Although many people have chimneys in their homes, most do not know much about the parts that comprise them. One of the most important parts of a functioning chimney is the flue liner. This is a layer, usually made of clay, metal, or ceramic tile that covers the inside of the chimney. Its function is to protect the inner wall of the chimney as well as to contain combustible materials while sending them out of the home. Keeping the chimney flue liner in good working condition is essential to having a safe chimney.

Prior to the 1940’s, it was not mandatory for homes to have liners in their chimneys. This is why tragic house fires were so common in the middle part of the Twentieth Century. Someone who is living in a home that was built before the 1940’s should have their chimney inspected and make sure that it has a liner to begin with. If it does not, one must be installed before the fireplace can be safely used.

Chimney Liners Prevent Fires – Jackson MS – Santa’s Friend Chimney Service

In most cases, the flue liner needs to be replaced or repaired because of normal wear and tear from years of use. In this case, the liner will simply start to wear away or, in the case of an older tile liner, it will begin to crack. This is dangerous because the liner will not be able to contain hazardous gasses the way that it is supposed to. These materials may be allowed to ignite, causing a devastating chimney fire.

Combustible gasses themselves will eventually take their toll on the liner, which is another thing a professional inspection should catch. When this happens, the connection between the liner and the wall of the chimney weakens, causing it to become loose. Although the cause is different, this creates more or less the same effect as an eroding liner. It can be extremely unsafe and a chimney in this condition should not be used under any circumstances.

When the time comes to repair or replace the chimney liner, people with metal or tile liners in their homes find that it is best to make a complete change. Today, it is often recommended that these liners be replaced with ones that are made of clay. The reason is that clay is extremely durable and can withstand not only exposure to combustible materials but also to extremely high temperatures. If someone installs a new clay liner in their chimney, they can expect that it will remain in good working condition for about fifty years.

While making the switch, it is important to avoid fire hazards by completely removing all pieces of the old liner. It is also necessary to measure the chimney precisely and account for any irregularities, such as a crooked chimney. In order to function safely, the liner must fit the chimney exactly. These repairs are extremely complicated and it is not recommended that they are done as a do it yourself project. A profession should always be employed to do this precise work and make sure that it is safe before use.

Although many people are not aware of the condition of their chimney liner, it is a very important safety issue. An annual chimney inspection will give insight into whether or not any repairs or a complete replacement is necessary. These days, many homeowners opt for a clay liner because it is durable and will most likely last for the duration of their time in the home.