Regular chimney maintenance, like chimney cleaning or sweeping, is the key to chimney safety.
Your chimney is one of the most important parts of your fireplace. Without it, you wouldn’t be able to use your fireplace safely. The chimney funnels all of the dangerous smoke up and away from the home so that you can enjoy the heat from the fire without any of the smoke. It also protects your firebox from the elements. But your chimney needs plenty of TLC to keep it up to snuff. Regular chimney maintenance, like chimney cleaning or sweeping, is the key to chimney safety. Read on about the types of maintenance you should be doing on your chimney and the benefits that staying on top of that maintenance provides.
Internal Maintenance
The internal parts of the chimney include the firebox (where the actual fire is) the flue and liner (the internal tube that travels up and out of the roof), and the damper (the flap that opens and closes to release smoke and keeps cold air from traveling in). Your firebox maintenance should include checking it for heat-related or moisture-related damage. The damper should open and close easily and there should not be any signs of rust, pitting, or other damage. Finally, the flue should be intact without any signs of fire, animal debris, or water damage. Aside from inspecting these elements, your seasonal maintenance includes cleaning and repairing them if needed, especially the flue, where creosote builds up every time you have a fire in the firebox.
External Maintenance
The exterior parts of the chimney also need to be inspected and maintained. The flashing is the (typically) metal exterior component that provides a seal at the roofline, covering the angle between the chimney’s outer wall and the roof’s outer surface. The lashing needs to be checked for damage and to ensure it is secure. Similarly, the masonry must be checked for signs of cracking or water damage and repaired as soon as any is spotted. Waiting on masonry repairs will make the difficulty and cost of those repairs worse as the damage increases. Finally, the chimney cap is part at the very top of the chimney that keeps animals, debris, and rain from entering your chimney. It needs to be inspected to make sure there is no damage and that it is secure.
The Benefits Of Maintenance
The biggest benefit of doing seasonal and yearly chimney maintenance tasks is that it is easier and cheaper to maintain a chimney than it is to repair it once something has gone wrong. Chimney maintenance is also something that should be left to the professionals. Some tasks are delicate, others require being on the roof, and all of the work requires skills and tools you likely don’t have. You should not try to DIY chimney maintenance to save additional money.
Schedule Your Chimney Sweep Appointment from Champion Chimneys, Inc.
When you need a trusted company for your chimney inspection and chimney cleaning, you can trust our team. Champion Chimneys, Inc. is a fully licensed, bonded, and insured chimney service company that has served customers in Baltimore County, Howard County, and Anne Arundel County, Maryland, since 2001. Our team is trained and certified by Certified Chimney Professionals, Inc. (CCP, Inc.). We specialize in all aspects of your chimney system. Whether you need chimney and flue cleaning service or a full chimney rebuild or inspection, contact us at 443-Chimney today and let us fix all your chimney problems. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.