Yearly maintenance is hugely important to ensure your chimney is ready for the winter.
Winter is right around the corner. The season’s colder weather has already made a handful of appearances, encouraging many to indulge in warm fires in the fireplace on those cold fall evenings. If you’re in this category, hopefully, you’ve already had your annual chimney inspection done. This yearly chimney maintenance is hugely important since the routine inspections can catch early signs of damage that could lead to chimney fires and help to ensure that your chimney is ready for the winter (and capable of important stuff like keeping snow out) letting smoke and fumes exit your home). Let’s go over what your seasonal chimney sweep should be checking for and what should be done to prepare your chimney for the winter.
Checking Flashing
If you’ve had your annual chimney inspection already, your flashing was inspected as part of that. If you haven’t taken a moment to inspect it as much as you can. The flashing is the sheet metal that wraps around the base of the chimney where the chimney meets the roof. When you look at it, it should look like it is snug against the chimney. The purpose of the flashing is to prevent rainwater from creeping into the roof, and it needs to have a good seal to do that.
Checking The Cap
Along with the flashing, the chimney cap is another part of the annual chimney inspection that you can visually check on in the meantime. The chimney cap is the metal part that sits right on top of the chimney crown. It keeps debris and animals from coming down into and blocking the chimney. If you’re looking at your chimney from the ground and can’t tell if it is there, it is definitely time for a chimney inspection.
Invest In The Right Materials
Another thing you can do to get your chimney ready for winter is to buy any supplies you don’t have or need to be replaced. Make sure that you’re only buying well-seasoned firewood. It is more expensive than just using what you can find outside, but unseasoned wood is very bad for your chimney over the long haul. Next, invest in proper tools (for the fireplace and for building and tending the fire), including a spark guard to protect yourself and your family.
Schedule That Inspection
Finally, don’t put off that inspection. It is an important yearly activity to protect your chimney, home, and family.
Schedule Your Fall Chimney Cleaning 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.