What can you do for your chimney and vice versa?

A lot of people take pride in their fireplaces; they are a nice source of heat during winter and have a way of giving character to a room. However, one component of the fireplace that most people don’t care to give some maintenance to is the chimney. This is nothing short of a shame, as maintaining your chimney (mainly by cleaning it) ensures that you get to use your chimney far more efficiently and more importantly, it minimizes the risk of accidents happening.

Ideally, one should perform chimney cleaning once a year (or more often if you use your fireplace frequently) to reap its full benefits and minimize risk of accidents. This is because when you use your chimney, the soot produced accumulates in the chimney. The soot contains compounds that haven’t been burned or have only been partially burned, the most flammable of which is a substance called creosote. This essentially means that the combustible material accumulates in your chimney, and unfortunately when it accumulates to just the right quantity, it could combust and cause a chimney fire. Though chimney fires aren’t major fire hazards by most standards, the fire balls that erupt from these could land on your roof and damage it, which would then turn a minor problem into a big one. A chimney fire also has the potential to crack the lining of your chimney, rendering it at best unusable or at worst a hazard since it could allow the heat in the chimney to transfer to adjacent material such as wood and start a major fire.

Another problem about chimneys that most people complain about which is attributable to the neglect of cleaning them is the stink they produce, especially during summer. The increased moisture in the environment combined with the products of combustion lodged in the chimney cause it to start stinking, and this smell could spread to your house. The obvious implications of this (the discomfort and embarrassment caused) are not worth the little money saved in not taking proper care of the chimney.

Clearly, it is wise to consider cleaning your chimney regularly in order to reap its full benefits while at the same time reducing the risk to you, your family and your property. The best way to go about it is to get a professional to do it for you, since they are more likely to spot subtle chimney-associated problems which are likely to escape the untrained eye. These can then be fixed cheaply before they evolve into more serious problems. Most other people have also cleaned their own chimneys themselves, saving on the cost of hiring a professional. This is only wise if you have an idea of how to go about it. Whatever route you decide to take, one thing that shouldn’t be compromised is the quality of the material you use as cleaning agents. One should only use quality cleaning agents (oil based cleaning agents should be avoided) from established companies, as these are likely to do a better job without as much effort as would otherwise be required. Take proper care of your fireplace and chimney and you are likely to be able to enjoy its usage for a very long time.

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