chimney sweeping: Taking A Look At the different roles of a chimney sweep

To prevent fire and keep your chimney working efficiently you need to hire a chimney sweep to clean the chimney. Unlike the popular believe where many people believe that the chimney sweep only sweeps the chimney, the professional is involved in other things. Some of the things that the professional will do when you visit him/her include:

Inspection

Before the professional can start cleaning the chimney he/she inspects the chimney to check on any damage. The professional checks the outside to ensure that the bricks are in perfect condition.

He/she also looks the inside the chimney to see if it needs to be cleaned. Most professionals will recommend that you clean the chimney if the accumulated soot is more than ¼ inch.

Chimney inspection not only helps the professional in identifying the area that need to be cleaned, it also helps the professional in preparing a chimney cleaning quote. The more the damage on the chimney, the higher the fee. The same applies when there is a lot of soot inside the chimney.

Preparation

After inspecting the chimney the professional prepares the chimney for cleaning. The cleaning process is messy; therefore, the chimney cleaning contractor protects the home from the soot by spreading drop cloths on the floor and furniture. The professional also connects the vacuum cleaner and ensures that it’s working perfectly.

Sweeping

Once everything is in place the professional starts cleaning the chimney. To clean the chimney the professional inserts a wide brush into the fireplace. The brush comes in flexible sections; therefore, if the chimney is longer than expected the professional simply attaches a new section and continues with the cleaning.

The chimney contractor cleans all parts of the fireplace including the smoke shelf, firebox, flue smoke chamber and damper. The length of time used depends on the amount of soot and the repair required.

Smoke test

Finally, the chimney cleaning technician undertakes smoke tests in order to verify whether the chimney has been properly cleaned. To test the chimney the professional lights a small fire in the fireplace. If there are any problems the professional repeats the process all over again.

Conclusion

These are the things that a chimney cleaning professional does. To reap the full benefits of the professional you should hire an experienced contractor. To protect your home you should work with an insured chimney cleaning expert.

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