A fireplace is a sought-after luxury in most homes in Plano, Texas – but if you’re not paying attention to the cleanliness and safety of your chimney, you could be putting your home and family at risk.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering when you need to have your chimney cleaned, then you’ve certainly come to the right place. This blog will demonstrate how often you need chimney cleaning.
But before the ‘when”, let’s take a look at the ‘why’.
Reasons why you Must Regularly Get your Chimneys Cleaned
Risk of lessened fire efficiency
When your chimney isn’t cleaned for a long time, a substance called creosote keeps building up in the flue during the use of the fireplace. This creosote propagates the formation of soot, and these two substances reduce the performing efficiency of your fire. Two of the biggest disadvantages are the production of more smoke and lesser warmth. You can safely assume that your flue and, by extension, your chimney won’t last long if your cleaning process is neglected.
Creosote has a host of corrosive chemicals inside it and innate moisture attracting ability. Any moisture is sidelined against the walls of the flue. Naturally, the entire system is affected by corrosion prematurely.
Stay insurance friendly
Some of the top insurance policies with the highest return schemes come with an important caveat. Your home should have an adequate level of fire safety, including a properly maintained and cleaned chimney. Therefore, if you don’t get your chimney cleaned properly and there’s a subsequent fire, you may not be eligible for adequate insurance cover. This, in itself, is a huge reason for you to take adequate care of your flue system. Professional chimney cleaning services in Plano, TX, provide proper documentation to help you in getting documentation.
Guard your home against fire
That creosote we talked about earlier is also highly flammable and can lead to a dangerous chimney fire (an uncontrolled 2000 degree fire burning inside the chimney). First, your chimney may catch fire, and then the fire will immediately spread to different parts of your home. At the very best, a chimney fire will cause significant damage to the chimney structure that will require thousands of dollars to repair. At worst, it can lead to injuries. If you don’t want to be put in this devastating situation, then the easiest way out for you is to keep getting your chimneys cleaned regularly.
Care for your family health
When chimneys aren’t cleaned properly, gases begin to accumulate and seep into the room. This is the very air your family will inhale, and you can surely imagine the ill effects on their health. Keep yourself and your family safe by getting regular chimney cleaning done. By contacting a certified Plano chimney cleaning company, you will have taken the first step for a better working chimney and increased safety for your family.
So, how often should chimney cleaning be done?
As a general rule of thumb, the guidelines are every 1-2 years for average use. Given the generality of the term “average,” the importance of having an annual chimney inspection becomes clear. The National Fireplace Protection Association (NFPA) recommends an annual Level I Inspection of the fireplace/chimney/heating appliance. Ideally, this inspection should be done before the start of the burning season by a qualified chimney professional.
The gold standard for this qualification is certification by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). Your CSIA certified chimney sweep will perform the Level I Inspection, and be able to determine the overall condition of the chimney, and will let you know if chimney cleaning is needed. In most cases, chimney cleaning can be performed during the same visit.
Occasionally, chimney cleaning will need to be done more frequently. There are some signs that you, the homeowner, should be aware of. Chimney cleaning may need to be done more frequently if you notice the following:
- The chimney smokes back into the living area during use. While there are certainly other issues that can cause this problem, a chimney that otherwise performs well and begins to gradually put more and more smoke back into the room during use may be due for chimney cleaning.
- There is a “sooty” or “campfire” smell in the house, even when not using the fireplace. This is usually a sign that chimney cleaning is needed. Fireplace odors come from the creosote deposits within the chimney system. They are usually worse in high humidity, during the summertime, and when it rains. A thorough sweep, designed to remove the creosote deposits accumulated over time, will usually correct this problem.
Professional Chimney Cleaning Services In Plano, TX
If you are ready to have your chimney cleaned, get in touch with Elegant Fireside and Patio today. We have a team of qualified and dedicated technicians who can help you with chimney inspection and cleaning. Let us put our three decades of experience to work for you.
To learn more about our professional chimney inspection and cleaning services in Plano, Texas, call us at (972) 846-4878.
