Cleaning and maintaining chimneys is important for safety. Hiring a professional chimney sweep once a year before winter can prevent fires. The sweep should inspect for damage to the chimney structure, flue liner, and cap. When lighting fires, use dry hardwoods and don't overfill the fireplace. Always use a spark guard and build the fire safely against the back wall.

1. Chimney Cleaning Importance
Safety tips for before you spark up the logs this winter

2. With natural gas and propane costs rising, you'll likely be looking to the old
chimney this winter to help cut your home-warming bills. In any case, before
you start up the logs, note that chimneys and chimneys are associated with
42 percent of all home fires. So first ensure yours is up to snuff by following
the security tips underneath.

3. Contract a chimney sweep.
The National Fire Protection Association suggests that chimneys be cleared
at least once per year toward the start of the winter to evacuate residue
and garbage.

4. Check for damage.
After cleaning, a professional ought to
review the chimney structure for splits,
loose blocks, or missing mortar. Fireplace
liners ought to likewise be checked for
breaking or weakening.

5. Cap the chimney.
A cap fitted with wire-mesh sides covers the highest point of the chimney and
keeps rain, winged animals, squirrels, and flotsam and jetsam from entering.
Supplant or repair a cap that is absent or harmed.

6. Consume prepared hardwoods.
Pick thick wood, for example, oak, that
has been cut and put away in a dry place
for no less than a half year. Green wood
and resinous softwoods like pine deliver
more creosote, a combustible side-effect
of wood burning that can develop in the
fireplace.

7. Try not to over-stack.
Little flames produce less smoke, and thus have less creosote development.
Likewise, a fire that is too substantial or excessively hot can break the
chimney.

8. Build it right.
Place logs at the back of the chimney
on a metal mesh. Utilize kindling,
instead of combustible fluids, to begin
the fire.

9. Utilize a spark guard.
Keep errant embers from shooting out of the firebox with a metal screen
or glass chimney entryways. A guard in front of an open flame is especially
important when the room is unoccupied.

10. chimneysweepswest.net
865-588-1482
csw@chimneysweepwest.comcastbiz.net
Chimney Sweeps
West