National Chimney Service provides professional chimney cleaning and flue cleaning for homeowners throughout Fairfield County and Morris County. Chimney cleaning is a fairly routine job, but it’s a critical part of your annual chimney maintenance. Here’s why.
The Dangers of a Neglected ChimneyIf you use a wood-burning fireplace or fireplace insert and year after year fail to have your chimney properly cleaned, you could be asking for trouble.
Every time a wood fire burns, a byproduct of combustion called creosote starts building up inside your chimney flue. Creosote attaches well to the walls of chimney liners and can eventually coat the entire flue as well as the smoke chamber beneath it.
Volatile and highly flammable, creosote is responsible for the majority of chimney fires each year in the U.S. Our crews always remind every one of our customers that the very best way to avoid the catastrophe of a chimney fire is with yearly professional chimney cleaning.
Chimney fires happen more often than you might think. Not all of them are big, blazing events that require local fire personnel to deal with. Many chimney fires are small and go out just as quickly as they start. These can be dangerous.
Every time your inner chimney system is subjected to intense heat and flames, damage can be done to the chimney liner. When the liner becomes compromised, interior masonry can start to suffer damage. Beyond that, heat and corrosive compounds can begin to affect adjacent building materials of your home.
With a damaged chimney liner, toxic gases such as deadly carbon monoxide can back up into your home and negatively affecting humans and pets.
Professional chimney sweeping once a year will greatly reduce the likelihood of these problems.
Our licensed crews use a variety of tools and equipment to clean chimneys. We have traditional chimney sweep brushes and specialized brushes that are drill-powered for heavier buildups of creosote and soot.
When creosote is particularly stubborn – what we call third-degree glazed creosote – our chimney cleaning crews dissolve it with Poultice Creosote Remover.
We also use industrial vacuums to manage the dust that’s often a part of chimney sweep projects. Vacuums and the special care our crews take ensures that your home and the objects near your fireplace remain safe and clean throughout the process.
In addition to creosote, we also remove outside debris including leaves and twigs from nearby trees and the nesting materials of small animals. These obstructions can severely hamper your fireplace’s ability to draft smoke and may cause smoke and toxins to enter your home.
We recommend having a full-width custom chimney cap installed to prevent flue debris in the future.
If it’s time to have your chimney professionally cleaned and inspected, contact National Chimney Service today at (973) 270-9295 in NJ and (203) 614-9765 in CT. We serve Fairfield CT, Dover NJ, Greenwich CT, Rockaway NJ, and all other communities in Fairfield County CT and Morris County NJ.
We work year-round to keep your chimney, home and family safe. Call us today.
