What should I consider before hiring a chimney sweep?
Before hiring a chimney sweep , you may want to ask for the company’s credentials or the sweep’s level of training. Chimney sweep companies often belong to national trade associations with strict guidelines concerning training and services. Unfortunately, the increased demand for chimney sweep services has lead to a number of fly-by-night operations. A trained chimney sweep should do more than run a wire brush through the chimney several times and leave. A good chimney sweep should have state-of-the-art inspection equipment and cleaning tools, but should not use the cleaning session as a launching point for upgrades and general repairs. It’s not improper for a chimney sweep to point out potential hazards during an inspection, but homeowners should be able to hire other contractors for those repairs, if they choose.
When home heating costs began to rise signficantly in the 1970s and 1980s, many homeowners turned to wood as a cheaper source of energy. Along with this renewed interest in firewood came a boom in the wood-burning stove market. While homeowners did enjoy a reduced dependency on expensive natural gas and electricity, wood-burning stoves brought back many of the problems homeowners faced a hundred years ago. Over time, the accumulation of soot, creosote and other by-products created a fire hazard which could only be eliminated by a professional chimney sweep. This created a new cottage industry of independent chimney sweep companies and fireplace safety inspectors. Before hiring a chimney sweep to clean out your fireplace flue or chimney, you should ask yourself a few questions. First of all, can you perform the same tasks yourself without going through the expense of hiring a professional? A chimney sweep probably won’t volunteer to clean out your collection of ashes or clean the visibl
