Millions of people depend on fireplaces to keep their homes warm during the winter seasons. With a working chimney, smoke, toxic fumes and creosote escape the fireplace, leaving your home warm and fresh. Unfortunately, fireplaces can be dangerous additions to a home, especially when one neglects to perform necessary maintenance tasks on their chimneys.
Research indicates that up to 30{b3b47b4ce3613a8ae866741a21452b80454d4cde38f39b62399bbbfc1a1a9f3e} house fires are caused by chimney fires, resulting in millions of dollars worth of property damage each year. When large deposits of soot and creosote clog up the chimney, it only takes a few sparks from your fireplace to start a chimney fire. It is therefore advisable that homeowners clean their chimneys once or twice a year – not only to reduce the risk of fire, but to also improve efficiency.
Chimney cleaning is a messy job that requires special tools and skills to do properly. Luckily, chimney cleaning doesn’t have to be a DIY task. With chimney cleaning services, you get to enjoy a warm and safe home without getting your hands dirty.
When it comes to hiring chimney cleaners, you’ll have a plethora of companies to choose from. However, to ensure you get the right service, it is advisable that you do proper homework and research on all potential candidates before investing money and time on the service. Below are some questions to ask chimney cleaners before hiring.
How long have you been in business? – Experience is key when it comes to chimney cleaning. In addition to cleaning your chimney, the service provider needs to be able to diagnose your chimney for potential risks lurking in the system. Only an experienced chimney sweeper can detect such problems and provide possible solutions.
What’s your cleaning process? – Every chimney sweeper has unique way of getting the job done. Before hiring a service, make sure they provide you with a step-by-step process of inspecting and cleaning your chimney. The professional sweepers will also have in place processes that protect your home from debris strewn about during the cleaning process.
How much do you charge? – The cost of cleaning your chimney will vary based on factors such as severity of the clogging, complexity of the job and individual prices set by the sweepers among others. Knowing how much the job will cost prior to hiring will not only make it easy to compare prices, but will also help get you prepared financially.
What certifications do you have? – Some chimney sweepers will offer an equally professional service even without certification but you’ll have peace of mind knowing that they are certified. Chimney professionals are certified by institutions such as the National Fireplace Institute, Fire Investigation Research and Education, and the Chimney Safety Institute of America.
Do you have to get up on the roof to clean? – Chimney cleaning can be done from the roof or bottom of the chimney. While there is no preferred method, it would be ideal to understand the method being used, especially if you are worried about getting your floors and landscape damaged by ladders.
How long will it take to clean my chimney? – Every flue is different and may require varying amounts of time to clean. However, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to clean any flue. It may take longer to complete the job if there are large deposits of creosote or bird nests. If it will take longer to finish the job, it would be advisable to understand why before the service.
Do you have references? – A confident and reliable chimney professional (we recommend http://naturesownchimneycleaning.com) won’t hesitate to provide references when you ask it of them. Once you get the references, be sure to contact a few of them and find out exactly how they felt about the service. Finally, you can read reviews on a chimney company to understand them more before hiring.