Your chimney is an important part of your home, but it’s easy to forget about it in the bustle of daily life. However, taking time to regularly maintain it keeps your home more comfortable and safer than it would be otherwise. In this chimney maintenance and safety guide, we’ll provide Rochester homeowners with a list of the basics of chimney maintenance and how it impacts your home’s safety.
A Guide to Chimney Maintenance and Safety
For Rochester homeowners, chimney maintenance and safety tasks don’t involve a great deal of work, but it is still important work that shouldn’t be put off. With average use and careful firewood selection, you can often get by with one chimney sweeping at the time of your annual inspection, often a requirement of homeowners insurance policies. As a chimney system ages, there are some other issues that also need to be addressed, but those are typically brought up at the time of your chimney inspection.
Chimney Inspection
A chimney inspection consists of a chimney contractor coming to your home and checking the interior and exterior of your chimney for damage or issues caused by aging. It’s often accompanied by a chimney sweeping, the most basic form of chimney cleaning.
Chimney Sweep
Chimney sweeping removes ash, soot, and light creosote buildup in your chimney through the use of stiff metal or plastic brushes that run up and down your chimney’s interior. The debris that is knocked loose is then removed from your fireplace, woodstove, or other appliance.
Chimney Cleaning
If you’ve had particularly smoky fires or it’s been several years since you last had your chimney swept, you may be due for a chimney cleaning. This type of cleaning deals with higher levels of creosote in your chimney which may have become too sticky or tarry to be removed easily with standard chimney sweeping equipment.
Chimney Lining
If the interior of your chimney has been damaged from freezing and thaw cycles, a physical blow from debris thrown around in a storm, or similar physical impacts, the chimney flue could be damaged. Similarly, if you’ve changed to a more efficient appliance, your chimney may be too large for it to produce a proper draft. Both situations require a chimney lining to be installed.
Chimney Tuckpointing
Tuckpointing or repointing is a process that is undertaken when the mortar between your chimney’s bricks is breaking down due to wear or age. In these situations, the old mortar is removed and new mortar put into place between the bricks. This ensures that your chimney will continue to operate effectively for many years to come.
Chimney Leak Repair
Chimney waterproofing and leak repair are necessary when cracks in the outside of your chimney allow moisture to enter the inside of your chimney. Freeze and thaw cycles cause the water to expand and contract, causing more damage if not caught quickly, and eventually requiring chimney restoration or reconstruction if not handled.
Safety Concerns with Chimneys
Chimneys are safe when they’re kept in good repair, but when regular maintenance isn’t handled, they can cause a range of issues to occur that can compromise your safety. These issues can endanger the health of you and your loved ones, with some fatal consequences if not addressed. Here are some of the safety concerns with improperly maintained chimneys.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is a byproduct of any type of combustion. Whether you have wood-fired or gas appliances, there is always a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, especially when these appliances are not properly managed. Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning include sleepiness, nausea, headache, and vomiting.
Chimney Fires
When wood fires burn, a compound called creosote is formed as a byproduct. Carried by the heat of combustion, creosote will exit your chimney for the most part if you have a good draft and well-maintained chimney, or will cling to the interior walls of your chimney if it isn’t, causing it to build up as a black, tarry substance that is very flammable. When these deposits catch fire in your chimney, the fire can cause extensive damage to your home.
Wild Animals
If you’re having an issue with your chimney caps, the small roof over the top of your chimney, it’s an open invitation for small animals to invade your home, bringing with them any parasites that they’ve picked up along the way. Mice, rats, squirrels, birds, and even raccoons may find your chimney to be a comfortable place to build a nest for the season. This blockage causes smoke to build up back into your home, raising the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Repairs, cleaning and chimney maintenance for your Rochester home are necessary to keep your chimney operating efficiently, making it important to stay on top of these tasks. If you need help with your chimney maintenance or need repairs performed, the experienced professionals at Four Winds Chimney are ready to help. Reach out today to chat with our experienced team of certified chimney sweeps and professionals today!
