Chimney sweeping and cleaning in Lakewood.

1. What leaves the flue.

   A burning fire coats the inside of the flue with a thin film. When new it is dry and sweeps off easily. After many slow, smoldering fires it thickens into sticky tar, and eventually into a hard glaze that resists even a stiff brush.

   Work starts at the damper and moves up toward the cap, then turns to the smoke shelf, and ends on the firebox floor. All that comes loose is gathered up and hauled away, so nothing stays behind to burn later.

   

2. How often a sweep is due.

   Frequency follows your burning habits: a fire every night coats the flue far faster than a handful over the whole winter, and a thick or glossy layer says the next sweep should not be postponed.

   Because NFPA 211 recommends a yearly look at the chimney and that look gauges the deposit, a sweep and an inspection often share one appointment.

   To put the numbers in proportion: in the Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 estimates, 49,665 of Lakewood's 69,799 occupied homes use utility gas as their main heat and 61 use wood, with a margin of error of 36 on the wood count. A fireplace that is only lit occasionally still gathers some deposit, which is why the annual check comes first.

3. What a clean flue gives you.

   A chimney fire begins when built-up creosote ignites inside the flue. Remove the deposit, and an errant spark has far less to feed on.

   Draw gets better too. Smoke leaves through the top, whereas a coated flue can let it roll back into the room once the damper is opened.

   

4. Stoves and fireplace inserts.

   A stove turned low overnight burns cool, and cool smoke deposits the most creosote, especially in the connector pipe running from the stove to the chimney.

   For a stove we trace the smoke's whole route, beginning with the pipe that leaves the stove and its joints, continuing up the flue or liner, and ending at the cap.

5. Right at the top.

   Smoke arrives at the cap already cooled, and cooled smoke drops soot. A clogged screen weakens the draw, yet the same screen stops embers, so it is cleaned each time we visit.

   

6. Smells on damp days.

   The odor is creosote. A flue that has seen use retains a little of it, and heavy damp air, or a draft that has reversed, draws it down into the house. A sweep removes the source, while a shut damper and a cap hold in the remainder.

Ask about a sweep