Why should you call a chimney sweep?
                     What is the purpose of getting your chimney swept, really?
     When you burn a fire in your fireplace or woodstove, smoke is created. Smoke actually contains droplets of unburned carbon material from your firewood, and some of these droplets condense on the inner walls of the flue, forming creosote. If these are left to accumulate in the flue system, these deposits can easily ignite – a slightly hotter fire than normal or newspapers flaming up to the damper could be enough to start a Chimney Fire.

      Once kindled, creosote burns with an intense fire at temperatures above 2000°F. Creosote burning inside a chimney is known as a “flue fire” or “chimney fire.” Flaming balls of soot/creosote debris may be lifted out of your chimney onto your roof, your lawn, or your next door neighbor’s house. Structural materials in your house near the chimney, such as wood framing or paper-coated gypsum board, may be exposed to extremely high temperatures. Your chimney may be weakened so that it is unusable, or the house itself could catch fire.
      On the other hand, creosote deposits can build up to the point where the flue is severely restricted. It may be difficult to light a fire or keep it going. Smoke or noxious fumes may spill out into your living area. Professional chimney sweeps remove these creosote deposits from the chimney, opening the passageway for smoke and reducing the potential for an uncontrolled flue fire.
      A Nationwide survey found that,  although it is a good practice, people who heat with wood are less likely to have a flue fire if they hire professional chimney sweeps than if they clean their own chimneys, as a Certified Chimney Sweep a DIYer, your final sweep of the season [in the Spring] should be done by a Certified Sweeping Professional.

Save Energy
      Keeping your heating system clean helps it operate more efficiently, and helps you get the most for your energy dollars. “Creosote can act as a thermal insulator,” according to Jay Shelton (Solid Fuels Encyclopedia). “Deposits inside a stove, connector, or interior exposed chimney can reduce heat transfer, which lowers the overall efficiency of the system.”

Help Prevent Pollution
      Operating your combustion appliance most efficiently, whether it is a woodstove, fireplace, pellet stove or furnace, helps reduce the amount of smoke it will generate. The services of a competent chimney professional can help you attain that goal.
      Air pollution from woodstoves and fireplaces has been a problem in some areas, so a maximum level of particulate emissions is enforced for new woodstoves on the market. Before any stove model can be sold, manufacturers must submit a sample for testing under controlled conditions in an emissions laboratory. If the stove model doesn’t smoke too much it is then “certified” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
      Regular maintenance, including chimney sweeping, is important to keep certified stoves and other heating appliances operating at peak efficiency. Stoves serviced regularly by a chimney sweep averaged 65% less smoke than other stoves in a study where EPA-certified woodstoves were tested for emissions after many years of real world household use.

Save Lives
     Every winter, we hear or read about needless tragedies occurring when people are poisoned by carbon monoxide due to blocked or faulty flues.
Not reported, of course, are the countless times when such tragedies are prevented by timely inspection and cleaning and/or repair. Your chimney professional can probably tell you, with justifiable satisfaction, of instances where he or she has saved a family from disaster by getting called just in time.                                         Are you sure your combustion systems are in suitable condition?

 Finding a Capable Chimney Professional

     Because proper chimney maintenance can help protect people from the dangers of house fires and carbon monoxide poisonings, it is important to choose your chimney professional wisely. Before you hire a chimney sweep, find out whether chimney sweeps are required to be a WETT Certified Individual by your Local Township. Ask around in your community for a chimney sweep with a good reputation. A well-earned good reputation is the public’s “seal of approval.”
     Chimney professionals also demonstrate their competency through certification by the Wood Energy Technology Transfer program in Canada, and some Provincial Affiliates.  Click this link www.wettinc.ca to find a WETT Certified Chimney Sweeping Professional in your area.
 
And remember, A clean system is a safer system.
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INTERIOR VIDEO INSPECTION SYSTEM

Ever wonder exactly what condition your chimney REALLY is in??

Our video inspection service can provide you with visual knowledge. We can also provide you and/or your Insurer with still photos of trouble spots or a video tape for your Insurance requirements or claims. This Video Look at your INTERIOR chimney flue will show any damage, cracks, broken tiles, blockages, deterioration, missing mortar or other problem areas within each flue. THIS SERVICE IS PERFORMED UPON REQUEST ONLY.

RAIN CAPS - SCREENS & FIREPLACE ACCESSORIES

• Quality unibody chimney caps IN BLACK METAL OR STAINLESS STEEL. with well formed solid flat tops that will prevent water, snow and hail from entering your chimney flue and causing damage and rust
• Rain entering your masonry flue can and will rust away the top of your heat-form fireplace, unlined insert and your damper system. It also plays havoc with your mortar work as it mixes with the soot/creosote and forms a mild acid which slowly eats into the mortar. This slow erosion will eventually cause your tiles to breakdown. This makes for an unsafe chimney.
• The caps welded in place screens will deter birds, bats, airborne debris and small animals (squirrels and raccoons) from entering your chimney flue and setting up housekeeping.
• These nests annually cause blockage problems within a flue system. Blockages can cause back-puffing and can contribute to CO poisoning. A blocked furnace flue will cause the emissions to re-enter your home as they cannot exit the chimney. Blockages in a fireplace or stove flue can cause chimney fires when ignited.
• We also carry a full line of stainless steel caps with lifetime warranties.
• Custom sizes are available to order.
• Top-Sealing Damper Caps are available to replace broken and missing  damper systems in your fireplace. They are also an airtight seal against the elements (rain) and nature (birds and animals) when your fireplace is not in use. Stop down-drafting in unused masonry systems, keeps in your heat from leaving through the chimney.

HUMANE ANIMAL & BIRD REMOVALS

                                 

We offer Humane and safe removal of birds, bats, raccoons, squirrels and their young. Babies are gently removed and put in box on property so mom can collect and relocate where possible
If you hear mewling and squeaking in the spring from your chimney, chances are mother nature has put up vacancy sign for the local fur bearing critters to nest in YOUR chimney. Imagine.... non-paying renters LOL
Once the critters leave, their nesting materials can and will cause blockages and fires within the flue channel. It is important to remove these creatures and any nesting as soon as is possible to prevent any potential problems.
Capping the chimney, with a well made rain cap with screen, once they are gone, will deter their return.
NOTE: For all chimneys, you should look up to the chimney and check your cap after any heavy wind storm to ensure that it is still intact and not blown off.