Green World Pro Cleaners

Chimney Maintenance

Chimney Maintenance

6 Common Chimney Maintenance Tips

Nothing beats enjoying your fireplace on a cold winter night. It’ll keep you warm and looks stunningly beautiful. However, if you don’t follow a few chimney maintenance tips, it might not be safe to use your fireplace.

Maintaining your fireplace and chimney is crucial to keeping your home safe when using your fireplace. Without proper attention and cleaning, you’re susceptible to fires and water damage. Plus, you can save money on your energy bills.

These 8 chimney maintenance tips will help ensure that your fireplace and chimney are well taken care of and working properly. Don’t worry about anything because Green World Pro Cleaners  is here to help!

1. Have a Functioning Fireplace Damper

Your fireplace damper makes a huge difference in your home’s energy efficiency. When you’re not using your fireplace, the dampers should be closed to keep outside drafts from getting into your home through the chimney.

If your damper isn’t closing, it’s going to reflect on your energy bills. It’ll be much harder for your furnace or air conditioner to achieve your desired temperature because they’ll constantly be in battle with the drafts. They’ll end up using more power to heat or cool your home and the price of your electric and heating bills will skyrocket.

When you use your fireplace, the dampers need to be open. If your dampers are broken and can’t open, you can’t use your fireplace. The damper will trap the smoke in your home causing you to breathe in carbon monoxide which is very bad for your health.

Having your dampers fixed or replaced when they’re not working properly is crucial. When getting a replacement fireplace damper, make sure it fits properly – it must be snug and not have any gaps.

2. Make Sure your Chimney is Waterproof

Moisture and the elements can be major problems for your chimney. They can weaken the structural integrity of your chimney, cause mold and even damage the walls and floor around your fireplace. You’ll need to make sure your chimney waterproofing, chase cover, crown and flashing are all functioning properly.

Start by waterproofing your chimney. Adding a water sealant to the outside of your chimney will prevent moisture from breaking down the bricks and mortar and sneaking into you home.

Obviously there’s a large hole at the top of your chimney which allows smoke to escape. You don’t want to seal that hole but you also don’t want rain and snow from getting into your home. What can you do?

For prefabricated chimneys, chase covers are a great addition. It covers the top while still allowing smoke to escape through a small pipe. Most prefabricated chimneys come with galvanized steel chase covers which have a tendency to rust. Replace it with a stainless steel, copper or aluminum chase cover so you don’t have to worry about rust again.

For masonry chimneys, you’ll need to get a crown. It’s a concrete cover that prevents anything from getting into your home. Like chase covers, the smoke escapes through a pipe coming from the crown.

The flashing is where the chimney meets the roof. Without a sealant going around the meeting point, moisture can seep into your home. Make sure your flashing is in good condition.

3. Know When to Have Your Chimney Swept

No matter what type of fireplace you have, you’ll need your chimney swept in order to keep your home safe. The question is, how often do you need a chimney sweeping?

While there’s no specific amount of time to get your chimney cleaned, there are a few things to consider. The amount you use your fireplace will determine how often you have your chimney swept. Once the chimney liner has 1/8″ of soot, it needs to be cleaned.

If you’re not sure how to measure soot, there’s an easy metric you can use – your chimney should be cleaned every 50 burns. This differs from the type of fireplace you have. For instance, a gas log fireplace needs to be swept less often than a wood burning fireplace. About 50 burns is a good place to start.

4. Gas Log Fireplaces Are Better for Your Chimney Than Wood Burning Ones

This is one of the more unique chimney maintenance tips. Replacing a wood burning fireplace with a gas log fireplace could be safer for your home. Gas logs burn much greener than real logs – they produce a less harmful smoke and are extremely energy efficient. In fact, they have a 92%-99% efficiency rating vs the typical 60%-80%.

Not only is that safer for the efficiency, but it’s safe for you. Since the gas log fireplace is burning up to 99% of the gas used, there’s less soot in your chimney. That means you can go longer between chimney sweeps and you’re less at risk of fires.

Don’t think you’re sacrificing beauty for efficiency. For a time, gas log fireplaces lacked the elegance of a wood burning fireplace, but things have changed. Now, the hand painted, ceramic gas logs are made to look identical wood logs.

5. Make Sure Your Mortar Joints and Bricks Aren’t Crumbling

The bricks and mortar joints of your chimney play a crucial role in avoiding water damage inside of your home. However, they begin to crack and crumble over time and give moisture an entrance into your home.

Chimney tuckpointing is the act of repairing mortar. If you notice that your mortar is crumbling and the bricks are starting to become loose, then you’re in need of chimney tuckpointing.

Make sure you get a waterproofing sealant for your chimney stack. This will help keep the mortar and bricks protected from moisture.

6. Have Your Chimney Inspected Once Per Year

Just looking at your chimney isn’t enough to spot problems – some are underlying and need a professional to find them. Having a chimney inspection once per year is crucial to ensure your chimney’s safety.

There are three levels of chimney inspection to consider:

  • Level 1: used for chimneys that seem to be functioning properly. Examines all readily accessible portions
  • Level 2: best for homes that are changing how they use their chimney or the heating source. Required before selling a property. Includes everything in a level 1 plus attic, crawlspace and exterior inspections
  • Level 3: most in depth inspection. Includes everything in inspection 1 and 2 plus checking more concealed areas. This inspection is for chimneys where there’s a major problem that needs to be addressed

These Chimney Maintenance Tips Will Save You Money and Keep Your Home Safe

There are many different chimney and home maintenance tips but these are our 6 favorites. They cover everything from minor chimney inspections to completely changing how you use your fireplace.

Green World Pro Cleaners  offers everything mentioned above – we’re Chicagoland’s chimney and fireplace experts. We can help you with everything from a chimney sweeping to an entire fireplace and chimney remodel. Contact us and start your project with a company that has been trusted by thousands of homeowners for over 30 years.

FOR FAST HVAC SERVICES

Call us now at +1 (904) 842-3561

Quality Air Duct and Chimney Cleaning solutions.

Jacksonville Florida Number 1 HVAC Services Provider.

Green World Pro Cleaners Serving Areas

Jacksonville

Bryceville

Jacksonville Beach

Orange Park

Macclenny

Callahan

Doctors Inlet

Middleburg

Fleming Island

Glen Saint Mary

Hilliard

Saint George

Lawtey

Yulee

Penney Farms

Saint Johns

Atlantic Beach

Raiford

Neptune Beach

Sanderson

Fernandina Beach

Green Cove Springs

Ponte Vedra Beach

Ponte Vedra

Starke

Saint Augustine

Keystone Heights

Lake Butler

Hampton

Brooker

Saint Marys

Graham

Florahome

Lake Geneva

Woodbine

Bostwick

Waldo

Putnam Hall

Melrose

Grandin

Lulu

Worthington Springs

Earleton

Lake City

Elkton

Palatka

La Crosse

Gainesville

Hollister

East Palatka

Interlachen

Alachua

Hastings

White Springs

Hawthorne

Zipcodes Serving Areas

32220

32099

32219

32221

32009

32254

32210

32205

32222

32209

32244

32204

32208

32203

32234

32235

32201

32229

32231

32232

32236

32238

32239

32240

32241

32245

32247

32255

32202

32206

32214

32207

32212

32073

32065

32218

32067

32217

32063

32277

32211

32011

32216

32030

32257

32068

32223

32006

32050

32003

32040

32246

32225

32226

32046

31562

32260

32256

32224

32258

32058

32097

32041

32079

32259

32233

32083

32266

32227

32250

32228

32087

32034

32043

32004

32081

32091

32035

32082

32095

32092

32656

32054

32044

32622

31558

32042

32140

32160

31569

32007

32694

32185

32084

32666

32138

32061

32697

32631

32085

32055

32033

32025

32177

32658

32609

32056

32147

32131

32178

32148

32653

32149

32615

32086

32145

32080

32641

32616

32096

32640

32024

32627

32635

32612

32602

32604

32610

32614

32605



Green World Pro Cleaners Coupons

What Our Customer Say!

Charlotte Schardt CEO at GHT

“He was very thorough and explained everything in detail. He did an excellent job. Thank Green World Pro Cleaners for the great service!”

Lachlan Prerauer House Wife

“Great experience from start to finish. Everyone that I dealt with was friendly and professional. Reliable and reasonable. I highly recommend them.”

Hamish Laboureyas Manager at VBI

“Was very pleased with the work that Tatrick did, he was very friendy and sincere and honest. I would highly recommend patrick”

    Get a free quote!