Cold weather means more fires. More fires mean more creosote building up inside the flue. Leave it long enough, and it starts restricting airflow, reducing how well the fireplace drafts, and increasing the risk of a chimney fire.
Smokestacks provides chimney sweeping and inspection services throughout Waukesha, helping homeowners maintain fireplaces, wood stoves, and chimney systems of all ages, from older masonry chimneys to newer factory-built systems.
Chimney Sweeping
Every wood-burning fireplace leaves behind creosote. A thin layer is normal. What isn’t normal is letting it build up year after year without a proper cleaning.
A professional chimney sweep removes creosote, soot, and other debris from the flue using equipment built for the job. Cleaning may also mean clearing out leaves, nesting materials, or other obstructions that found their way into the chimney during the warmer months. Chimneys often become an easy place for birds and small animals to nest when they aren’t being used.
A clean flue drafts better, making it easier for smoke and exhaust to leave the house instead of lingering around the fireplace. Many homeowners schedule chimney sweeping before the heating season begins. If it’s been a full winter of regular fires since the last cleaning, it’s probably time to have the chimney swept again.
Chimney Inspections
Cleaning removes buildup, but it doesn’t tell you what kind of shape the chimney is actually in.
That’s where an inspection comes in. Technicians examine the visible and accessible parts of the system, including the flue liner, chimney cap, crown, masonry, flashing, and firebox, looking for deterioration, moisture damage, cracked materials, loose masonry, and other issues that could affect how safely the chimney operates.
Maybe you recently bought the house. Maybe a strong storm rolled through the area. Or maybe it’s simply been a few years since the chimney was inspected. Any of those are good reasons to have it checked before relying on it through another Wisconsin winter.
Problems That Are Easy to Miss
Problems That Are Easy to MissSome chimney problems develop so gradually that homeowners never notice them. Mortar joints slowly wear away. Chimney caps can become damaged after years of weather exposure. Flue liners can deteriorate without leaving obvious signs around the fireplace.
Moisture is another common problem. Water seeps into small cracks in the brick and mortar. As temperatures move above and below freezing, those cracks slowly grow larger until repairs become necessary. By the time damage is easy to spot, repairs are often bigger than they would have been a year or two earlier.
Catching these problems early usually means a smaller, less expensive repair instead of a major restoration project.
Call Smokestacks to Get Started Today
Smokestacks serves homeowners throughout Waukesha, as well as nearby Pewaukee, Brookfield, and Muskego.
Don’t wait for that first cold night to find out your chimney needs work. Smokestacks handles sweeping and inspections throughout Waukesha and the surrounding area, so schedule now before the season gets busy.
