We love sitting in front of our fireplace and spending time with family and friends when the weather is colder and we are sure that you are doing the exact same thing when time allows.  While you are sitting there enjoying the warmth, do you ever get the feeling that you have forgotten something important?  Or have you sat down to find that there seems to be a black film on some of your furniture?

That black film is soot and it can get into your home if you have not taken the time to clean out your fireplace.  Cleaning out the fireplace is the one item that everyone seems to forget about and they often will have a nagging feeling that they are forgetting something and will not realize what it is until they see the black soot everywhere. 

Fireplace Cleaning

You should regularly clean the ashes out of your fireplace, so that they do not find their way into your home.  You will need to wait until they are cool and then you can scoop them up and place them inside a metal bin.  We recommend metal, because ashes can stay hot for a long time and you may not realize it when you are cleaning them out. 

Once the ashes have been removed from your fireplace, you can then vacuum around the hearth and the inside of the fireplace to get any ash or debris that has been left behind.

You should clean your fireplace regularly to help keep the soot under control, but you will also want to have your chimney cleaned and inspected once a year.  We do not recommend that you clean your chimney yourself, because you may not be able to remove all the creosote from the inside and you may miss spotting any damage to the chimney itself. 

Chimney Cleaning

A professional chimney sweep will scrub the creosote off the sides of your chimney and clean out any debris.  After your chimney is clean, they will check for any damage on the inside and the outside of your chimney.  Some damage that they may find includes a cracked or missing chimney cap, cracked bricks, loose bricks, missing bricks, or damaged mortar. 

If the chimney sweep finds any damage, we recommend that you have it repaired as soon as possible, so that your chimney is in excellent working order for the remainder of the heating season.  There is nothing worse than putting off the repairs and then finding that you cannot use your fireplace when you need it the most, because your chimney now needs the repairs done immediately.

The chimney sweeps here at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service are CSIA Certified and we have years of experience under our belts. We strive to continue our education as often as possible so we’re always in the position to offer you the best possible chimney services in Drexel Hill and all along the Main Line. Call us at 610-626-2439 to discuss your chimney needs or to schedule an appointment for a chimney cleaning, chimney inspection, or chimney repair.