Animals are very resourceful little creatures that can sometimes find homes within your home. Their homes are not always necessarily inside where you are, but rather in any crevice or open space such as the chimney. They may burrow underneath your home to live in the crawlspace or landing on the roof and find a home inside your chimney. That could put a big damper on your fireplace usage; pun intended. There are several things that you should be wary of when you own a home with a chimney. Let’s look at some of those things now.
No Fires, Easy Access
When you aren’t using your fireplace birds find the opening to be an invitation to build a nest. They will build small nests at the top of the chimney. Since you’re not using the fireplace they don’t realize that it’s connected to a device that is potentially hazardous to their family. They simply build the nest, lay eggs, and continue the life cycle. The same can be said for smaller animals that want to sleep there away from the elements. Things like bats, rats, raccoons, and squirrels can find solace within the chimney when it is not in use.
Inside the Chimney
The lining of the chimney is mostly toxic. Getting stuck inside is not a good thing. Animals, however, may find themselves inside and stuck. They do not understand the toxicity of creosote or that if the owner of the chimney builds a fire in the fireplace, they will be harmed and their little family could perish. That’s our job. We make sure that there are no creatures living within your chimney before you build the first fire of the season.
Make sure that you have your chimney inspected in the off season. If you’re not using your fireplace often enough, critters of all types could find it a place to hang out, sleep, or even build a nest. Don’t light a fire in the fireplace until you’ve had it thoroughly inspected by a CSIA (Chimney Safety Institute of America) certified chimney sweep inspect the chimney.
Protect Your Investment
The fireplace and chimney are part of your home and therefore part of one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. We will show you how to protect your investment by installing a chimney cap if there isn’t one, ensuring that everything is nice and clean, and discussing very important safety issues with you before we leave.
Schedule your chimney cleaning and inspection at any time throughout the year, but always have it inspected once more before lighting the first fire each fall. A clean inspection in the spring doesn’t always mean that everything will be perfectly clear by fall. Call us any time to schedule an appointment at 610-626-2439.