A chimney sweep is someone who removes soot and ash from chimney walls. The chimney uses the force of a hot column of gases to generate a downdraft and draw in air over the burning coals or other fuel burning firewood allowing continued combustion. As you can imagine having something that runs for miles and hundreds of feet in either direction with the potential to generate hundreds or thousands of gallons of extremely hot gasses is not a pretty sight I’m sure. Frequently chimney fires do not destroy the house but rather cause it to be unlivable for weeks or maybe months while repairs are made. This can become very expensive and in some rural areas without the resources to hire a chimney sweep, the cost of a clean up and rebuilding can be far more than the initial investment of the chimney sweep itself.
Having a professional company to come in and use their expertise to clean your chimney will be less costly than having to do it yourself and it will not take as long. A chimney sweep company will also save you time because they know where to sweep and what type of flue to sweep and what to look for to identify potential problems. Most chimney sweeps are licensed and insured, so if anything does happen to go wrong you will be protected. If you do decide to clean it yourself, a professional company can come in after your own sweep to give you extra assistance if you require it.
