It’s About Time for a Plano Chimney Sweep
Winter is right around the corner. Before you know it, you’ll be wanting to spend your evenings cuddled around a cozy fire with your family and friends. However, before you even think about lighting that first fire, there are a few simple things that you need to do to make sure your chimney is going to run safely and properly all winter long. It’s best to go ahead and get these things knocked out of the way early so that you can enjoy your fireplace throughout the season without any unexpected problems arising. Usually, to get all set up for the winter, you just need to have an inspection, and most people need a chimney sweep as well. Let’s delve a little deeper and discuss what makes these services such important aspects of chimney maintenance.
Who Needs to Get a Chimney Inspection?
In short: everyone! Some people think that a chimney inspection is only needed if something goes wrong with the chimney. However, if you think about it, getting chimney inspection is the absolute best way to prevent any issues from coming up. Just think about this: there are some problems that can arise with your chimney and/or fireplace that the average homeowner will not be able to detect. An example of this would be refractory panel deterioration. Refractory panels line prefabricated fireboxes and they are meant to be replaced after a certain period of time and use. Most people wouldn’t recognize when it’s time for new refractory panels, thus it is important to have your fireplace checked out regularly so you can detect issues like this.
Do You Need a Chimney Sweep?
If you use your chimney fairly often, and you haven’t had a sweep this year, chances are, you need one. However, if you rarely use your chimney, you may not need a sweep. As a general rule, we recommend that people get one chimney sweep for every cord of wood they burn. For the sake of convenience, many homeowners opt to just go ahead and get a sweep when they get an inspection. Now, if you have gas logs, you most likely do not need a sweep at all (unless the gas logs were installed into a dirty fireplace). This can all seem pretty complicated, but don’t worry. You can simply schedule an inspection and during that process you can find out whether or not you need a chimney sweep.
