One of the most exciting things about winter is coming into your warm home after being out in the brutal cold and curling up in front of a crackling fire with a hot drink. The sound of the crackle coming from the fire and the warm drink that permeates through your body is everything you need to embody the word coziness.
Before you add fire to your kindling, however, you need to ensure that your fireplace and the chimney itself are in the best possible condition. Calling in a professional chimney sweep company to get it done for you is the best and easiest decision that you could make. How often is it that you climb up a chimney yourself to give it a good clean? Would you know how to release the flue? If you don’t maintain your chimney, you could put your whole household at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or other dangerous conditions.
You need your fireplace to be working smoothly to get that amazing winter coziness, and so here are some tips for getting your fireplace ready for winter.
Schedule an inspection.
Every single chimney should be inspected and clean annually. A professional can examine the accessible parts of the chimney, including the damper as well as the firebox, and they’ll also check for damage to the bricks. They can work to remove any blockages and clean out any accumulated soot and creosote. Creosote is an oily and flammable product of burning wood, so having this cleaned out is smart if you don’t want to light your house on fire. A good chimney sweep can also check the cap of the chimney to confirm that it’s in good condition and working the way that it should be.
Check for cracks.
Before you snuggle down and light that fire, you need to ensure that there are no cracks in the bricks of your chimney. Your fireplace should be in good condition, so look for loose joints and any other defects of the fire bricks inside the fireplace. The floor of the hearth should also be checked and the exterior masonry should be examined for damage. Professional Masons should do any repairs for youth because you should not be trying to repair fire bricks with regular mortar. Remember, these bricks have to stand against high heat.
Take a look at the damper and the chimney cap.
You don’t want to have any debris in the way of the chimney cap and damper from opening and closing. You should be able to see some more light and feel a little bit of air when it’s open.if it’s stuck closed you won’t be able to ventilate properly.
Cut back tree limbs.
Do you have any overhanging tree limbs? Could it be encroaching on the chimney? You can call a professional to clear this away for you because tree limbs do present a fire hazard and they can prevent any proper draft at the chimney and damage the cap.
