Chimney Inspections & Sweeping in Hermitage

Absolute mess-free cleaning! Our sweepstakes every precautionary measure to ensure that our sweeping is completely mess free. Following meticulous steps, using high-grade runners and triple motor vacuum systems with triple layer HEPA filters to capture all soot particulates, we guarantee a mess-free sweep every time.

Using special brushes on extendable rods, we sweep the flue from the firebox all the way up to the very top of the chimney. After completion of the flue sweep, your firebox, smoke chamber, and smoke shelf will be swept with handheld brushes. A typical chimney sweeping removes regular soot deposits and Stage 1 creosote which is flaky or crusty in appearance.

Fireplaces and wood burning appliances are designed to safely contain wood-fuel fires, while providing heat for a home. The chimney’s job is to expel the by-products of combustion – the substances produced when burning wood. These include smoke, water vapor, gases, unburned wood particles, hydrocarbon, tar fog and assorted minerals. As these substances exit the fireplace or wood stove, and flow up into the relatively cooler chimney, condensation occurs. The resulting residue that sticks to the inner walls of the chimney is called creosote.

Creosote can be black or brown in appearance. There are three stages to creosote. Stage 1: crusty, flaky or a dust like appearance. Stage 2: Appears as tar-like, drippy and sticky. Stage 3: shiny and hardened in appearance. It is not uncommon for all types to occur in one chimney system. Whatever form it takes, creosote is highly combustible. If it builds up in sufficient quantities – and the internal flue temperature is high enough – the result could be a chimney fire. Certain conditions encourage the buildup of creosote. Restricted air supply, unseasoned wood and cooler than normal chimney temperatures are all factors that can accelerate the buildup of creosote on chimney flue walls. Restricting the air supply to your fireplace by closing the glass doors or by failing to open the damper wide enough can prevent the movement of heated smoke to rapidly exit the chimney.

The longer the smoke’s “residence time” in the flue, the more likely it is that creosote will form. A wood stove’s air supply can be limited by closing down the stove damper or air inlets too soon or too much. Burning unseasoned wood contributes to creosote buildup because so much energy is used initially just to drive off the water trapped in the cells of the logs. This keeps the resulting smoke cooler, than if seasoned wood is used. In the case of wood stoves, overloading the firebox with wood in an attempt to get a longer burn time also contributes to creosote buildup.