Hard Work & Innovation: The Job of a Roofer

The chimney is an important part of your home's ventilation system. When it is functioning properly, it lets smoke, toxic fumes, and excess heat from your gas or wood-burning fireplace and other home heating appliances escape to the outside environment. That said, soot — a by-product of burning gas or wood — can gradually build up inside your residential chimney and cause problems for you and your family.

The good news is, soot accumulation in residential chimneys is a problem that can be solved with periodic chimney sweeps. Periodic chimney cleaning keeps your chimney clean and soot-free, minimizing chimney soot dangers in your home.

If you're not familiar with the chimney cleaning process for homes, keep reading to find out what to expect when having your chimney cleaned by a professional.

Inspecting The Chimney

This is the first step in the chimney cleaning process. A professional chimney cleaner will conduct a thorough inspection of your residential chimney to catch problems early. Problems such as chimney drafts and deterioration of the chimney walls need to be addressed before the cleaning process begins.

Prepping The Work Area For A Thorough Cleaning

Once your chimney cleaner has confirmed that your chimney is intact and that there are no structural problems that need to be addressed, they will start the chimney cleaning by placing a drop cloth or poly sheeting on the floor around where they will be cleaning. This is intended to protect your residential floors and furnishings from any mess that may be created during the cleaning job.

Cleaning The Chimney

Residential chimney cleaning is a job that requires specialized tools and techniques to do properly. But more importantly, cleaning staff must wear the appropriate personal protective equipment to protect themselves from harmful soot. 

Once they have put on the recommended PPE, chimney cleaners will climb up to the top of your roof and start working their way down, using a heavy metal bristle brush to scrub off the built-up dirt and soot. The debris will fall to the floor where it will be removed with a shop vac. This high suction vacuum cleaner is usually equipped with a HEPA filter, which can pick up even the smallest dust particles.

For effective chimney cleaning, your chimney will be cleaned down to the floor of your fireplace or other home heating appliances.

Because chimney soot buildup tends to prevent smoke, toxic fumes, and excess heat from exiting your home properly, it can cause serious problems in your home. While chimney cleaning is a great way to address the issue, the job requires specialized knowledge, skills, and tools to achieve satisfactory results.  If you do not have the proper training and experience required to handle the job, leave it to the professionals at a local chimney cleaning company.