Giving your chimney a good cleaning before the oft-used winter season is truly a home maintenance must-do, regardless of whether you are burning wood logs or have a gas fireplace.
If you haven’t gotten a chimney sweep yet this year, now’s the time to get on it before you fire that baby up. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the most frequent cause of chimney fires is the ignition of creosote, a “highly combustible by-product of wood fires that can be deposited on the lining of chimney walls.”
Pro Tip: To keep things clean year-round, remove fireplace ash after each blaze. If you have a compost pile, throw ashes there, which will help make luscious soil.
Now, you can clean the chimney yourself, but it isn’t for the faint of heart. You’ll need plastic sheeting and tape, several types of chimney brushes, safety gear, and a reliable ladder—plus a willing desire to climb on top of your roof. Does this sound like you?
If not, no worries. You can make sure your chimney has gotten the full work-up before you set a Yuletide log ablaze with a standard chimney inspection that costs about $100 to $250, depending on roof accessibility and the type of chimney you have.
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