How Do I Know if I Need a Chimney Liner?

Chimney liners are an investment. No doubt. And most homeowners are willing to forego using their fireplace so they don’t need to pay for a new chimney liner. It’s a bit more complicated than that. Let’s talk about what a chimney liner is, how to know if you need one and what are some of the necessary benefits that a proper chimney liner offers. Ready?

What is a Chimney Liner?

A chimney liner is your firewall.  The chimney liner goes inside of the chimney flue which is the passageway from your fireplace to the outside. The chimney liner allows the smoke and other gasses to travel safely through the chimney and release to the outside. The chimney liner also protects the walls of the chimney and other parts of the chimney.

How Do I Know if I Need a New Chimney Liner?

One of the basic ways to know if you need a chimney liner is if you don’t have one! Amazingly, many of the old homes in the Chicago and Chicagoland area did not come built with a chimney liner like the new homes do today. The unlined chimney’s break down the mortar causing the mortar and brick pieces to fall into the firebox. If you see pieces of brick and/or mortar, then you definitely need to call Superior Chimney professionals to inspect what is going on.

In addition, an unlined chimney can release carbon monoxide into the home causing harm to you and your family’s health. As we discussed in the previous paragraph, missing mortar can be dangerous. If the mortar is missing and continues to deteriorate, the fire can quickly spread to your home.

Let’s also remember that appliances in your home also uses a chimney flue to allow gasses to escape. This critical path allows the gasses to be removed from your home safely. If not, you can expect your carbon monoxide alarm to sound and people in your home to not feel so good.

Are there Benefits to a Chimney Liner?

There are numerous benefits that a chimney liner provides to your home.

• Embers – A chimney liner prevents hot embers from entering open spots in the masonry and combusting. In other words, starting a fire.
• Carbon Monoxide – As we discussed above, the smoke & carbon monoxide is pulled from your fireplace, travels up through the firewall/liner and out of the home.
• Fireplace Can Get too Hot! – You would never think a fireplace can get too hot. It can. The chimney liner works to draft properly and keep the heat under control, otherwise it can overheat causing other serious issues.
• Chemicals – Chimney liners prevent chemicals/byproducts that are generated from the fire in the fireplace from absorbing into the masonry chimney construction –This keeps your fire from harming you and your family.

Chimney Inspection

As part of your 14-point chimney inspection by Superior Chimney, your chimney liner will be fully inspected by a certified technician. Every aspect of the firebox, the chimney flue to the exterior of the chimney is fully checked for any issues that can cause your home any harm. Because it’s either tight or difficult to reach / see, we take plenty of pictures to show you what is going on in and around your chimney. We believe that understanding what it means to have a healthy chimney, helps to keep your home safe and secure. Contact us today at 877-244-6349

This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net