Clean and Check the Chimney. You Never Know What You May Find
Clean and check the chimney is a common spring-cleaning item on many homeowners’ list. Spring cleaning the chimney can take on different meanings. Sometimes it means repairing the chimney like tuckpointing. Other times it may mean checking and getting rid of critters and debris left over from the Fall and Winter seasons. However, sometimes, a unique situation presents itself.
Unique Situation
There are times that you may find something unexpected during the chimney clean and check. Here’s a good one for you. A story in the Washington Post on January 8th, discussed a possible home invasion. The police came to the home, checked everywhere and could not find the perpetrator. After they left the scene and the home quieted down, the homeowners could hear restless noises coming from the chimney located just above the fireplace, right behind the wall. Yup, you guessed it. The perpetrator hid by going up the chimney from the fireplace. Unfortunately for him…and the homeowner, he got stuck trying to escape. The fire department had to tear apart the wall and fireplace in order to get him out.
Critter Check
Most often, it isn’t a person that’s living in the chimney flue, its small critters searching for a warm place to stay during the cold winters. They build a nice warm home from debris found outside in order to build warmth. Now that Spring is coming our way with the warmer temperatures, our critters are emerging leaving a mess behind. One of the main reasons the critters make their way into the chimney is either a missing chimney cap or the chimney cap shifted leaving a gap for your neighborhood critters to crawl inside and live in the chimney.
Debris is Left Behind
If you didn’t use your fireplace over the winter, then be sure to get a clean and check on your chimney to get rid of any debris. Leaves, dirt and dust can settle in your chimney. If you start your gas or wood burning fireplace, you can get a bit more action that you were hoping for. So let’s keep flammable materials to a minimum and get it cleaned out.
Spring Rains
Spring rains are slowly making its way to Chicago. This is the perfect time to get the chimney clean and check done. Why? When the spring rains begin, sometimes rain doesn’t always come straight down. Most times in Chicago, it’s a combination of wind and rain. The wind allows the rain to change direction making sure it finds every opportunity possible to find a small crack in either the chimney concrete slab that sits on top of the chimney or the bricks and mortar. When this happens, waterproofing and/or tuckpointing is the best solution to stop water from entering in your home.
The last thing you need is a chimney leak. Chimney leaks can cause plenty of damage in the home. Maybe even as much as the guy stuck in the chimney…if left too long. Chimney leaks can show water mark stains on ceilings and walls. When this happens, it’s already begun to mature. So get the clean and check done now on the chimney to avoid chimney leak problems.
Call Superior Chimney Let’s get your home ready for spring and warm temperatures. We’ll do a clean and check with a complete 14 point inspection by a certified chimney sweep. This way you’ll avoid costly repairs. Call us today at 877-244-6349. We’ll get you scheduled today.
This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net
