Happy with our service? Please recommend us!

Dallas - Fort Worth Chimney Sweep Services

Professional Chimney Sweeping

 

In recent years, fireplaces, wood stoves, wood pellet stoves and furnaces have become very popular as economical, renewable, carbon-neutral heating methods. As the cost of fuel oil and propane increase, even more people are turning to wood as a more economical heating option.

But there are downsides to wood fireplaces and stoves. One of the biggest ones is that burning wood as fuel produces smoke, and wood smoke contains pollutants including both solid particles and gases.

As the smoke cools while it works its way up the chimney and comes in contact with the much cooler chimney pipe or liner, those gases liquefy, combine with the solids, condense into liquids, and become something called creosote.

Creosote is a gummy, combustible substance than coats the inside of a chimney. Depending on the temperature of the smoke, it can liquefy and form a tough coating that lines the inside of the chimney, or it can mix with other solids to produce a fluffy, flaky, porous substance that builds on itself and eventually plugs up the chimney.

Either way, creosote buildup is a very dangerous thing because creosote is highly combustible. It can cause chimney fires, which are no joke. They can burn as hot as 2,000° Fahrenheit. In fact, according to the U.S. Fire Administration, heating fires account for 36 percent of all home fires in rural areas, where wood is most often used as a primary heat source.

 

Preventing Chimney Fires

The good news is that the risk of chimney fires can be greatly reduced by regular chimney maintenance.

The most important part of chimney maintenance is having your chimney inspected and professionally cleaned by a qualified chimney sweep at least once a year, preferably in the fall, before the start of the heating season. Clean chimneys don't catch on fire.

An annual inspection can also detect other chimney problems that can be easily corrected before they become big problems that threaten your family's safety -- or your bank account.

A professional chimney sweep will look for problems like weather damage to bricks and mortar, cracks, loose or damaged chimney linings, or bird or animal nests during the inspection.

In addition to regular chimney maintenance and cleaning, here are some other rules to reduce creosote formation and reduce the risk of chimney fires:

• Always burn only the fuel(s) for which your fireplace, wood stove, or wood furnace was designed and is approved.
• Never burn paper, cardboard, treated lumber, plywood, particle board, or finished wood in your wood burner. These materials can contain inks, dyes, waxes, glues, and other dangerous chemicals.
• Never burn any sort of plastic or rubber in your wood-burning fireplace, stove, or furnace.
• Don't use flammable liquids as fire starters.
• Make sure that cordwood has been properly seasoned or kiln-dried before burning it. Unseasoned wood contains way too much moisture to burn cleanly, greatly accelerating creosote formation. Ideally, softwoods like pine and fir should be seasoned for at least a year after being felled, and at six months should pass between splitting and burning. Hardwoods like oak, maple, and walnut should be seasoned for at least two year after being felled, and at a year should pass between splitting and burning.
• If approved for use in your wood burner, high-quality manufactured logs made from compressed wood scraps and sawdust usually burn hotter and cleaner than cordwood, resulting in less creosote production. (But they also absorb moisture like sponges, so make sure to store them in a dry place.)

 

Other Chimney Services

We also provide chimney repairs, custom chimney cap installations, and many other chimney-related services. Please click here for more details.

 

Professional Affiliations

We are proud to be members of the National Chimney Sweep Guild and the Chimney Safety Institute of America. We perform all of our chimney maintenance work to the highest professional standards.

For more information about chimney sweeping, chimney repairs, or any of our quality services, please contact us.