Your fireplace has been on a break this summer, but it’s almost time for it to shine—or burn! Before fall arrives and you depend on your fireplace for supplemental or whole-home heating, it should be maintained properly. After last winter, a fire burning day in and day out, it is important that your chimney system is professionally cleaned before another burning season. Use this last part of summer to schedule your chimney What are you waiting for?sweep so you can beat the fall and winter rush.

Forward-Schedule Services

If you can’t schedule your chimney sweep now, try to schedule far in advance so that you can get on the schedule during the busy season. The period from October to January is considered by chimney professionals as the Fall and Winter Rush. During this time chimney sweep companies are tied up with installations and repairs and it can be downright impossible to get routine maintenance done. Waiting to schedule after fall, you may end up waiting through some cold nights before you can safely use your fireplace. If you’re unable to get an appointment you may be tempted to use a dirty fireplace, putting your family and home at risk. This is not recommended. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) agree that the safest and most efficient chimney systems must be cleaned and inspected regularly.

Cleaning Your Chimney

Many of the systems in your home are self-cleaning. Dishwashers, ovens, and even air conditioning systems are self-cleaning to some degree. With the chimney system, this is not possible, and it happens to be the largest and possibly most dangerous system in your home. The chimney works constantly while a fire is burning all winter long, and the entire interior gets coated in creosote and soot. By the end of burn season, the fireplace and chimney system may have dangerous buildup and corrosive materials sitting atop the masonry and the liner. It isn’t cleaned away during a routine chimney sweep, the creosote and soot can begin to stink during the warmest and most humid parts of summer (especially just before a storm system), and can become a hazard in the fall. Schedule your chimney sweep while you still have some time this summer, and ensure it’s ready for safe use this fall.

What to Expect

If you reside in the Seattle area and own or rent a home with a chimney, you can count on Pristine Sweeps to sweep away all your worries. When you schedule a chimney sweep with Pristine Sweeps, a certified technician will clean your system from top to bottom with special rods and brushes. We will also use an industrial vacuuming system to prevent any nasty dust and particles from getting into your home and onto your belongings. We will not leave a mess in your chimney and we won’t leave one in your house either!

You still have time this summer to schedule your chimney sweep—a life-saving, preventative service that all homeowners should schedule annually.

Call Pristine Sweeps at 206-574-8414 to schedule your chimney sweep today.