Milwaukee Chimney Cleaning | Keep your Chimney and Firplace Maintained

A fireplace and chimney that has not been properly maintained can lead to several problems for Milwaukee homeowners, with the most frequent being smoke that fills your home rather than being vented through your chimney.

Chimney cleaning and Chimney maintenance should be checked and performed at least once a year to ensure safe fireplace conditions. Much of the regular maintenance involved with cleaning a chimney can be performed by yourself, but more intensive repairs and cleaning may require a professional chimney sweep.

Over time, soot can buildup within the chimney, and if a protective rain cap or other guard is not installed at the top of a chimney, then leaves and additional debris can also serve to hamper the flow of air from your fireplace to the outside. This can result in occasional or continuous smoking entering your home. Other factors that need to be addressed if smoking occurs is construction of the chimney itself, proper air flow and temperature, and environmental factors, such as wind and surrounding terrain which can cause the airflow within your chimney to be suddenly reversed. A professional chimney sweep can address these problems if you find that regular chimney maintenance has not solved your smoking problems.

If you have a rain cap or damper installed on top of your chimney, you should examine it thoroughly to ensure it is still in good working order. Additionally, you may need to clean the wire mesh screen that covers your chimney, as it has likely been covered with an accumulation of soot. If you do not have a chimney cap, it is highly recommend that you purchase and install one, as a chimney cap will prevent many problems from occurring, while the absence of one can lead to quicker deterioration of your chimney, often as the result of rain and inclement weather. Also be sure to check the structure of the chimney itself, searching for cracks or crumbling bricks.

A chimney cap is also necessary to keep birds, squirrels, and other animals out of chimney. Birds nests can often be found in chimneys without a protective cap, and can cause chimney fires. A chimney cap also prevents downdrafting and other debris getting into the chimney, an important factor for safety.

Within the chimney itself, a substance called creosote has probably formed and adhered to the walls of the chimney. Creosote is formed from the smoke that travels up your chimney. Too much accumulation of creosote can cause a blockage or reduce airflow. You can use a professional service to have your chimney cleaned or you can use maintenance products such as Duraflame Flue-Renew logs. Burning Flue-Renew logs releases a soot removal ingredient into your chimney that helps loosen and break up the creosote. Flue-Renew logs are recommended for wood-burning fireplaces only.

Intensive cleaning of a chimney and fireplace can be a messy job, and there are many things to consider that a professional chimney sweep will have experience in that you may not think of. During chimney maintenance, cracks, deterioration, airflow and draft control, creosote buildup, and many other things must be checked, cleaned, and considered to ensure a safely working fireplace.

Oil and gas burning fireplaces also require periodic maintenance, but may require different methods of cleaning.

Contact Clean Sweep Chimney Service today at 414-483-9996 to schedule an appointment, or browse our website for more information about Chimney Relining or Chimney Cleaning.
Clean Sweep Chimney Service is located in Southeastern Wisconsin and services Milwaukee, Waukesha, Slinger, and the entire Southeastern Wisconsin area. If you need Chimney repair or Chimney Cleaning Call us at (414) 483-9996. Our Website is at http://cleansweepchimney.vpweb.com

Chimney Cleaning Milwaukee | How often should I clean my chimney?

 When and how often should I have my Chimney Cleaned?  Milwaukee chimneys that are used year round or seasonal will have a number of factors to determine this.

Cleaning wood-burning appliance chimneys by arbitrary rule of thumb such as "once every 60 fires in the fireplace" is better than never cleaning your chimney, but in fact what actually determines the need for cleaning is how clean or dirty the chimney flue is. Cleaning chimneys based on actual usage: If your building includes a wood burning fireplace or woodstove, especially if you burn a lot of fires, but in particular, if you are burning fires using green wood, or slow cool fires, or worst, slow cool small fires with green wood, you can clog up the chimney with creosote which, later when it catches on fire, can burn the whole house down.

Even a chimney that has not been used for a wood burning appliance can become blocked by rodents or insects such as our hornets nest shown at above left. And a chimney inspection may reveal that the flue has been damaged.
If you don't already know the condition of your chimney, you should certainly take the following steps:

Pay for a thorough chimney cleaning, I would ask the cleaner how clean or dirty the flue actually was, especially in a building whose chimney conditions and safety are unknown Pay for a thorough chimney safety and condition inspection using a chimney scanning camera or similar device which is basically a fisheye camera on a string. Using the this can tell you more than just how clean the flue is, it'll tell you if it has been damaged in some way that could make it unsafe, such as cracked or missing flue tile liners or leaks into the interior of the building. Use a professional chimney sweep

Clean Sweep Chimney Service is located in Southeastern Wisconsin and services Milwaukee, Waukesha, Slinger, and the entire Southeastern Wisconsin area. If you need Chimney repair or Chimney Cleaning Call us at (414) 483-9996. Our Website is at http://cleansweepchimney.vpweb.com

Chimney Cleaning Milwaukee | Fireplace Cleaning Tips

Your fireplace needs regular care and cleaning to assure a safe and efficient fire. Creo­sote, a flammable tar like substance that accumulates in the chimney and flue, should be removed by a professional, eliminating the worry of at least one potential fire hazard.  If you live in the Milwaukee area, temps are dropping and you also may want to have a Milwaukee Chimney Cleaning Expert like Clean Sweep Chimney Service to clean and inspect your chimney.
­Give your fireplace and its accessories routine cleaning throughout the wood-burning season to eliminate an accumulation of soot, ashes, and creosote tars.
­Here are several cleaning suggestions:

• Vacuum or dust the hearth area weekly to prevent dust and soot buildup. Do not sweep or vacuum until all the embers have been extinguished for at least 12 hours.
• Burn only seasoned, well-dried wood to minimize dangerous creosote buildup.
• Inspect the firebox, flue, and chimney annually for creosote accumulation.
• Do not use water to drown a fire unless there is an emergency. It will make a paste of the ashes, which is difficult to remove.
• Never use an abrasive cleanser inside the fireplace. Many leave a flammable residue.
• When cleaning your fireplace, sprinkle damp coffee grounds over the cooled ashes to keep down the dust.

Clean Sweep Chimney Service is located in Southeastern Wisconsin and services Milwaukee, Waukesha, Slinger, and the entire Southeastern Wisconsin area. If you need Chimney repair or Chimney Cleaning Call us at (414) 483-9996. 
Our Website is at http://cleansweepchimney.vpweb.com