Clean Sweeps of Michigan's Blog

Sprucing up Your Chimney for Spring

Problems with chimneys only worsen with time, so the sooner you can correct them, the better. Sprucing up your chimney for spring should come as naturally as giving the whole house a thorough cleaning. That means sweeping the whole house, so do not forget about the chimney when it is time to freshen the air.

More Than Just Fresh

The problem with waiting until fall for a good chimney cleaning is that your fires are no longer helping to keep it dry. That means the creosote deposits in it are getting damp, which means they are beginning to corrode the flue. Unlike your emerging flowers, creosote formation is something you want to nip in the bud.

Creosote also smells bad, so sprucing up your chimney is the only way to really achieve a fresh-smelling house. The point of so much expended energy for allergy sufferers and just house-proud owners, a spring cleaned house deserves an odor free chimney! Additionally, having the chimney inspected in spring gives homeowners time to attend to anything it needs.

Preparing for What’s Ahead

Migrating birds are just beginning to return, so a good strong chimney cap that they cannot lift off with their talons is important. Equally important is being sure it is capping a clean chimney already free of creosote, critters, nests, and debris. Similarly, before closing the damper to conserve energy when the fireplace is not in use, the flue should be clean and dry.

Water does more damage to chimneys than fire, so be sure you are keeping it out before you ‘close up’ the chimney. Chimney caps and crowns need to be in good condition and properly designed to send rain away from the flue and chase. Warm weather months are good ones for having professionals attend to tiny cracks in mortar around crowns and flashings. Spruce up your chimney along with the rest of the house in spring and this year, be prepared for what is coming.

Our New Green Initiative with Regency Fireplace Products

Clean Sweeps of MI is excited to announce a partnership with Regency, an environmentally proactive and protective fireplace product manufacturer. Regency values the ecosystem, and understands that there are things we can do now that will benefit us later. That is why they strive to lessen their carbon footprint, while helping you lessen yours.

Regency has made use of numerous recycled materials in the workplace, and is an almost entirely waste-free business. When shipping out products, they make use of biodegradable foam bags, as opposed to environmentally harmful, traditional packing materials. These foam bags guarantee that both product and environment are not harmed in the shipping process.

Regency also aims to minimize waste throughout the manufacturing process, by utilizing a proven efficiency-maximization system. With this system in place, unnecessary steps and processes are completely eliminated, and Regency can function at maximum efficiency.

Product-wise, Regency offers EPA approved wood products that burn clean and reduce carbon dioxide output. These products burn much more completely than other wood products, and leave virtually no ash behind. They also produce about fifty times less smoke per hour than traditional wood products. Regency also offers low-waste, high-efficiency fireboxes that have no negative effects on the environment whatsoever.

In addition to their preventative efforts, Regency believes in being proactive in protecting the environment. For this reason, they plant a tree for every Regency, Hampton or Excalibur product sold. With each tree that Regency plants, they help to decrease carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is a major factor in global warming.

For more information on Regency and the products they offer, check out their website at www.regency-fire.com.