Clean Sweeps of Michigan's Blog

Easy Spring Checklist for Your Chimney

Your spring home maintenance checklist would not be complete without the chimney being part of it.

Did you know that a chimney sweep’s off-peak season is the best season to schedule non-emergency chimney repair and preventative maintenance? That’s because from October through January, many chimney sweeps—especially in colder climates like ours here in Michigan—are booked up to one month in advance. That is certainly the case for those of us at Clean Sweeps of Michigan, especially since we are known as the authority on chimneys in our region.

In business since 1980, we help our customers identify potential problems with their chimney by asking the following questions—though they’re great questions to ask of yourself as well when determining whether or not to call a professional.

Have you had your chimney professionally cleaned in the past year?

If you use your chimney regularly, an annual sweeping is the recommendation of most every fire safety and chimney safety organization in the country.

Do you have a top-sealing damper installed on your chimney?

Top-sealing dampers have replaced old-fashioned throat dampers as the best way to shut out the elements and keep expensive conditioned air inside your home. The top-sealing variety provides a far tighter seal and can save you hundreds of dollars a year on your energy expenses.

Do you have a chimney cap or chase cover?

Chimney covers (for masonry chimneys) and chase covers (for prefabricated chimneys) serve a variety of important purposes—including keeping out damaging rainwater. They also prevent your flue from accumulating debris, which can become a fire hazard, and keep out animals, which can become an annoyance.

Is your chimney masonry stained or crumbling?

If so, this is a good indication that your chimney is leaking and that water is getting inside your flue. This not only greatly shortens the life of your chimney but can cause significant water damage to your chimney and the walls, ceilings, and floors that surround it. If your masonry is in disrepair, one of our chimney masons can tuckpoint it and then waterproof it to keep water from entering your chimney in the future.

Is your chimney stinky or allowing smoke to leak inside your home?

Your chimney should never draft into your living space, nor should your chimney be stinky. These are usually signs that your chimney needs sweeping or that there’s a drafting problem. Drafting problems arise for a variety of reasons. A certified chimney technician will be able to identify what causing your chimney to smell or smoke.

Live in Michigan and have questions about your chimney or heating appliance?

Clean Sweeps of Michigan has decades of experience fixing “sick” chimneys so that families can once again enjoy their fireplaces with confidence. Contact us today at (517) 529-4453.

Firebox Replacement and Repair

The firebox is the part of the fireplace system that contains intended fires. It is the “fire pit” in the system, the place where you build and start your fires. It is also designed to contain heat from those fires and prevent it from reaching the structure of your home.

As a result, damage to it – as well as basic incompatibility with the rest of the fireplace system – needs correction through either repair or replacement. Cracks in fire bricks or refractory panels are cracks in your home’s defense against fire. If the firebox is an insert that really does not fit the rest of your system, you are probably losing both draft and cash.

What to Do?

Without inspecting your system, we really cannot say whether repair is an option for the cracks you see. In general terms of fireplace health, it is important to diagnose the underlying cause before attempting to treat the symptom. That said, minor firebox cracks can usually be filled with special fire clay or refractory mortar.

Crumbling firebrick or extensive cracking require more significant ‘repair’ for problems that may have more worrisome causes. Either means removal and replacement of the damaged components, whether bricks or panels. Panels are generally easier to re-place than bricks but the only bricks that have to come out are the damaged ones.

If the problem that needs correction is a bad fit of firebox to system, again, it really needs to be seen to address it. However, it is common for an existing flue to be too large for an inserted firebox. In that case, it is impossible for the chimney over the firebox to ‘withdraw’ air from the fireplace effectively. That has consequences for both safety and utility bills but repair or replacement cannot be determined until a full inspection has taken place.