Why are chimney sweeps important?

Flamecraft • 12 April 2019

Our advice on the importance of chimney sweeps.

There is nothing quite like watching beautiful, flickering flames on a cold winter’s night. With more and more people turning to the long-standing tradition of a real fire, here in the showroom we are often asked why we stress the importance of sweeping your chimney regularly. Whether you have an open fire, wood burner or multi fuel stove the simple answer will always be the same:


  • Safety
  • Home Insurance
  • Product Warranties

Safety

Burning wood and smokeless coal produces waste substances such as soot, tar and creosote. Not sweeping your chimney regularly causes these substances to build up which have potentially harmful consequences.

Chimney Fires

The substances such as soot, tar and creosote that build up in a chimney breast over time are flammable . Therefore, if you do not have your chimney swept regularly to clear these substances it highly increases the chance of a chimney fire. Chimney fires can spread very quickly and can significantly damage or even destroy your home.

Air Flow

Another issue is that a build-up of these substances can restrict the air flow in the chimney, which can cause smoke to linger for longer. This can also decrease your fires efficiency, by reducing oxygen. This will mean that fires will burn slower meaning you will end up using more wood to get the level of heat you would get if you had swept the chimney.

Simply put: A build up of soot, tar and creosote in the chimney is a fire hazard. It can significantly reduce the air quality in your home and can decrease efficiency.

Bats, Birds and uninvited inhabitants.

We’ve all heard stories of the bird flying down the chimney or choosing to nest. It is not just birds who may decide your chimney is a great home for them. Bats, wasps and many other uninvited guests may move into your chimney. Sweeping your chimney and reducing the build-up helps to make it less inviting to these potential unwanted visitors.

Simply put: A chimney sweep will make your chimney less inviting and reduce the chance of animals choosing your chimney to take up residence.

Home Insurance

Many of our customers do not realise that not sweeping your chimney regularly can affect their home insurance policies. Many home insurance policies can become invalid if a chimney isn’t swept regularly, therefore if you do have a chimney fire, you won’t be covered!

Policies vary so it is important to check with your home insurance provider. Some policies may require a higher frequency of chimney sweeps than others and check that your insurance covers the use of open/solid fuel fireplaces, wood burners & multi fuel stoves.

Simply put: Not sweeping your chimney can invalidate your home insurance.

Product warranties

Chimney sweeps and stove services are not just recommended for safety purposes they are required by stove and pipework manufacturers for the guarantee/warranty to remain valid.

The frequency of chimney sweeps needed depends on the manufacturer’s terms and conditions. So, it is always recommended to check. We have come across products that require bi-annual and quarterly chimney sweeps. Here at Flamecraft we ensure that the warranties for our wood burners, multi fuel stoves and pipework required for an installation require an annual sweep. But this is not the case with many manufactures so always check the T’s & C’s so if you do ever need to claim you can ensure you are covered.

Warranty terms and conditions can usually be found in the user and/or installation manuals supplied by the manufacturer, which your installer should give you. Alternatively, many manufacturers publish the guarantee/warranty information on their websites.

 Simply put:  Not sweeping your chimney can invalidate product warranties.

Making a claim is always the worst case scenario, and if you have had your solid fuel/open fire, wood burner or multi fuel stove fitted professionally and ensure it is well maintained then it is highly unlikely you will ever need to make a claim. However, we feel it is important that customers are aware that the frequency of chimney sweeps can affect their ability to claim just in case.

How often do I need to have my chimney swept?

There are many things that can affect the frequency you will need a chimney sweep. The key things a chimney sweep will consider is the size of the chimney and usage. What you burn, how you burn it and how frequently you have a fire will also be considered.

Generally, we find most customers need an annual chimney sweep. We advise booking this in either at the end of the burning season in the spring/early summer or before the weather gets cold in late summer/early autumn. This is because the chimney needs to be cold in order to sweep it. A yearly sweep is the minimum frequency we would advise.

However, some chimneys need to be swept more often. We advise asking your chimney sweep for their recommendation.

As mentioned above always check your home insurance policy and warranty terms and conditions to ensure you comply with the terms, as some require more than one chimney sweep a year.

Can I sweep my chimney myself?

We often get asked by customers if they can sweep the chimney themselves. We strongly advise against it . This is for two reasons. A professional chimney sweep should have professional training to ensure that the chimney is swept properly and safely. Secondly if you ever need to make a home insurance claim or warranty claim you will need to provide proof that you have had the chimney swept professionally in co-ordnance with their terms and conditions.

Make sure you get a certificate to confirm you have had the chimney sweep preformed professionally and keep them somewhere safe.

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