Suffolk County, New York winters are long and cold. Warm weather activities are calling now that the weather is nice, but there are things you should take care of around the home before the fun begins. You’ll want to make sure that your spring cleaning is done such as your chimney. At Alpine Chimney Sweeps, we are here to help with your chimney cleaning so you don’t have to worry about a thing!

Importance of Inspection and Cleaning

brick chimneyYou may wonder why this is such an important task to take care of right now in the spring. One reason is that the soot and creosote left in your chimney can cause unwanted odors in your home. At the least, the odor that lingers is very unpleasant, especially on hot and humid days. At worst, creosote build-up left in your chimney can catch a spark to start a devastating chimney fire.

The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) recommends an annual chimney cleaning. Because even an eighth of an inch of creosote buildup can be enough to act as a fire hazard. Inspection and cleaning early in the spring help to avoid odors in your home and ensures your fireplace is ready for use when the cold does strikes again.

Repairs and Rebuilding

Another reason to schedule your chimney cleaning and inspections right now is that your chimney may need repairs. If your chimney or fireplace has damage, it can cause health issues for you and your family. Chipping or peeling mortar or a cracked chimney liner can allow dangerous gases to escape through the chimney into your home. Dangerous gases can cause breathing issues, nausea, or even more serious issues such as carbon monoxide poisoning, which can lead to death.

There are other problems like rusty, bent dampers or torn flashing, which can cause leaks in your home. Dampers need to close properly to make sure that the air from inside your home doesn’t get out when you’re not burning the fire and cold air from outside doesn’t sneak into your home. Flashing needs to be secure and rip-free to keep precipitation out. If repairs are severe, you may need to a rebuild.

We offer levels two and three include video inspection. In level three inspection, we take a deep look into the structure of your chimney to see if a rebuild is necessary. If this is the case, summertime is the best time to get that repair work out of the way, before you want to start building fires in the fall. Let Alpine Chimney Sweeps take care of your chimney work now so you can enjoy your summer!