Chimney Services
Notes from our Chuluota chimney sweeps
Useful to know before you book a sweep for your Chuluota home.
Cleaning around the damper
The damper takes a steady coating of soot, and a thick layer can stop it closing fully or opening wide enough. Our sweeps clean the plate, the frame and the handle linkage so it moves freely again.
Once it is clean we check that it opens fully, closes to a reasonable seal and stays where it is set. A warped, rusted or broken damper is written up as a repair with its own price, since damper work is a separate service. A damper that seals well also keeps warm, damp outside air from drifting down into the house through a cold fireplace in the months you are not using it. If the handle is stiff, we look at the linkage first, since a careful cleaning often frees it.
Smoldering fires and heavy buildup
Burn Wise also recommends hot fires and says a smoldering fire is neither safe nor efficient in most appliances. A fire starved of air or left to smolder for hours sends cooler, smokier exhaust up the chimney, which is how deposits build quickly.
The same guidance lists things never to burn, including household trash, cardboard, plastics, painted or pressure-treated wood, plywood and particle board. When a flue shows unusual deposits or residue, we mention what tends to cause it without any lecture. Better burning habits keep your chimney cleaner between visits, and they cost nothing to adopt. A short, hot fire leaves a cleaner flue than a long, cool one, which is worth remembering on mild evenings.
Wood stove connectors and baffles
A wood stove adds its own parts to the cleaning: the connector pipe between stove and chimney, and on many stoves a baffle or other removable panels inside the firebox. The stove maker's manual says which parts come out and how they go back.
We clean the connector and the chimney it feeds, reassemble the parts in order and check that the connector joints are fastened and the pipe is well supported. NFPA 211 addresses connector support, joint fastening and pitch, so a loose or sagging section is written up for repair instead of being left as found. Tell us the stove make and model when you book. If the stove door gaskets look worn or the door does not close tightly, we point that out as well.
