Did you know that creosote fires cause 15,000 home fires per year? Creosote buildup is a common occurrence in chimneys, which means chimneys are dangerous fire hazards when they are unclean. Fortunately, there are two simple ways to properly maintain a chimney, and both will help prevent creosote fires from damaging your home.
Cleaning Your Chimney
The National Fire Protection Association recommends getting your chimney inspected at least once per year, and if necessary, cleaning it thoroughly during these inspections. However, chimneys contain harmful deposits and chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, so cleaning a chimney should always be done by a professional. This is because chimney sweeps have the knowledge and specialized equipment necessary to safely and thoroughly clean chimneys, meaning you should never try to complete this task yourself.
Installing Chimney Liners
Chimney flue liners are also essential to chimney safety because they help reduce creosote buildup. In addition, when metal liners are properly installed by a professional chimney service, they make your home more energy efficient for greener living, and they even provide structural support for your chimney, as well. This means that when a professional service installs a flue liner, your chimney will become significantly safer to use.
Properly maintaining a chimney is simple when you follow two simple steps. In addition to cleaning your chimney when you get it inspected once per year, it is also crucial to install metal flue liners, as well. Considering that creosote fires can burn at over 2,000 degrees, which can potentially destroy any home, following these two simple steps will help make your chimney safer to use this winter.