When a chimney works well, it draws down oxygen to feed the fire and draws away the smoke and harmful carbon monoxide chemicals to keep you safe. A clean and clear chimney produces a lovely roaring fire with no smoke. After a season of heavy use, the chimney naturally starts to build up a coating of creosote and other debris along the insides of the chimney and flue. Come Spring you may even find yourselves with an unwanted feathery guest in there as well.
With all this detritus in your chimney, it just can’t function properly. It produces a poor fire which may even go out altogether. Without a sweep, the lining of the chimney may become damaged and start to leak deadly toxic carbon monoxide gas into your living space. With a blocked chimney the smoke can roll back down the chimney, filling the room. In the worst-case scenario, if there is a lot of creosote build-up on the chimney wall, it may even catch alight causing a chimney fire, and creating untold damage to the chimney and your property.
Each year nearly seven thousand houses across the UK have chimney fires; most of these are preventable. The upshot is, that without regular chimney cleaning, your chimney could end up costing you a lot of money or even your life.
