Chimney sweep and soot removal for Audubon Park homes

Heavy creosote removal in a narrowed flue

A flue is sized to carry the smoke from its fireplace. The Florida Building Code requires the passage above a masonry firebox, through the throat, damper and smoke chamber, to be no smaller in cross-section than the flue itself. Heavy creosote works against that design by thickening on the walls until the opening is narrower than it was built to be.

A narrowed flue can slow the smoke, and EPA guidance notes that the longer smoke stays in the flue, the more creosote forms. Heavy creosote removal takes more passes, stiffer brushes and more time in the smoke chamber than a routine cleaning.

When our technicians find buildup that thick in your Audubon Park chimney, they price the extra passes in the written estimate before starting and tell you whether any section has glazed and needs a separate treatment.

Cleaning a wood insert from the top down

A wood-burning insert sits inside a masonry fireplace and vents through a liner that runs up the old flue. The insert blocks the path a brush would take from the room, so the liner is usually cleaned from the roof, top down, with the debris collected at the bottom.

At the bottom, the soot lands on the insert's baffle or in its connection to the liner, and it has to be cleared from there. Depending on the model, that means opening the insert and lifting out the baffle, or disconnecting the liner, following the insert maker's instructions.

Our crew sizes the brush to the liner rather than the old masonry flue, and uses bristles that will not scratch stainless steel. For inserts in Audubon Park, we confirm the model ahead of the visit so the right steps are known, and a damaged liner section is quoted apart from the cleaning.

Bats in the flue go to animal removal first

Bats sometimes roost in chimneys. Getting them out is wildlife work, not cleaning, and it has to be finished before any brush goes into the flue. Sounds in the flue in the evening, droppings in the firebox or a bat inside the house are all worth mentioning when you call.

Do not try to trap or handle a bat. If you can close the damper without touching anything, do it, and keep the room door shut. A bat that has reached a living area is also a job for our animal removal service, not for a broom.

Our crew in Audubon Park passes the job to our animal removal service first, which handles the bats and sets the timing. Once the flue is empty, it is swept, any droppings are bagged with gloves on, and a cap is quoted to keep the flue closed to the next visitor.

Where the ashes go after a fire

Ashes can hold heat long after a fire looks out. NFPA safety advice has ashes cool down first, then go into a metal container set well away from the house. EPA guidance adds a covered metal container stored outdoors on a nonflammable surface.

Old ash left in the firebox for weeks also holds moisture and adds to the smell of an idle fireplace. During a sweep, our crew removes the old ash and debris for you. Between visits, emptying the firebox into the right container is the homeowner's part.

• A metal container with a tight lid
• Set outside on concrete or bare ground, not a wood deck
• No paper bags, plastic bins or cardboard boxes
• Kept away from the house, fences and the garage