Chimney sweep and fireplace cleaning in Wedgefield

Protecting your room while the flue is brushed

Soot is fine and travels easily, so protecting the room comes before the first brush stroke. Our technicians lay drop cloths from the door to the hearth, cover the floor and furniture closest to the opening, and seal off the fireplace opening while the flue is brushed.

Loosened soot is caught behind that cover and then collected at the hearth, instead of drifting across the room. The seal stays up until the brushing above is finished and the dust has settled.

Tell us about rugs, light fabrics or delicate finishes near the fireplace when you set up the visit. We protect those first and move nothing heavy without asking.

• Drop cloths along the path to the fireplace
• Floor and hearth covered before any cleaning
• Fireplace opening sealed while brushes run
• Work area cleaned before the crew leaves

Clearing ash, grate and debris from the firebox

The firebox is where the sweep starts and ends. Before any brushing, our technicians remove the grate, andirons and old ash, so the floor and walls can be seen and the debris from above has somewhere clean to land.

After the flue and smoke chamber are done, the firebox gets cleaned again. The walls are brushed down, the floor is scraped and vacuumed, and any ash dump door in the floor is opened and checked. The grate and andirons are brushed off outside, so their soot stays out of the room, and go back in place last.

With the firebox clean, the firebrick and the mortar joints between the bricks are easy to see. Cracked bricks or open joints are fireplace repair work, and our crew notes them on your written estimate instead of hiding them under a fresh 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 Wedgefield 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.

A last sweep before you stop using a fireplace

If you have decided to stop using a wood fireplace, a last sweep before closing it off is worth doing. Deposits left in a flue that no one watches can hold moisture, smell and draw animals, and they stay there indefinitely.

After the sweep, the flue still needs a plan. A cap keeps rain and animals out, and a closed damper keeps room air from flowing up the chimney. Our technicians explain which of those your system already has and what it would need.

Closing off a fireplace for good is a separate decision from cleaning it, and it does not have to be made the same day. For homeowners in Wedgefield, the estimate lists the sweep and any cap or damper work on separate lines. If the fireplace comes back into use someday, the record from the last sweep tells the next person what they are starting with.