This is a common question, and the common assumption is to call for this service right before you are going to need to use the fireplace or wood stove – in the Fall. One of the problems when trying to make an appointment, with a premier and well regarded chimney sweep company — in the Fall or Winter — is that you are competing with everyone else who is trying to get ready for “the season”. Therefore, logically, (even though it goes against our procrastinating human nature) it makes sense that, if one wants more timely service, the sensible thing would be to opt to request the service when the demand is not so great.
Experience (36 years of it) has taught us that there is a definite difference in the number of requests we get in the Spring and Summer and the number we get in the Fall and Winter. Therefore, we invite (even strongly encourage) our regular, repeat customers to call us at the END of the burning season instead of the beginning of the Winter season. We would offer this same advice to everyone in the market for chimney inspection or sweeping.
So…after you are sure you are not going to use your fireplace or woodstove any more for the year, just plan to go ahead and get it inspected and/or swept out. There are several very good reasons to get it done in the Spring/Summer.
Reasons to call in SPRING instead of Fall
- As already mentioned, a shorter wait time for an appointment
- After the chimney is swept in the Spring, it will not get dirty again before it’s needed the next Fall/Winter. It will be guaranteed ready for the cold AND those holiday or special family occasions.
- Sweeping the creosote deposits from the chimney early may cut down on the bad smell that some folks experience during the summer months.
- Lots of bad things can happen during the winter to a chimney. For example: Winter rains soak into a chimney and if the temperatures drop below freezing, the water in the bricks and mortar joints freezes and expands. This can cause the brick or mortar joints to break or crack. When this freeze/thaw action takes place over and over throughout the course of the winter, the damage can compound. A Spring inspection will detect this kind of damage and you’ll have plenty of time (all Summer) to get things in order before the next Winter cycle begins.
We, here at Blue Sky Chimney Sweeps|Bless Your Hearth, inspect, sweep and repair chimneys all year round, but Spring/Summer is admittedly a better time to do major repairs. So accept our invitation to call us after you complete your last fire for this winter. We will be pleased to get your chimney ready early for next year’s burning season.