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SPRING CLEANING
Hope you enjoyed our short winter wood-burning season and now it's time to clean up and check your fireplace and chimney systems.
Indoor wood burning can produce high levels of dangerous inhalable gases and particles. To reduce problems:
- Inspect chimneys and flues annually for corrosion, blockages and cracks that could allow combustion pollutants into the house. Loose brick, crumbling mortar joints and missing caps are signs to look for.
- Indoors, use a flashlight to inspect the inside of your fireplace. The damper should operate freely and the flue should be free of creosote buildup, which can cause unwanted fires.
- Open a window a bit when burning to let fresh air in.
- Burn wood well inside fireplace and don't burn plastics, newspapers, coloured paper or painted wood.
Schedule a cleaning or inspection of your wood-burning system.
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Birds and small animals are nesting and blocking up chimney with debris.
Do you have a chimney cap on your chimney flues to prevent this happening?
- Do you perhaps need to replace the screening on your existing chimney cap?
- Do you see cracked, broken flues or small repairs?
It's so much easier to get these chimney repairs done now. In the fall when you're thinking about and preparing for the heating season, the weather becomes unpredictable and it's difficult to schedule chimney repairs.
Have a good summer.
Denis Ste. Marie
A Chimney Sweep is a sign of good luck, wealth and happiness. There are several legends why a Chimney Sweep is said to be "The" harbinger of good luck. One version of the legend has its origins in old England, where King George was riding horseback in a royal procession. A dog ran from the crowd, barking and nipping at the King's horse. The horse reared and, to the horror of the crowd, almost threw the King! A lone figure, shabbily dressed and filthy, stepped into the road. He caught the horse's halter and calmed the animal.
As quickly as he appeared, the man faded back into crowd. The King, wanting to reward the man, asked his name. No one knew the man's name, but many told the King that he is just a Chimney Sweep. The King declared that from that day that Chimney Sweeps should be regarded as Lucky!
The chimney has been a part of family life since the early Romans first realized that it was better to live in a nice, fire-warmed home than in a chilly one. They needed a way to funnel off the smoke the fires caused. Centuries later, in medieval times, fireplaces were invented to heat individual rooms and provide a safe place for indoor cooking. They soon learned that fireplaces and their chimneys needed a cleaning as a house full of soot and fumes is unhealthy. And so, chimney sweeping developed into a necessary profession. People liked having the chimney sweep pay a visit as he brought clean, fresh air back to the home. Sweeps are associated with hearth and home, and thus domestic bliss. Chimney Sweeps became a sign of good health and prosperity.
