The National Fire Protection Association recommends cleaning your chimney every year. Many local fire departments recommend the same frequency. We take a different approach though for our customers. Those who rely heavily on the fireplace for heat during the winter are recommended to have an annual cleaning. If it is used only occasionally it may be ablbe cleaned every other year. An even  better gauge is how much wood you burn. We see buildups that require cleaning usually after about a cord of wood has been burned. Sometimes it needs cleaning before that much has been burned. Another test is to try to write your name in the soot of the walls around the damper. If you can see where you made the mark it is time to have it cleaned.

It is much safer to call us and have a safety check to assess the need for cleaning. If it does not need cleaning you will be told and charged only for an inspection call.

Take a picture of the area at the bottom of the chimney and damper and email it to us and we can tell you right then whether it needs it or not. This is not a guarantee but we can usually tell pretty close.