While chimneys offer much-needed respite from the biting cold of wintertime, they can be very costly to maintain, especially when it comes to the creosote sweeping part. Fortunately, you can do your own chimney sweeping these days if you have the right know-how, which we’re here to help you with.
Check out these easy to follow handyman Marietta tips below that you can employ the next time your chimney needs a clean:
Chimney Fire
For those who’ve grown up in cold regions where chimneys are a staple feature in the home’s edifice, memories of comforting fire are often interspersed with scary tales of chimney fires that often serve as cautionary tales on how to properly care for one’s chimney to avoid such incidents. It’s important to keep in mind that the chimney will give you weird signs, like making unusual sounds or blowing out differently colored smoke that you haven’t seen before.
These are all signals that your chimney needs handyman Marietta GA, and you should probably refrain from using it again until you’ve done so. You can also take the proactive approach and prevent your chimney from even reaching this stage by investing in a creosote remover that you can use to scrape the chimney on a regular basis during the winter to ensure that it’s clean and safe.
Ladder Safety
If your home is designed in an A-frame, then you’ll need to use a ladder in order to get to the wind cap, a part of the chimney that you absolutely need to clean, at least once a year. Needless to say, climbing a ladder can be a bit dangerous sometimes, and it’s definitely not a task for the fainthearted or height phobic, especially in unpredictable weather conditions. That’s why we recommend wearing a harness and attaching it to the top rung of the ladder with a sturdy rope every time you’re climbing up your ladder so as to keep both you and the ladder firmly in place.
Cleaning a Wind Cap
Before you clean the wind cap, you have to remove it, and once you’ve figured out the ladder situation, this should be easy. Instead of cleaning the wind cap from the top, rather take it down with you so that you can take a good look at it and take your time to clean it using a wire brush. If the creosote is too tough for the brush, then you can try a screwdriver, and chip away at it until the stubborn dirt has been completely removed.
Then, clean the inside of the chimney first before you replace the wind cap to complete your Marietta handyman cycle. You can clean your chimney twice per year if you use it frequently, but once a year is usually enough to keep it clean and safe, and once you learn to clean your chimney on a regular basis, you won’t have to worry about chimney fires or spending money on professional chimney sweeps.