With the winter season bringing in colder weather and heavy rains, many home and property owners are relying on their fireplaces for their home heating needs. Fireplaces reduce our reliance on home heating oil whose price always seems to be rising. Even with the warmer temperatures that we’ve been experiencing this winter, the price of home oil has risen by 15% in 2011.

In order for your fireplace to function properly, American Fireplace suggests that you have it cleaned at the end of winter, in either February or March. A well-maintained fireplace will help keep your home warm with cooler temperatures in the spring. Chimney cleanings at the beginning of November are also highly recommended in order to clear away any debris that accumulated over the summer.

Fireplaces and chimneys that have not been properly maintained can lead to several problems. One of the most common problems that we encounter is smoke filling up your home rather than venting through your chimney. There could be many reasons why this occurs. In more severe cases, creosote emission build-up could block the airflow and send it back into your home. The CSIA recommends that an open masonry fireplace be cleaned if the soot buildup has reached 1/8" and factory-built fireplaces should be cleaned more often than that. When the buildup has reached that degree it can cause a chimney fire capable of damaging the chimney and/or spreading to the home. Only professional chimney cleaners have the necessary expertise and tools to effectively remove creosote buildup from chimney surfaces.

When you place a call to American Fireplace, our customers can feel safe that our technicians will provide their chimneys with a detailed inspection and proper cleaning. The technician will cover all six steps of the chimney CSIA cleaning and inspection procedures which entail the initial inspection, the interior and exterior inspection and cleaning and the final inspection. He will also provide the customer with a detailed report as to what he found and the work that was performed. He will also go over his findings with the customer so that the customer is aware of the current and future state of his chimney and fireplace.

Our chimney cleaning technicians have been certified by the industry’s leading association, the Certified Safety Institute of America. They have been trained by the CSIA's National Chimney Sweep Training School in the correct methods of sweeping and inspecting different chimney systems, the operation of the necessary equipment and the health and safety issues. They follow the codes, standards and practices that have been endorsed by the CSIA.