Your Most Common Chimney Issues
Homeowners don’t think about maintenance for their appliances, but regular maintenance leads to efficient performance and heightened safety. Home fires, water leaks, and structural damage are just a few of the many risks of ignoring appliance maintenance.
If you’ve noticed one or more of these problems, give the team in the purple truck a call!
Smoke or Drafting Issues
Smells From The Fireplace
Water Leak Problems
Cracking or Crumbling Masonry
Gas Fireplace Not Lighting
Smoke Or Drafting Issues.
If you’ve experienced smoke backing into your living room once, you don’t want it to happen again. This is a sign of a weak draft, which doesn’t allow the smoke to go up and out the chimney like it is supposed to. It is also a sign of a blockage from creosote, debris, animals, or other obstructions. To improve drafting problems, make sure you prime the flue before lighting your fire. If you’re still having issues, it may be time for professional help.
Smells from the Fireplace
Odors are usually caused by the smoky smells and creosote that fill your flue. That odor can intensify when it mixes with moisture in the chimney. Yet, there are other times when poor air quality is caused by other factors such as animal entry, nesting materials, or droppings from birds, raccoons, squirrels, and the like. Needless to say, if there is some type of critter in your system or if they left anything in your chimney that doesn’t belong, the sooner everything is out the better!
Water Leak Problems
Winter snow and ice.
Spring storms.
Both bring heavy amounts of water that can cause a number of problems.
Water can erode bricks, mortar joints, and even the crown, which is the cement slab on top of your chimney. Once water penetrates your chimney, it can move into other areas of your home. If you get enough water in the chimney, then it starts to negatively affect the terra cotta flue liner. These terra cotta tiles are set in mortar joints, and the mortar joints can start to wash away if water enters the chimney system. Mortar joints washing away creates gaps in the flue liner, which leads to inefficiency and safety problems. You may see either black mold growing on the exterior of the structure, green growth, or even small saplings growing out of the brickwork. What this tells you is that the chimney is water-logged. Water causes a lot of problems with your chimney and requires professional repairs (and the sooner the better!)
Cracked or Crumbling Masonry
Deteriorating masonry is not only unsightly for you and your neighbors but also makes your entire chimney structure weaker. White effervesces on the chimney, vegetation, flaking mortar or cracked bricks all indicate that your chimney structure needs some repairs. It’s not uncommon to need some chimney repairs from time to time. Whether it’s water damage or basic wear and tear, your chimney exterior can wind up going through a lot!
Gas Fireplace Not Lighting
Gas fireplaces can have problems just like any other fireplace or stove! If you’ve been struggling to light yours this year, there could be several reasons for this. Some problems are simple enough to be be fixed with a little troubleshooting, while other problems require professional help. If you’re having gas fireplace problems, run through this Troubleshooting Checklist or give us a call!
If you have noticed any of these issues, it means that your fireplace needs repairs. While all of these are normal issues that homeowners see during the New Year and spring, it does not make it less annoying! Fireplace or chimney problems not only make using your system uncomfortable but, in some instances, too unsafe to use at all.
Without proper upkeep, your appliances could also put your home and family in danger.
- In 2003, neglecting regular clothes-exhaust service resulted in over $107.3 million in residential fire property loss, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, .
- From 2012-2016, fire departments responded to more than 52,000 fires involving heating equipment.
Protect your family and your home by scheduling maintenance services with Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County. First, our team will do an inspection and then advise you on the next steps.
“Everyone on the Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County staff was great to work with. When scheduling the appointment, Chuck was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He explained all the services in great detail and squared us away. The crew arrived early and got to work right away. They were also extremely knowledgeable and very professional. They were able to identify several structural issues with our chimney and offered us a very reasonable estimate to repair all the damage. I would highly recommend Clean Sweep of Anne Arundel County to anyone in need of chimney services.”
