how often should i have my chimney swept?

[sonya80]

How often should i have my chimney swept, i moved into a new home and have only had an open fire approx 10 times last year, it had never been used before we moved in?

[beejay1124]

Sonya -even it you are using your open fire every day -the chimney would only need cleaned once a year

[ChuckFickens]

Once a year, but if you notice that the fire either stops drawing air properly or isn't pulling the smoke up it properly then get it looked at again

Though if you are talking long term it may work out more economical to buy the kit and brush your own. I used to quite look forward to cleaning my nans chimney when I was a kid!

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and a modified sheet to place over the fire to catch the soot is all you need

[ChuckFickens]

oppppss

And now I've told you what all your monitor controls do... here's the link to the chimney sweep brushes

http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/wood_burning_sto ves/Super-flexible-chimney-rods-and-brushes.ht ml

[Ice.Maiden]

I agree with once a year.

[wolf63]

My mum used to let a newspaper go on fire in the chimney so that it would burn all the soot/dirt. We used to have the fire brigade around quite often as a result.

Handy if you have a liking for fire men!

[wilmay]

I have my chimney swept twice a year, depends how much smoke you like having blown back down your chimney, lol

[Chrissweep]

I am a lady sweep, trained by the master ...keith the sweep of Croyde Devon. I operated over the North Devon area with many open fires and wood burners.
If you burn house coal (the worse for sooting up) and or un-seasoned wood, with a high moisture content...then a chimney or flue can be tarred up if used continually, within months.
So it is most important to make sure your fuel is the best you can buy. Any sign of smoking back into the room, could indicate a blocked flue, the top pot/cowl will get blocked first as the heat is less and the fuel with concentrate at the top, making the smoke and gasses come back into the room. The deadly carbon monoxide gas, so a detector is a good idea.
Hope this will help keep our homes safe, Chris Tarka Chimney sweeps