Our Chimney Sweep Blog

This October 5th-11th marks the 93rd year the National Fire Prevention Association holds their Fire Prevention Campaign. The campaign was first launched in 1922 after President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire (October 8th, 1871). This year the theme is “Working smoke alarms save lives, Read more

Chimney Sweep Certifications to Enhance Expertise Chimney sweeps play important roles in our lives: they keep our fireplaces and chimneys happy and healthy so we can stay warm!  Kind of like a doctor for our chimneys!  These pros have to know what they’re doing when they stick their heads inside a chimney, and to do Read more

At High’s Chimney, we’ve shared just about everything there is to know about the chimney business, including a few bizarre stories (criminals, chimney accidents, etc.).  You’d be surprised what chimney sweeps find in their line of work!  A few odd tales have come down the pipeline in 2013 alone.  So what’s made sweeps around the world Read more

If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, immediately move the affected person away from the suspected source of carbon monoxide into a ventilated source of fresh air and call 911. A Preventable Tragedy When most people think of fireplaces, they instinctively think of feelings of warmth, coziness, or the Read more

It’s not news that roofs and chimneys can become hazardous places. What is news are the strange things that actually happen around chimneys. In the past few years, the world has seen some bizarre chimney accidents, from falls to car damage. 2011, Lorraine, France In early November of 2011, an enthusiastic astronomer named Yoan climbed Read more

A number of factors go into maintaining both the safety and overall condition of your chimney.  We know that hazards like residue buildup can cause problems, but many of us don’t remember the smaller nuisances—chimney pests.  A number of unwanted critters can find their way into your chimney, so let’s talk about what those are Read more

In part 1 of this series, we explained the three stages of creosote buildup. In part 2, we explained how to remove creosote. Now for the case for not removing 3rd degree creosote from tile chimney liners. In tile-lined chimneys, it’s the exceptional chimney that has good mortar joints.  In fact, if I were to Read more

As mentioned before in this series’ first post about creosote, there are three degrees, or stages, of creosote buildup. Chimney brushes are the standard method for removing first and second degree creosote. However, sometimes second degree creosote will be hard enough to remove that other methods would work better: There are flat wire brushes which Read more

What do dead bodies, burglars, nearly $1.5 million dollars and poison have to do with each other? You might think this is the latest Guy Ritchie screenplay, but you’d be wrong. The truth is that all of these things have been found inside chimneys. It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, really, since Read more