Chimney Sweep : What do they do?

[bigpig]

I have a wood burning stove professionally installed using a flue inside of my older fireplace/chimney. Does a chimney sweep simply put a brush up/down the wood burning flue, or actually somehow get a brush and vacuum inside the chimney itself?

 

[bholler]

I have a wood burning stove professionally installed using a flue inside of my older fireplace/chimney. Does a chimney sweep simply put a brush up/down the wood burning flue, or actually somehow get a brush and vacuum inside the chimney itself?

We have many different tools and techniques depending on the situation. A sweep should also be inspecting the whole setup as well. And servicing the stove

 

[Ashful]

I have a wood burning stove professionally installed using a flue inside of my older fireplace/chimney. Does a chimney sweep simply put a brush up/down the wood burning flue, or actually somehow get a brush and vacuum inside the chimney itself?

The question isn’t entirely clear, and it sounds like you had a liner installed inside an existing chimney, so here’s a two-part answer:

1. Prior to installing the liner, the installer should clean the old chimney and smoke shelf, to ensure you don’t have any danger of fire or creosote smell in the house on warm humid summer days. They should also do a complete inspection of the existing chimney, to ensure it’s suitable for a liner, and determine if insulation on the liner is required (although it’s always preferred).

2. Servicing the chimney after installation of the liner usually just involves sweeping the liner and cleaning the cap, not re-cleaning the old flue around the outside of the installed liner. They should also do a safety inspection, verifying the liner and other equipment has not been damaged since installation.

 

[bigpig]

The question isn’t entirely clear, and it sounds like you had a liner installed inside an existing chimney, so here’s a two-part answer:

1. Prior to installing the liner, the installer should clean the old chimney and smoke shelf, to ensure you don’t have any danger of fire or creosote smell in the house on warm humid summer days. They should also do a complete inspection of the existing chimney, to ensure it’s suitable for a liner, and determine if insulation on the liner is required (although it’s always preferred).

2. Servicing the chimney after installation of the liner usually just involves sweeping the liner and cleaning the cap, not re-cleaning the old flue around the outside of the installed liner. They should also do a safety inspection, verifying the liner and other equipment has not been damaged since installation.

Thanks, (1) was never done. The chimney was not cleaned and we now have daily strong smells (on humid days) in the house. How should I remediate?

 

[begreen]

That is a potentially dangerous situation. If there is creosote build up in the chimney around the liner it could ignite creating a very hard to put out fire. The liner should be pulled and the chimney + smoke shelf area thoroughly cleaned. Then the liner reinstalled or replaced.