Your chimney’s sole purpose is to vent your fire. This protects your family from toxic gases, harmful particulate pollution, and risk of deadly fire. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) makes it a priority to educate homeowners about chimney safety. Industry professionals understand the importance of routine chimney maintenance. In addition, how vital it is to have professional certifications and training to do so.
Chimney Sweeping
It is important to hire a certified professional to service your chimney. A CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep has the training and expertise to clean, assess, and repair a damaged chimney. However, if you take it upon yourself to clean your own chimney, you might injure yourself without realizing it.
- Respiratory Hazards.
Soot and smoke inhalation can cause respiratory distress, illnesses, and infection can be a result of soot inhalation. - Skin Irritation.
Physical contact with creosote can cause rash, other skin issues, and infection. - Eye Damage.
Creosote exposure to the eyes can result in chemical burns that can leave your eyes damaged and lead to light sensitivity.
This is why it is best to leave the job up to a professional. Your chimney sweep is equipped with appropriate tools, masks, and necessary equipment. These tools keep the soot and creosote away while cleaning, inspecting, or repairing the chimney system!
Chronic Respiratory Illness
The best way to decrease the amount of particulate pollution in and around your home is to only burn properly seasoned wood. When you burn wood that is too green, or items that shouldn’t be burned (like trash or clothes) it burns incompletely. Consequently, this results in microscopic particles that you inhale – maybe even constantly! So, what is the best way to prevent excessive particulate pollution and smoke inhalation? It is to maintain your chimney system by scheduling regular sweeps and inspections, so that your chimney does it’s job efficiently.
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Along with smoke inhalation and particulate pollution, a drop in efficiency can mean your family is slowly poisoned by carbon monoxide. Additionally, a smoky chimney also brings carbon monoxide with it, but there are other ways that it can be a health risk to your family. For instance, a crack in a flue liner can allow carbon monoxide to affect your family. Over time it can seem like a cold, but can damage organs and ultimately result in death. A faster case of carbon monoxide intrusion can seem like a swift flue, and cause unconsciousness and ultimately death. To prevent carbon monoxide intrusion in your home, make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector installed and check it monthly. This is the only way to prevent carbon monoxide exposure.
At Billy Sweet, we recommend our customers check carbon monoxide detectors often. Also, schedule service appointments annually – your safety depends on it. Schedule an appointment today to discuss how the health of your chimney can affect you!