How To Find The Best Chimney Sweeping Service in Your Area
The chimney is amongst the most important and functional parts of the house. It plays a key role in ventilation and also provides an escape for smoke and toxic gases. However, having a chimney comes with a great deal of responsibility. Most homeowners tend to overlook the importance of regular chimney sweeping. This is mainly because they don’t use the chimney year-round or are unaware of the risks they are putting themselves in.
Why Is Chimney Sweeping Important?
Regular chimney sweeping is essential in maintaining a safe home. During the cold seasons, we make use of the fireplace to warm our homes. However, the combustion process of burning wood or coal produces creosote, which is an acidic and highly flammable compound. Occasional burning of wood in the fireplace leads to a build-up of creosote in the chimney vent.
Creosote not only corrodes your chimney, but it also poses a serious fire hazard. What’s more, it doesn’t take a lot of creosote in your chimney in order to cause a fire. Since it is highly flammable, high temperatures or a stray spark can easily lead to a fire outbreak within your home.
Even though the fire may not necessarily escape to other parts of your house, the creosote burns at very high temperatures within the chimney vent leading to the structural damage of your house.
Fire reports show that there are over 70,000 house fires in the US every year and chimney fires account for a third of these. It is clear that a poorly maintained chimney that has a buildup of creosote isn’t something that should be taken lightly. As a homeowner, you should never neglect the condition of your fireplace and chimney.
How to Find the Best Chimney Sweeping Service in Your Area
Having learned of the importance of regular chimney sweeping, the next step is finding the best chimney cleaning service in your area. Finding the right company is a fundamental step in taking proper care of your chimney. Considering the hazards your chimney poses when it is not properly cleaned, it is crucial to ensure that you hire someone who knows what they are doing.
However, finding a good chimney sweep service is no easy task. This is due to the fact that chimney sweeping is not regulated in many cities and there are many companies out there claiming to offer quality services.
It is important to take your time and do proper research before hiring a chimney sweep. Below, we have provided some pointers to help you find the best chimney sweep service for your needs:
Local Search
It is highly recommended that you always search for a chimney cleaning service that is within your area. A local chimney sweep company is familiar with the environment that your home is in. They know what to look out for since they are more aware of the factors affecting chimneys in your area. In addition, local companies rely on local reputation in order to attract new customers and grow, hence, they will strive to offer the best services they can.
Air Flows Chicago is a locally owned company and we have been offering reliable and cost-effective chimney sweeping service to Chicago homeowners for over 18 years.
Is The Company Certified And Fully Insured?
When choosing a chimney cleaning company, one of your top considerations should be whether the company and its employees are certified and fully insured. Certification from the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) helps to ensure that you are dealing with a professional in the field. A service that takes the extra time and effort to acquire certifications is a good indication that they are dedicated to what they do.
You should also ensure that the company is fully insured. A good insurance policy protects you from any liability in case the chimney professional is injured within your premises.
Here at Air Flows Chicago, we have a team of chimney sweepers who are certified and professionally trained to ensure that we provide quality and premium services to our clients.
Experience
Experience is another very important factor to consider when choosing a chimney cleaning service. It goes without saying that an experienced sweeper offers you better results than a newbie. An experienced sweeper will be able to expertly handle any challenge you present them with.
The rule of thumb is to go with a company that has been in operation for over 10 years. Air Flows Chicago has been serving Chicago residents for over 18 years and has continually put the best interests of its clients at heart.
Full Range of Services
A good chimney sweeping company is one that offers a wide range of chimney services apart from chimney cleaning. At Air Flows Chicago, for example, we offer a variety of chimney repair services thus offering you a one-stop solution.
Reputation
The general public’s opinion of a particular company can help you determine whether it is a good company for you. Recommendations from family and close friends is a good place to start your search. You should also never shy away from asking for a list of references from the company.
The internet also has numerous resources to help you with your search. Go with a company that has good reputation score on the Better Business Bureau(BBB) and other review sites.
We have achieved a score of A+ in the BBB and we are also highly rated in the Yelp, Home Advisor, Google’s Customer Rating, and Angie’s List.
Call Us Now
If you are in search of a reputable and professional chimney sweeping company in the Chicago area, then we are your best bet. Give us a call today at (866) 494-6778 for quality and premium chimney cleaning today!
