Recently we discussed why you should only burn seasoned wood in your fireplace or wood-burning stove. To recap, there are two main reasons why you shouldn’t burn unseasoned or green wood in your home. First, moist wood is incredibly inefficient…
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One of the most harmful and difficult issues to detect in any home is the presence and growth of mold. Most of us are aware of the typical areas around the home where mold can take hold, spread and lead…
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As we enter the coldest months of 2016, and our crews are now busier than ever servicing Chicago-area chimneys and dryer vents, we wanted to take a few moments to thank all of our new and repeat customers from 2015….
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So far in the fall of 2015, we’ve already read about two chimney fires in the western suburbs of Chicago. The first took place Oct. 20, 2015, in an Elgin home in which wood and insulation inside the brick caught…
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If the thought of a low maintenance fireplace makes you feel all warm inside, but the thought of building a fire, keeping it lit, and keeping a clean fireplace hearth stresses you out, you might be a good candidate for…
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Local codes have changed and many homes don’t have dryer vent duct work that is up to code. Having the right dryer exhaust ductwork means you are creating a safe home by minimizing fire risk from your dryer. Recently, there…
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We get a call weekly from suburban Chicago homeowners asking about vines on the chimney and how that might impact their chimney’s safety. During a home inspection or a chimney inspection, your chimney sweep will probably advise you of the…
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Since the 1960s, prefabricated fireplaces have become a popular alternative to masonry chimney fireplaces. The fireplace is built in a factory to engineered specifications and then installed into the new (or existing) home, usually by a professional fireplace installer or…
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Ready to buy or sell your house? With warmer months come real estate season. Although people buy and sell houses all year long, more houses go on the market and sell when the weather is pleasant. Whether you are looking…
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June 2015 will go down as a very rainy month. With a lot of rain, we get calls about leaky roofs. We were called out to an Aurora, Il home for a leaky chimney. It was in bad shape. Such bad…
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Unlike many home services, chimney sweeping is a largely unregulated field, which means anyone can set up shop. That means homeowners are susceptible to getting scammed when it comes time to get their chimney sweep and cleaned. And it happens,…
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While lots of fireplace accessories are for esthetics, glass fireplace screens add beauty and actually serve the functional purpose of increasing fireplace safety and heating efficiency. Many sweeping clients ask our Certified Chimney Sweep® techs about glass doors for their…
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