Why You Don’t Want a Cheap $59 Chimney Sweep

If you are looking for a quickie inspection that doesn’t mean much, something you do before you flip a house using the cheapest of materials and some duct tape, then you might be a good candidate for the $59 sweep. You also might experience sleepless nights knowing your shady house flipping and skimpy inspections led to the sale of a lemon held together with bandaids to a nice family… but hey, we’re not judging.  Comparing the latest Groupon or Valpak coupon for a budget chimney sweep to a full Level 1 Inspection and cleaning by a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep can show you the value.

What You Don’t Get in a Budget Chimney Sweep:

1. Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) Certified Chimney Sweep®. Chances are that the chimney sweep offering up the bargain chimney sweep service isn’t certified. Knowing that the chimney sweep is a Certified Chimney Sweep® is insurance that she/he has been educated and trained on all up-to-date safety regulations and chimney protocol.

2. Anything more than the bare minimum. Let’s do the business math on this. Chimney sweeping takes a team of two people, one on the roof and one at the fireplace or woodstove. In addition to travel time to the home, setting up equipment, actually sweeping, vacuuming and cleaning up, you can estimate at least two hours, up to one hour in your home. Don’t forget to factor in time spent advertising, booking your appointment, billing and other assorted overhead costs. At $59, your chimney sweep is not making any money, therefore they would have to upsell you or live off the rebuild projects they recommend.

3. Upsell, Upsell! UPSELL! If your chimney sweep is rushing through the work without offering you any educational or informative advice, chances are she/he works on commission. You deserve to pay for someone to come in and do the work in the estimated amount of time. If you need repairs, they should not bully you into them, but instead show you the potential problem and explain the repair work or chimney parts that are needed without making you feel ignorant. You should be able to ask questions of your chimney sweep and not feel threatened to have to do more more more. If you don’t feel comfortable, don’t do it.

4. Experience and Reputation Most chimney sweeps have been doing it for a while and enter the business by being an apprentice and getting certified. Check with the discount chimney sweep and check out how long they have been in operation and where they did their training. Most reputable businesses rely on repeat clientele that comes back year after year and referrals from others that like their work. Selling their standard services below cost is more of a bait and switch to get you to buy into masonry repair, their bread and butter.   You could take the risk and go with the discount chimney sweep, but we think your home deserves better.   An annual chimney inspection and cleaning is a small investment that can minimize the dangers of a chimney fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. Hiring a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep® means hiring the most respected and credentialed in the business, someone that has passed exams on fire codes, clearance and standards for the construction and maintenance of chimneys and venting systems.

If you live in the Naperville, Plainfield, Joliet, Aurora or Oswego areas, Valley Chimney Sweep & Restoration is your neighborhood CSIA Chimney Sweep®! We also cover a broader area of the Chicago suburbs, which you can find on our map here or just give us a call. Wendy Dearborn can help determine if we cover your Chicago suburb and if we do not, she probably has a suggestion for a chimney sweep in your area. As the longest continually Certified Chimney Sweep in the country, Valley Chimney Sweep knows quite a few in the industry.

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