Look up! The industry is booming at the moment. The last few years has seen a huge rise in the demand for chimney sweeps. There is the vogue for wood burning stoves for one thing. They all require fitting, cleaning and maintaining, and also make use of chimneys that had once been blocked up or disused. This means that there are now a lot more chimneys in need of sweeping than there had been.
Chimneys take some looking after, too. They need to be cleaned and maintained regularly to make sure they aren’t damaged, blocked or deteriorating. Failure to do so can result in chimney fires (which insurance companies won’t pay out on if the chimney’s not been swept) and even carbon monoxide poisoning if the chimney is breached and leaks into the house. Chimney sweeps recommend a yearly sweep and check on the flue to be sure. So again, this means that chimney sweeps have a lot of work cut out for them days.
With so many chimney sweeps out there there’s a lot of competition for business. This means it’s in their best interest to undergo full chimney sweep training so that they can be HETAS registered and members of guilds and other official bodies. This not only makes them easier to find but also reassures clients that these sweeps will do a safe and professional job. Certificates mean that they can sign off on their own work, satisfying insurers and the law if they have fitted an appliance in your home. This will also be able to give you sound advice about wood burning stoves, chimney relining and maintaining your stack, keeping your home clean, safe and efficient.
So if you want to find a chimney sweep then you should look for HETAS accredited companies, the guilds, and sites that list their members. This way you’ll be able to find local sweeps quickly (usually by a post code search at www.blogxpress.net) and you’ll know that every sweep you find is fully trained and qualified.
