by Mark Hudson | Sep 26, 2016 | Appointment Tips
As the evenings get cooler and days grow shorter, we’re inching closer to burning season. If you have a fireplace, stove, or other heating appliance you are probably in tune with the signs that tell you burning season is coming quickly. If fall is approaching and you haven’t had your chimney cleaned since last burning season, you should schedule a chimney sweep now. While scheduling your chimney maintenance you can keep this five things in mind to ease the process.
Find a Chimney Sweep You Can Trust
Before scheduling your chimney maintenance, you should find a chimney sweep that is CSIA certified. Check online reviews, and call if you have questions before scheduling an appointment. You will be spending your hard-earned money and putting your home in the hands of this chimney sweep, so you should be able to trust them.
Schedule in Advance
The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommend regular chimney sweeps and annual chimney inspections. Schedule these appointments in advance, and avoid the hassle of scheduling during the fall rush or during the winter. It’s often frustrating to schedule chimney maintenance during the winter because you can’t use your chimney for 24 hours before the appointment. If you need repairs, replacements, or rebuilds your chimney will be out of commission for even longer. Avoid this headache by scheduling in advance.
Prepare for Your Chimney Sweep’s Visit
Prepare for the chimney maintenance by discontinuing use of the chimney for 24 hours prior to the cleaning. Before the visit you should also clear a space of about 6 feet in front of the fireplace or appliance, as well as remove all sentimental items and valuables from the mantel and around the fireplace.
Maximize Your Time With the Sweep
Some chimney sweep companies might not allow distractions while their CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep® (CCS) works, but this is a great time to learn about the chimney system. Hudson Chimney is happy to accommodate homeowners who’d like to watch our technicians work. Ask questions while our sweep is working—he’ll let you know if he’s too busy to interact with you. It is our goal as CSIA members to educate homeowners above all else. Chimney safety starts with you.
Follow Recommendations from the Sweep
Depending on what your technician is doing, whether a sweep or inspection, he should offer expert advice. You should listen to the professionals you hire to work on your chimney. There is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion, but when it comes to a professional opinion about a repair or replacement, you should plan these things sooner rather than later. When you wait to repair a damaged chimney you can cause more damage and raise the risk of fire.
It’s important to schedule and keep chimney maintenance appointments, and by keeping these tips in mind you can avoid missing something important that may save you time and money.
If you’re ready to schedule your chimney appointment call Hudson Chimney at 904-282-4159 or request an appointment online.
by Mark Hudson | Sep 10, 2016 | Prefab Chimney Maintenance
When you’re building or remodeling a home you don’t have to stick with a traditional fireplace. If you’re unable to install a traditional masonry fireplace with adequate foundation, there are other options available. Factory-built fireplaces offer a variety of designs as well as freedom of placement because they’re lighter and don’t require a foundation for support. By choosing a factory-built fireplace you can enjoy a beautiful fireplace for a fraction of the time and cost of a masonry chimney installation.
Your Prefab Fireplace
Your prefabricated or factory-built fireplace can match most home designs and can be installed in any location because of it’s lightweight design and refractory walls. Although you have the freedom to choose it’s location, you cannot use just any chimney for a factory-built fireplace. Each prefab fireplace is fitted with a chimney that has been tested with the fireplace and they’re engineered to work safely and efficiently as one unit.
Remember Professional Maintenance
According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) installation of the unit is critical for safe operation as well as efficiency and longevity. It’s also vitally important to schedule regular chimney sweeps as well as annual chimney inspections. It’s at these appointments that a certified chimney sweep will notice problems with your prefab fireplace and chimney. Catching any problems early will save you money and problems later.
What You Can Do
While keeping up with your routine maintenance with a professional chimney sweep, there are also things you can do to keep your fireplace and chimney in tip-top shape.
- Keep the damper fully open from the start of the fire until it is completely out.
- Avoid overloading the fireplace, which can burn too hot or cause logs to roll out.
- Only burn properly seasoned wood in your fireplace. Avoid burning paper products, trash, and any other household items.
- Never use liquid fuel to light a fire in your fireplace. If you have trouble lighting your fire, consider trying a top-down fire.
- Close the screen to prevent sparks from flying out of the fireplace. The glass doors are not to be closed until the fire is almost out.
- Do not change appliances or install a wood-burning stove or insert into a factory-built fireplace. The chimney is designed for your specific fireplace. You should have a professional inspect your chimney system if you make changes.
- Empty ashes from the firebox regularly to avoid buildup and foul odors. Excessive ash in the firebox can cause logs to roll out. Since prefab fireplaces aren’t designed to burn all the time, a buildup of ashes can cause the fireplace to smell of ashes when it isn’t lit.
- Follow manufacturer’s instructions, which should be given to you upon installation.
- Check the firebox for damage periodically. Cracks in the refractory walls need to be assessed by a professional.
No amount of maintenance can replace professional expertise. Hudson Chimney is trained and experienced in installing, servicing, and replacing factory-built fireplaces in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Call 904-282-4159 and speak to a Hudson Chimney technician today.
by Mark Hudson | Aug 25, 2016 | Chimney Cleaning
When you own a home, you should keep up with the routine maintenance tasks needed to keep everything running smoothly and safely. Neglecting important maintenance can lead to dangerous hazards in your home. At Hudson Chimney, our top priority is fire safety, and we provide chimney and venting maintenance services to the residents of the Jacksonville area that prevent accidental fires and carbon monoxide leaks. For our busy customers, we offer the opportunity to take care of two of these services, chimney sweeping and dryer vent cleaning, on the same appointment date. We strongly suggest that you should go ahead and schedule this appointment now before the busy season of fall begins. It can be difficult to find the most convenient time, and you may end up having to wait even longer to take care of these maintenance tasks. We would like to tell you more about the importance of a professional chimney sweeping and a dryer vent cleaning.
CHIMNEY SWEEPING
When you burn wood in your fireplace or stove, creosote develops naturally during the combustion process. As smoke and the other byproducts of combustion pass through the cooler upper walls of the chimney, condensation occurs. During condensation, creosote forms and sticks to the inner chimney walls. After a long winter, large accumulations of creosote deposits can cover parts of the chimney and create a dangerous fire hazard. Creosote is so highly flammable that the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) has named this natural compound as a leading cause of chimney fires. To remove all of the creosote deposits from your chimney, you need a professional chimney sweeping. This is why the CSIA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other top national fire safety groups recommend having your chimney professionally swept and inspected at least once a year. You can trust Hudson Chimney to remove every bit of creosote from your chimney because our chimney sweeps have been certified by the CSIA and have the training and experience to do this job properly and reduce your risk of a chimney fire.
DRYER VENT CLEANING
Every year, thousands of clothes dryer fires are reported in this country. The majority of these fires are the result of clogged and dirty dryer vents. Every time you dry a load of clothes, lint is produced. Although about 75 percent of that lint is collected in the lint screen, the rest of it falls into the vent. After a period of time, that lint can accumulate into a large enough amount to clog the vent. This is a very dangerous situation because lint is extremely flammable. Since a clogged dryer vent causes the dryer to overheat, those high temperatures can easily ignite the trapped lint inside a vent. You will know your dryer vent needs cleaning when your dryer cannot fully dry a load of clothes in one complete drying cycle. To prevent a clothes dryer fire, Hudson Chimney recommends that you schedule a professional dryer vent cleaning appointment with us every year. Not only will the risk of an accidental clothes dryer fire be greatly reduced, your dryer will work much more efficiently. Prolonging the life of your dryer, preventing fires, and lowering your utility bills are among the benefits of our professional dryer vent cleaning services.
Make sure your home is safe with no fire hazards. Contact us at Hudson Chimney to schedule an appointment for our professional chimney sweeping and dryer vent cleaning services today.
by Mark Hudson | Aug 11, 2016 | chimney maintenance
If you have noticed a discolored stain on the exterior of your chimney, you have good reason to be concerned. Not only is discoloration on a chimney exterior unattractive, but it also can signal a problem that could lead to more chimney damage. Different colors can signify different problems, and it is important to know which colors appear with each issue to troubleshoot the needed repairs. For over 30 years, Hudson Chimney has been serving the chimney maintenance, repair, and installation needs to residents of the Jacksonville area, and you can trust us to diagnose the cause of the discoloration and fix the problem behind the stains. Our chimney technicians have been certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), so you are getting both experienced and trained chimney service from us. We would like to tell you the possible causes behind different colors of stains on the exterior of your chimney to help you know more about the reason for the discoloration.
WHITE STAINS
If the discoloration you notice on the outside of your chimney is white, you are seeing efflorescence stains, which is formed by mineral salt remaining on the bricks and mortar from the evaporation of water. While efflorescence could be caused by rain blowing against the chimney during a storm, this discoloration often signifies the existence of a chimney water leak. Hudson Chimney can inspect your chimney to find the leak, repair the source of the leak, and remove the stains. To prevent water penetration of your chimney and efflorescence, we recommend our waterproofing service that creates a barrier to water penetrating the bricks and mortar and also keeps efflorescence from discoloring your chimney.
BLACK OR BROWN STAINS
While darker stains can also be the result of water penetration in the case of mold, Hudson Chimney finds black or brown chimney stains to more commonly be discoloration from creosote or soot. The appearance of creosote running out of the top of your chimney should be taken seriously as a strong risk of a chimney fire. Creosote is extremely flammable, and if enough creosote is in your chimney that it is pouring out, you definitely have enough creosote inside to ignite a chimney fire. If you have a gas fireplace, black or brown stains are not creosote but soot and are an equally important warning sign. According to Inspectapedia, soot stains should alert you to a dangerous situation of a high risk of the overproduction of carbon monoxide inside the chimney. You should contact Hudson Chimney as soon as possible when you see black or brown stains to have us take care of these safety hazards.
RED STAINS
When you see red or reddish-brown discoloration on the exterior of your chimney, you have an issue with rusting. The most common cause for rust stains is corrosion damage on your metal chimney cap. If your chimney cap has suffered from corrosion, it could be damaged by cracks that will allow water to leak into your chimney to cause even more damage. Hudson Chimney can help by installing a new chimney cap that will protect your chimney from water leaks.
The color of stains on the outside of your chimney can alert you to a serious chimney problem that could make your fireplace unsafe to use. Contact us at Hudson Chimney to schedule an inspection to determine the source of discoloration and make the necessary repairs.
by Mark Hudson | Jul 28, 2016 | Firewood
Although some people believe the key to burning the best wood fires is using a certain species of wood, the reality is using firewood that has been sufficiently seasoned, or dried, after it has been cut. Properly seasoned wood will give you cleaner, safer, and longer lasting fires because the fire does not have to waste so much energy burning out the moisture as it does with freshly cut green wood. A fire burning green wood can lead to an overproduction of smoke and creosote, which can be harmful to your chimney. Wood naturally contains a lot of water. Green wood can have a moisture content of 40 percent. Allowing your wood to dry out for at least six months will reduce that content by half. To help you perfect your firewood seasoning and storing skills, Hudson Chimney would like to tell you a few tips so that you can have the best firewood to be able to enjoy warm and clean fires this winter.
Split the wood.
If you are able to cut your own firewood, you should split each piece so that air will be able to get to every side of the wood. This will speed up the drying process. You want to ensure each piece of wood is no longer than six inches so that it will fit inside your fireplace or stove. If you buy your firewood, you can split it at home yourself if it has not already been split. To make this job easier, Firewood For Life recommends using a sharp splitting axe or a hydraulic wood splitter.
Choose the right location for storing your wood.
For the sake of convenience, you want to pick a spot that is close to your home. Even more importantly, you should choose a location that gets full sun to take advantage of its heat. The sun is a great help in drying out the moisture, and the moisture will evaporate much more quickly in the sun.
Stack the wood elevated off the ground.
Storing your firewood directly on the ground will slow down the drying time because the wood will absorb even more moisture from the earth. If you do not have a storage shed, you can use pallets as a platform for storing. A storage rack is another good idea. Stack the wood in a criss cross pattern will help the air be able to circulate better around your firewood.
Cover the top.
If you have a storage shed, you want to be sure it is not completely enclosed by walls. Air circulation is very important for seasoning firewood as it helps to evaporate the moisture. If you do not have a storage shed, you can cover your supply with a tarp or a fireplace cover to protect it from rain. Ensure that the sides are open so that moisture is not trapped inside your stacks of wood.
After you have stacked and stored your firewood, all you need to do is wait for at least six months for properly seasoned firewood. Contact us at Hudson Chimney for even more firewood tips, along with any of your fireplace and chimney needs.
