Crossed 500 chimney inspections last month and it changed how I see soot buildup

I always thought a thin layer of soot was no big deal until I saw the math on how fast it adds up over 500 jobs, now I tell every homeowner to schedule twice a year no matter what - has anyone else noticed a big difference after hitting a milestone number of cleanings?

2 comments

2 Comments

hart.zara1mo ago

Hang on a second, you're mixing up chimney inspections with actual cleanings. Inspections are a visual check, so hitting 500 of them doesn't really tell you anything about soot buildup rates. Twice a year cleanings might be overkill for most homes unless you're burning wet wood or something. A good inspection after the first cleaning will tell you if you really need to go back before the next heating season.

felix4781mo ago

My buddy Dave runs a little crew up in western Mass and he hit 300 cleanings last winter. He told me he started noticing this weird pattern where houses with gas logs actually had way less buildup than people who burned seasoned oak. He had one customer who swore they only burned kiln-dried wood but when he pulled the cap off there was like a half inch of crusty stuff in there from three years of "seasoned" firewood that was actually pretty wet.