So how can you help to prepare your home prior to the arrival of a chimney sweep, and why should you? Well, you have gone to the trouble of going through the lists of approved chimney sweeps, and the day has arrived when the chimney sweep is due to come.  So, what should you do?

Well, first off, it is a great help to the sweep if they can park near to the house, and have a short, clean route to the front door, or whichever door will give them access to the room which houses the appliance that is to be cleaned. If the path is mucky, odds are that no matter how they try, a crumb of mud will find its way onto your carpets, with the best will in the world. So, if the path is messy, and some are, then putting something inside for the chimney sweep to wipe his feet on will be a wise precaution.

Then, walk the route to the appliance, making sure there are no trailing electric flexes, furniture or children’s toys to turn a walk through the house into an obstacle course. Is that a Ming vase on the mantelpiece? Make their insurance company happy. Put it somewhere else. It needn’t be anything valuable, just clear the mantelpiece and the immediate area of anything that can fall and break, or that might be stained if there were a brief escape of soot. A clear area all around the fireplace is so much easier to sheet and protect, and that is in everybody’s interest.

While the chimney sweep is there, do not waste the opportunity to pick his brains. If you have chosen an approved chimney sweep, then you will have quite a valuable knowledge resource in front of you. If you have any questions or concerns about the chimney, or any chimney in the house, then ask away. We are always happy to help, and we have a reputation for problem solving second to none. We have always delighted in finding the solutions to chimney problems that others have failed to identify, and we do like a challenge!