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[ Anatomy of a Chimney | Is Your Chimney In Danger? | 22,600 Reasons to Service Your Chimney | Coming Soon ]

•  Anatomy of a Chimney
•  Is Your Chimey In Danger?
  With the stormy winter weather we've experienced this past year, there's a good reason to question your chimney's safety.
  The larger, smokier fires that are burned during some harsh winters may leave a larger than normal creosote deposit in your chimney. It's the same principle that causes a car engine to have more carbon buildup with in-town driving than with highway driving.

  Creosote deposits are highly flammable and are an open invitation for a chimney fire. When creosote is allowed to accumulate, it can eventually block the flue opening. For your family's safety, you need to have your chimney inspected before lighting your first fire of the season, the same way you would inspect the brakes on your car before taking the family vacation through the mountains. National Fire Protection Code 211 requires that all chimney systems be inspected annually. Don't wait for the next heating season - take care of this important precaution now.

  Be sure your heating unit is working properly by regularly checking the flue on the venting system of your furnace or boiler. First, operate the equipment for at least five minutes until the flue pipe is hot. Second, hold a lighted match to the edge of the draft hood and slowly move it across the opening. The flue is clear if the flame is blown downward or extinguished. If this is not the result, try the test again. If you get the same result, turn the furnace off and contact us immediately.

  Remember your chimney when making a safety check of your home's heating and water heating systems. If your chimney is blocked by debirs and/or dirt, the products of combustion cannot be vented and may back up into your home.

  Every year, check your chimneys and vents for blockages and clean them every three to five years. If you have a metal chimney, check to see if its corroded or rusty.

  E and M Maintenance can perform yearly inspections, clean your chimney and if necessary, perform any installations or repairs.

•  22,600 Reasons to Have Your Chimney Serviced
  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, reports that some 22,600 residential fires in the 50 states were related to solid, liquid and other fuel appliances and equipment in 1998. Of that number, 10,300 fires were attributed to chimneys and chimney connectors serving those heating systems. As a result of these fires, 130 people died, 370 people were injured, and total property losses were set at more than $201.4 million.
  In addition, the estimated number of deaths associated with heating system carbon-monoxide poisoning in 1997 was estimated at no less than 135 and at least 11,000 non-fatal poisonings reported within the same time frame.

  The root cause of most of these losses is that most U.S. homeowners are unaware that chimneys are an integral part of a home heating system and that they require regular evaluation and maintenance. In a great many European countries - including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Germany - chirnney-fire damage statistics have been reduced to negligible numbers because national coalitions of government, insurance companies, fire and building officials, and chimney sweeps have developed tough regulations mandating regularly scheduled chimney inspections and cleaning.

  The citizens of those countries understand the hazards of unmaintained chimneys, and their chimney sweeps are regular members of their home safety team.

  Most homeowners in the U.S. and Canada, however, seem to have little working knowledge of chimney and venting systems. This situation is complicated by the fact that faults, damage and problems rarely visible to the casual observer. In fact, people who will quickly replace a faulty automobile exhaust system because of the hazard it presents will allow their home's exhaust system the chimney or vent - to go unchecked and unmaintained for years. The threat of chimney fires and unsafe indoor air quality conditions can be greatly reduced, perhaps even eliminated, if homeowners only understood that chimneys are active home operation systems which require regular maintenance.

  COMING SOON

•  Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Hazards
•  Chimney Fires
•  Waterproofing Your Chimney
•  Chimney Liners

For more information or to schedule an appointment, feel free to contact us by phone at 800-272-0077, via e-mail: meinbind@optonline.net or use our new Hire Us! web site feature.