There are sometimes when damage to an item is easy to detect. Have you ever stepped outside a shopping mall, gone over to your car, and noticed a dent? That’s a pretty good sign that there’s some damage to your car. If you turn on your stove and the oven doesn’t heat up, it’s probably not working right. But some things are a little more difficult to determine. Your chimney is one of those things, in large part because it’s so difficult to see inside of your chimney. If you’re willing to look close, however, there are some signs that you can notice. These signs will let you know it’s time to give your chimney sweep a call.
Water Stains Around Your Fireplace
One easy thing to look for is water damage around your fireplace. Take a look at the wallpaper or paint alongside your fireplace, or even on the ceiling. If the paint is soft or flaky, or the wallpaper is peeling or water stained, chances are there is a problem with the chimney. This could be a crack in the chimney liner or that the mortar around the bricks is spalling, just to name a couple of things. But even if neither of these is the problem, it’s really important to give a Chimney Safety Institute of America certified chimney sweep a call. You want to make sure the damage is repaired before more trouble occurs.
Spalling
Another sign that your chimney is damaged is actual spalling. Take a look at the exterior of your home. If you see chips or flakes littering the ground around your chimney, spalling is occurring. These flakes or chips are coming from the mortar around your bricks or maybe even from the bricks themselves. It could be that the mortar wasn’t prepared or installed properly in the first place, or it could be that the freeze-thaw cycle has caused the mortar to weaken. No matter what caused it, it’s important to call a chimney sweep company as soon as possible to make sure that structural damage hasn’t occurred. If damage like that is left unchecked, instead of looking at repair work, you could be looking at major rebuild work, and that means lots of time and money.
Rust
Take a look at your firebox or your damper system. Rust is a sign that something is leaking that shouldn’t be. Here again, a chimney specialist is your best defense against a leak of unknown origin.
Make Sure They’re CSIA Certified
Whether you’ve noticed signs of damage or it’s just time to schedule an annual cleaning, you’ll want to make sure that the chimney sweep you call is CSIA certified, like Chimney Doctors of Colorado. This ensures that you’ll have professionals that are trained and educated in all the latest techniques. Make sure that your chimney is in tip-top condition by giving Chimney Doctors of Colorado a call today.