Page 40 - Oundle Life January 2025

CHIM CHIM CHER-EE
as lucky can be...
Chimney sweeps are known to be ‘as lucky
as lucky can be.’ It’s not by luck though, but rather that you’ll avert disaster by ensuring good chimney hygiene. Prior to lighting your fire or wood burning stove during the cold winter months, having your chimney swept and maintaining it regularly is essential.
During the Victorian era, it was recognised that coal creates a sticky residue in the chimney that poses a risk when it’s not dislodged.
Today the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps
has approximately 700 members nationwide and they represent a body of professionals responsible for helping to prevent chimney fires, with nearly half taking place from January to March.
Whilst there are a few new tools a chimney sweep can use; the mainstay is still the good
old round brush. A typical visit takes around
an hour and the brush is often the simplest
and best way for an experienced sweep to get
a feel for whether there’s an obstruction. These days though, the process is much cleaner for households, with sheeting up helping to prevent mess and a special vacuum cleaner with a HEPA/M-Class microfilter preventing dust escaping into the air.
CCTV is another tool that a sweep can use to
multi-fuel stoves – not open fires – and insist on regular sweeping and inspection. Among the biggest culprits of chimney problems
are birds nesting in flues. Happily, among
diagnose blocked chimneys, but still a sweep relies on seeing that brush pop out of the chimney to confirm it’s all clear.
The best time for this is not autumn
but around April when you stop
using the chimney after winter and as
spring begins. Wet unseasoned logs
and household coal responsible for tar
buildup have been banned, and most
insurers will insist that an operational chimney has a valid yearly certificate – a sort of MOT for your chimney – and failure to have a certificate may result in an insurance claim being rejected.
In the case of thatched properties, many insurance companies now insist on log enclosed
Avondale Sweeps’ many services are the installation of bird guards and rain caps as well as live bird and nest removals (outside of nesting season as per The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981).
Avondale Sweeps is an established family run business with four full- time sweeps, taking on more staff in winter months. They hit the road and cover Rutland, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire,
Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and into Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in the bright red vans with gold livery.
www.chimneysweepnorthants.co.uk
failure to have a certificate may result in an insurance claim being rejected
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