Question 1

I have just moved into a house with a wood burner. What should I do before lighting it?

Accepted Answer

Book a sweep before the first fire, unless the seller left you a dated sweep certificate from this year. You do not know what was burnt in it, how often, or when it was last cleared. A first sweep tells you the flue is clear and drawing, gives you a certificate for your own insurer, and lets us tell you plainly what condition the stove and flue are in. If it is fine, we say so.

Question 2

How often should a chimney be swept?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what you burn and how much. HETAS guidance is once a year for smokeless fuel, twice a year for coal, and quarterly for wood when the fire is in regular use, because wood leaves far more tar in the flue. For most households with a stove lit most evenings from October to March, once before the season and once during it is realistic. We tell you where yours sits after we see what comes out.

Question 3

When is the best time to book?

Accepted Answer

Late summer, before you need it. Everyone remembers on the first cold weekend of October and rings the same week, so from October to December the diary fills quickly. Book in August or September and you get the date you want and the fire ready before it turns cold.

Question 4

Does a wood burner with a liner still need sweeping?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A stainless liner and a twin-wall flue collect soot and tar the same as a brick chimney, and because a liner sits inside the old flue or runs through the loft, a build-up is not something you can see. Same frequency as any other flue.

Question 5

How much does a chimney sweep cost?

Accepted Answer

A standard sweep starts at £75 and every sweep includes an insurance certificate. We confirm the price before any work starts, so the figure you agree is the figure you pay. A CCTV chimney inspection is a separate job with a separate price, only offered when there is a reason to look. Nest removal, cowls, bird guards and stove servicing are priced on what is needed and agreed with you first.

Question 6

Is a CCTV inspection included in a sweep?

Accepted Answer

No, and it should not be. Most flues do not need one. We suggest a camera inspection when there is a reason: smoke problems we cannot explain, a house you have just bought with an unknown flue, signs of damage, or a liner someone is trying to sell you. Then it is priced separately and you decide.

Question 7

What happens when you come to sweep?

Accepted Answer

We arrive when we said, put sheets down, and run an industrial vacuum the whole time we are sweeping so the soot goes into the machine and not the room. We sweep the flue to the top, check it is clear and drawing, look at the stove or fireplace, clean up, and hand you the certificate before we leave. If we saw anything you should know about, we tell you then, with a photo where it helps.

Question 8

Will it make a mess?

Accepted Answer

This is the thing most people are nervous about, and it is the thing we are most careful about. Sheets down, vacuum running, and we leave the room as we found it. Real photos of our jobs are on this site and on our Google reviews; that is the proof rather than our word.

Question 9

Do I need to be home, and do I need to move furniture?

Accepted Answer

Someone needs to let us in and take the certificate. You do not need to move furniture; we only need clear access to the fireplace or stove. Let the fire go out well before we arrive so the stove is cold.

Question 10

Can I use the fire straight after the sweep?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Once we have finished and the room is clear, light it as normal that evening.

Question 11

Do I get a certificate, and does my insurer need one?

Accepted Answer

Every sweep comes with a certificate recording the date, the appliance and what we observed. Most home insurers ask that solid fuel appliances are swept regularly by a professional, and the certificate is the evidence if you ever need it. Keep it with your policy.

Question 12

What is HETAS and does it matter?

Accepted Answer

HETAS is the UK body that registers and trains people working with solid fuel heating. We are HETAS qualified and members of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, which means you are dealing with someone trained and accountable rather than a brush and a van. Ask any sweep which scheme they are with; a proper one will tell you straight away.

Question 13

Should I have a carbon monoxide alarm?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in any room with a solid fuel appliance, and it has been a legal requirement for new stove installations since 2010. A blocked or leaking flue can push carbon monoxide into the room, and you cannot smell it. A sealed alarm costs less than a sweep and lasts years. If yours is missing or out of date, we will mention it.

Question 14

What if you find something wrong?

Accepted Answer

We tell you what we found, in plain words, with a photo where it helps, and what we think it means. Then it is your decision. If it needs more than a sweep, a liner, a cowl, a repair, a camera look, that is a separate job with a separate price. We do not sell work the chimney does not need; if it is fine, we say so.

Question 15

Why does my stove glass go black so quickly?

Accepted Answer

Nearly always the wood. Wet or unseasoned logs burn cool and smoky, and the tar coats the glass and the flue. Logs should be below 20 per cent moisture; a cheap moisture meter tells you in a second and we can check your pile on the day. A sweep clears what the wet wood has already left, but dry wood is what stops it coming back.

Question 16

Do chimney cleaning logs work?

Accepted Answer

Not as a sweep. They may loosen some tar, but nothing removes it from the flue, and they do nothing for a nest, a blockage or a damaged liner. Use one if you like, but it does not replace a sweep and no insurer treats it as one.

Question 17

There are birds in my chimney. What do I do?

Accepted Answer

Do not light the fire. Jackdaws build in spring and a nest can fill the flue for a metre or more. We clear it, sweep the flue properly afterwards because a nest leaves a lot behind, and fit a bird guard so you do not have the same job next year. Nest clearing is priced on what we find and agreed before we start.

Question 18

My chimney has not been used for years. Can I just light a fire?

Accepted Answer

Please do not. An unused flue collects nests, debris and sometimes a cap somebody fitted and forgot. Have it swept and checked first. We tell you whether it is safe to use as it is, or whether it would be better with a liner or a stove.

Chimney questions, answered plainly

Before you book

Cost

On the day

Safety and certificates

Wood, glass and smoke

Birds and unused chimneys

The Good Sweep at a glance

Contact us

Professional & Managed Property Support