It’s a mystery to many homeowners: what is the difference between a chimney sweep and a quick clean? A chimney sweep is where a professional sweeps out all of the blackened soot and bird nests from inside your fireplace or stove flue, while the quick clean relies on vacuuming the buildup of ash and debris from just outside your flue with specialized equipment.
In this article, we’re going to explain what exactly each process entails.
What does a chimney sweep do?
A chimney sweep is a professional who uses an “umbrella” to protect him from the result of using strong vacuums on your fireplace flue. They use brushes and brooms to scrub out all the gunk and dirt that has built up inside your chimney. A well-seasoned swirler should be able to clean out most of the debris inside a chimney in one cleaning session.
The reason a cleaning service uses vacuums is because of the soot build-up inside your fireplace and stove flue. A vacuum can get into tight areas that a brush or broom just can’t handle. Most of the time, if you’re dealing with a professional chimney sweep, they will use vacuums to clean most of your flue. Then, they may do some brushing in areas where there are small crevices where the vacuum just won’t fit without causing damage or disruption to other areas in your home.
While vacuuming is the main action employed by chimney sweeps, they may also use a wide range of other tools. Some are used to reach into small portions of your flue while others are used to loosen or brush away dirt buildup that can’t be vacuumed or brushed off. Each chimney sweep has its own unique set of tools, so some may have more than others.
As you might imagine, there are a lot of differences between how a professional fireplace and stove cleaner like us approaches the job as opposed to how homeowners do it themselves.
What does a quick clean do?
The quick clean is a process that’s designed to vacuum the majority of the debris from your chimney. It often hooks directly into your fireplace or stove flue with an accessory attachment. For this reason, it can be done without a professional chimney sweep helping you at all, but they can still help soothe and safeguard your home with their expertise and experience if you choose to not do it yourself.
The quick clean is a process that has been evolving since the invention of vacuum-powered cleaners and dusting tools more than 70 years ago. These early models were actually used by DIYers to clean out their chimneys, but they weren’t exactly fast and efficient.
If you’re looking for quick chimney cleaning services or a complete chimney sweep, then our professionals can help you. At CT Chimney Repair, we offer all chimney-related services including chimney inspection and chimney repair.
Contact us to find out more.
