Getting A Chimney Cleaned

Kintarō Hattori

Hello folks,

The girlfriend and myself are shortly moving from our rented apartment into a small rented townhouse. The house has a solid fuel fireplace and as it had been empty for a few months I thought it might be a good idea to call in a chimney sweep and get it cleaned.

Where on earth though do you go looking for a chimney sweep? Would I find one in the goldenpages? I'd need one based in the city centre.

Victor

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Would I find one in the goldenpages?

I imagine thats the best. It seems they use big vacuum cleaners for the bulk of the work these days.

BendiBus

I've seen a chimney sweep advertise recently on www.gumtree.ie

eddie4

the golden pages is indeed a good place to look, as a professinal chimney sweep i would just like to point out that the large vacuum cleaner does not do any actual cleaning of the flue, the cleaning process still involves the use of rods and brushes, anyone that tells you they have cleaned your chimney by vacuum alone is not a chimney sweep, there is not a vacuum available today that would be able to clean the chimney.

sooty_soupy

I would agree with eddie. I have been a registered chimney technician in Northern Ireland for nearly 20 years. I am Chairman of the Northern Ireland Association of Chimney Sweeps and train chimney technicians across Ireland. There are a lot of cowboys claiming they can sweep a chimney using a vacuum alone, and they are con men.

Although there are some sweeps attempting to set up a registration scheme in the South, I am not sure just how well it is going. I have some issues with the founder going to the USA to train, which seems illogical to train to codes not relevant to Europe never mind Ireland, but you can't blame someone for trying.

I would strongly suggest you look for someone with experience and public liability insurance. Perhaps ask neighbours for a recommendation which often is the best form of advertising. If the sweep prides him or herself on their workmanship, they will actively ensure the work is carried out to customers satisfaction in the hope of good word of mouth and repeat business.

Hope this helps.

David

Show_me_Safety

hi, i'd also need to get this done. How much does it cost roughly and who should pay? Tenant or landlord?
Thanks
SmS

sooty_soupy

Hi, you should expect to pay anything between 5 euro and god knows what. Most sweeps in the NIACS here in the North would charge on average £20 - £35.

On your point of landlord/tenant responsibility, my understanding is that the sweeping is a duty that the tenant will take care of much like window cleaning etc, but if the work is more involved, especially if structural work is involved, then it would fall into the landlords realm.

Hope this helps.

David