The Hidden Dangers of Soot Buildup During Burning Season

November 10, 2025 | Chimney Basics

When the temperatures drop and fireplaces and wood stoves become part of your daily routine, it’s easy to focus on comfort and warmth. But what often goes unnoticed is the accumulation of soot inside your chimney system—a seemingly minor issue that can quickly become a serious safety hazard.Whether you burn wood occasionally or rely on your fireplace or stove throughout the season, keeping your chimney clean and inspected is essential. Here’s what you need to know about soot buildup, the risks of neglecting chimney maintenance, and why working with a certified chimney professional matters.What Is Soot, and Why Does It Build Up?Soot is a fine, powdery black substance made primarily of carbon. It’s created as a byproduct of incomplete combustion—when wood or other fuels don’t burn completely. It rises with smoke and attaches to the interior walls of the flue, collecting over time with each fire you burn.Factors that contribute … Continued

Why Hiring a Certified Chimney Sweep Matters: Protect Your Home, Your Wallet, and Your Peace of Mind

August 27, 2025 | Chimney Inspections

When it comes to home maintenance, the chimney is often overlooked. But the reality is that an improperly maintained chimney can pose serious risks—from fire hazards to structural damage and even carbon monoxide exposure. That’s why hiring a certified chimney sweep is not just a smart choice—it’s a critical one.Unfortunately, the chimney industry has seen a rise in unqualified, uninsured, and non-certified contractors offering discounted services to gain access to your home. These companies often use low prices as bait and may deliver substandard, unsafe work. As a homeowner, it’s important to know what you’re really getting.The Problem with Low-Cost “Deals”Many companies advertise extremely low prices for chimney inspections or cleanings. Once inside your home, they may attempt to upsell services you don’t need or perform work that is incomplete—or outright unsafe.Worse, many of these contractors are:Not certified by recognized industry organizationsOperating without proper insuranceLacking technical training and safety knowledgeNot … Continued

The Best and Worst Types of Wood to Burn in Your Fireplace — And Why It Matters

August 18, 2025 | *Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

There’s nothing like the warmth and crackle of a real wood-burning fire. Whether it’s for ambiance or home heating, your fireplace can be a cozy focal point — but only if you’re burning the right kind of wood.Using the wrong firewood can result in excess smoke, poor heat output, creosote buildup, and even dangerous chimney fires. Below, we break down the best and worst types of wood to burn — and why choosing the right firewood is so important for your safety and comfort.Best Types of Firewood for a FireplaceThe best wood for burning is seasoned, dry hardwood. These woods burn longer, cleaner, and produce more heat with less smoke.1. OakOak is one of the most popular firewood choices. It burns slowly and produces steady, high heat. However, it must be properly seasoned — usually 12 to 24 months — for best performance.2. MapleMaple burns cleanly and gives off good … Continued

3 Fireplace Safety Tips for Kids

November 15, 2021 | Chimney Basics

Having a fireplace in your home requires responsibility and safety precautions, especially if kids are in the house. While your fireplace isn’t dangerous when used correctly, it does have the potential to be deadly. Yearly inspections from Chimney Champions can help prevent most fireplace accidents and issues, but there’s still more you can do. To help keep you, your family, and your home safe, pass along these three fireplace safety tips to your kids.

3 Fireplace Spring Cleaning Tips

April 12, 2021 | Chimney Cleaning

Every spring, homeowners get the urge to clean out their homes and rid themselves of clutter and useless junk. They spring clean the windows, cabinets, attics, and garages. However, most of them completely forget about the fireplace and chimney sweeping. Thankfully, you’ve got the team at Chimney Champions to remind you why springtime is the perfect time for this chore. Today, we’ve giving you some helpful tips you can use to clean your fireplace this spring.

Why You Should Have Your Chimney Cleaned Regularly

February 10, 2020 | Chimney Basics

Your fireplace provided you with numerous cozy fires during the chilly winter nights. Now, the the weather is getting nicer and it’s time to clear out all the ash and soot in your chimney. Many homeowners think they can just burn a self-cleaning log and move on, but that’s just not the case. The best way to clean your chimney is to call in the professionals. Luckily, Chimney Champions makes chimney cleaning easy and hassle-free, clearing your stack of all the fire hazards that you could face the next time you light a log.

International Meeting of the Chimney Sweeps – Val Vigezzo Italy 2019

April 8, 2019 | A Day in the Life

If you just happen to be in Italy between August 30th and September 2nd, don’t miss the International Meeting of the Sweeps! Chimney sweeps from around the World meet in the Vigezzo Valley to celebrate the past history and future of our profession. Although chimney sweeps have been around for centuries, this will be the 38th meeting in the Valley of the Chimney Sweep. Expect to see over one thousand sweeps throughout the meeting, some performing reenactments with historic tools! If you do find your way to Italy this time of year, make sure to say hi to Mike the Chimney Guy 🙂

How often should I remove ash from my fireplace?

January 21, 2019 | Training and tips

This is a question that comes up a lot when talking to homeowners about fireplace maintenance. The first assumption would be to remove the ash between each fire, but the this is actually not the optimum timeframe. A one inch layer of ash on the floor during heating season is actually what is recommended by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. The layer of ash works with the hot coals and creates more heat to fuel the fire, helping in a cleaner burn. While around one inch is a good number to stick with, if the ash starts building up too much, it can trap hot coals between the fireplace grate and the ash, causing premature deterioration of the grate. It is also the important that if you have a ash dump that it has been inspected and is free of combustibles. Also, do not dump your ash until it … Continued

The daily battle for a chimney sweep, staying clean

January 20, 2019 | A Day in the Life

Daily and Long-Term Hazards Staying safe is a constant concern for a chimney sweep. Not only are we on roofs, in attics, and crawl spaces, we also have to worry about the hazardous long-term effects of creosote to our bodies and prevent inhalation and interaction as much as possible. Creosote is a natural byproduct of combustion but it comes with a nasty side effect for humans with long-term exposure to it, cancer. Skin cancer, lung cancer, and testicular cancer are the most common for a chimney Sweep to content with. Skin cancer from constant cleaning and repairing systems covered in creosote and let’s not forget clothing. Lung cancer from inhaling creosote while sweeping a system or even after the service with soot floating around in the work vehicle. Testicular cancer you would think would be the strange one but take into consideration the amount of creosote that can get trapped … Continued

Don’t forget about kickout flashing

January 12, 2019 | A Day in the Life

One common issue I see is where flashing is replaced on a chimney with replacing the kickout flashing. In Florida we have to constantly battle water and considering the amount of water that runs off of a roofline, kickout flashing can divert thousands of gallons of water over time. Here a something that you might find very interesting. During a rain storm that dumps one inch of rain if your have 1,000 square foot of roof, over 600 gallons of water will run off! Jacksonville Florida receives over 50 inches of rain per year so that is over 30,000 gallons of water coming off of your roof per year! Let’s have a look at the long-term impact of forgetting this key element: The first two photos show a chimney chase that had developed large hole following the pathway of travel starting where the kickout flashing is missing. Here is another … Continued

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