Chimney sweep and cleaning in Dearborn Heights

How fireplaces get used here

In a Dearborn Heights ranch, the fireplace is usually in the living room, on a wall with the furnace flue running up beside it in the same chimney. Some people burn wood every weekend in winter. Some switched to gas logs years ago. Plenty haven't lit theirs since they bought the house. Wood fires leave soot and creosote on the flue walls, and a fireplace that sat unused can have a nest, leaves or fallen mortar sitting on the smoke shelf.

Trees along the river

The Middle Rouge winds through the north end, past Warren Valley Golf Course west of Beech Daly and on into Hines Park. Streets near the river have tall trees, and the trees bring leaves, seed pods and animals to the chimney top every year. An uncapped flue lets all of it in. If yours has no cap, we can price a stainless one with a mesh screen, like the one in the photo.

Chimney swifts nest in chimneys between May and August. They're federally protected, so if they've moved into your flue, the sweep waits until fall. Our chimney swifts guide explains what to listen for.

Book before the first cold weekend

The best time to sweep is late summer or early fall, after the swifts have gone and before you want a fire. If you only use gas logs, the flue still needs checking now and then, since a nest or fallen tile can block it the same way. If you aren't sure whether your fireplace needs it this year, our guide on how often to clean a chimney goes through it.

What the $349 visit includes

We cover the floor around the fireplace, sweep the flue, and inspect the chimney inside and out on the same visit. Then we clean up and walk you through what we found. The price covers one flue. A camera through the flue is $75 more, and it's worth adding if the chimney is old or you've never seen the inside of it. If we find a cracked crown or tar on the brick, we'll show you the photos, and you can look over our notes on chimney repair in Dearborn Heights.