How often should I sweep my chimney?

To help prevent a chimney fire occurring in your property, you should ensure your chimney is swept as often as recommended by the Solid Fuel Association. Your sweep will always advise you on the recommended frequency according to how often you use your appliance.

• Smokeless fuel - Once per year.
• Coal - Twice per year.
• Wood buring - Quarterly when in use.
• Gas - Once per year if designed for chimney sweeping.
• Oil fired - Once per year.

Does my stove need a service? 

All heat producing appliances should be serviced minimally once a year. Here at wightsweep this is included in the sweep and mostly requires no additional cost. Your stove will be checked for safety and any problems or parts required reported back to owner prior to additional works being undertaken if required.

Do I need to have a 'lined' chimney swept?

Yes, contrary to belief, once you have had a liner installed on your appliance it is very important to sweep the chimney on a regular basis. Yearly minimal intervals are recommended. Ask your chimney sweep for advice, sweeping intervals can vary dramatically depending on the type of flue / type of appliance

Do I need to have my gas fire or gas heating appliance chimney swept?

Yes, all heat producing appliances should have the chimney swept on an annual basis. Have your Gas appliance serviced by a Gas Safe engineer who will advise on whether you require a sweep.
See information below.
The great gas switch-over: Gas Safe Register replaces CORGI 30th March 2009
Gas Safe Register’s top tips to keep you and your family gas safe:

• Always use a Gas Safe registered engineer for any gas work in your home – and check their ID card.
• Make sure your gas appliances are safety checked and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, or at least once a year.
• If you live in rented accommodation, your landlord must arrange for a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a safety check every year on all gas appliances. You should be given a copy of the safety certificate before you move in or within 28 days of the safety check. If you don’t have this certificate, ask your landlord.
• Install an audible carbon monoxide alarm, which will alert you if dangerous levels are present in your home.
• If you smell gas or think there might be a gas leak: turn off the gas at the meter, extinguish naked flames, open windows and leave the area. Seek medical advice if you feel unwell. Call the Gas Emergency Freephone number 0800 111 999.

Find and check a Gas Safe registered engineer by visiting www.gassaferegister.co.uk or by calling 0800 408 5500.

I’ve just lit my fire and it is smoking – does it need to be cleaned?

If it has been used but not been swept within the past 12 months, for safety it should be swept as soon as possible. If it has not been used since it was last swept, and the problem of birds nesting can be ruled out (if there is a cage or cowl on the chimney), it could be due to the cold or weather conditions. Please call us and we may be able to give advice on the appropriate action to be taken.

If you think there is a blockage in your chimney, please advise us, or call to discuss the problem. We can remove most blockages and can establish what has happened and advise on how to prevent it happening again.

Since there may be eggs or even hatched baby birds in a nest (which are protected) we will not remove nests during the breeding season (April - July) to ensure that the young have left the nest. For more information and advice, see this link from the RSPB.

How long does it take?

It usually takes approximately half an hour to sweep each chimney. Occasionally this may take a little longer.

Blockages (e.g. a bird’s nest) take more time to clear because of the amount of debris that has to be removed. Where we know, or our customer suspects, there is a blockage we try to schedule this at the end of our working day to ensure there is time to do the work in full and any potential delay does not inconvenience other customers.

What happens if I cant keep an appointment?

If you need to change or cancel an appointment wed really appreciate as much notice as possible so we can reallocate your appointment to someone else.  Just call its not a problem 😉    Call Now

Do I need to cover furniture?

No. As a rule there is no need to cover furniture. Our service is as clean as we can make it . Our modern Dust control Technology keeps soot contained. We tend to leave your property as clean when we leave as it was when we arrived. However if you know you have a nest in your chimney it may be advisable to cover a few things but don’t worry we will take care of this if not. Rest assured we are pretty good

What happens if you make a mess?

Unlikely - We have been trading a long time and swept thousands of chimneys . We pride ourselves in being one of if not the cleanest sweep on the island and so far had no complaints. The nature of sweeping a chimney involves soot and we use the latest in Dust control technology to keep soot contained.
In the very unlikely event a mess is made, Wight Sweep are fully insured with Public Liability insurance £2,000,000 so rest assured you are fully covered.

Am I likely to get any mess after you've swept?

We will always sweep your chimney to the best of our ability and report anything that we found to be out of the ordinary or of concern. Although we make every effort to remove as much soot and debris from the chimney as possible in exceptional circumstances (such as when the soot contains moisture or cold air is trapped in the chimney) small amounts of soot can sometimes fall after we leave. If you’re concerned about this do give us a call.