Fireplace Cleaning in Thousand Oaks

Wood ash is alkaline. Dry, it is just a grey dust. Wet, it becomes a paste that attacks mortar joints and rusts steel grates, damper plates and the floors of factory-built fireboxes. Many fireplaces in Thousand Oaks get used a few times a year, and the ash from the last fire of the season often sits there through the rainy months. If any water reaches the firebox, from an uncapped flue or a leak higher up, that ash turns into a slow corrosive. Soot and creosote on the smoke shelf behave similarly. When they get wet they hold moisture against the brick and give off the sour, musty smell people notice on humid days and blame on the fireplace in general. A cleaning clears all of that out before it can keep working on the masonry.

A fireplace cleaning with us covers the firebox walls and floor, the grate and andirons, the smoke shelf behind the damper and the damper itself. We protect the hearth and the room with drop cloths and run a HEPA vacuum so fine ash stays out of the house. While the firebox is clean we check the mortar joints, the damper's fit and any staining on the walls, and we tell you if anything looks like water has been reaching it. A fireplace cleaning is not a full flue sweep. If the flue itself needs cleaning, see chimney sweep, which starts from $210 and includes a look at the liner.

A few habits keep a fireplace in good shape through the wet months. Clean out the ash after the last fire of the season rather than leaving it until fall. Close the damper when the fireplace is not in use, if it seals well, and know that a throat damper rarely keeps out water on its own. If you see rust on the damper or grate, or the firebox floor is damp after a storm, that is worth a look before you light the next fire. Storing firewood inside the firebox through the winter is another habit to drop, since damp wood adds moisture and attracts insects.

When the source of the damp is the chimney itself, cleaning only treats the symptom. The usual culprits are an open flue with no cap, a crown that lets water into the masonry, or flashing that leaks at the roof. If our cleaning turns up signs of water, we will say which of those looks most likely and suggest the next step, whether that is a chimney cap installation from $155 to $635 or an inspection of the crown and flashing. Repairs are always quoted in writing first. If your fireplace burns gas rather than wood, our gas fireplace cleaning page covers that visit.