If you hear animals in your chimney or if you smell something coming from your chimney that you suspect is from animals (dead or alive), call your chimney professional. Don’t try to remove animals from the chimney yourself. Squirrels, raccoons, and birds often nest in chimneys or accidentally fall into the flue. Since these animals carry a host of diseases ranging from histoplasmosis (a respiratory disease) to rabies, it is critically important that you avoid contact with them.
Once your chimney professional has removed them, have a chimney cap with a screen mesh base installed on all the chimney to prevent future animal infestation.
~ Todd Woofenden
Before you think about removing an animal in the chimney yourself, consider the additional benefits of having a professional handle this task for you. The following excerpt is from the article Why, When and How to Hire a Chimney Sweep.
Chimney Sweep: possible chimney problems
Even if your chimney looks solid on the outside, it could be hiding any number of problems on the inside.
Cracked, broken or missing flue tiles, broken or missing bricks, and deteriorating mortar should be replaced. A harmless looking hairline crack in a section of tile flue liner may open up when exposed to high temperatures. Escaping heat or flame could set your house on fire!
Flakes and chunks from deteriorating masonry or rusting metal inside or on top of the chimney may accumulate in a bend or elbow in the flue passageway and block the exhaust of smoke and dangerous gases.
Birds can block the flue with their nests. Animals such as raccoons, squirrels or snakes may be taking shelter in your chimney. Your chimney may need a cap to keep out birds, animals, leaves, rain and snow.
Often a chimney flue is not the appropriate size for the best performance of the fireplace, stove or furnace it is venting. Many chimneys do not have an adequate liner.
A stove or fireplace insert may have been incorrectly installed. Sweeps frequently find that a stove’s clearances to combustible materials are less than the installation instructions or codes specify. Excess heat radiating onto combustible walls or floors from a heating appliance may cause a process known as pyrolysis, which decreases the ignition temperature of those materials.
You know that burning wood, oil or coal leads to a build-up of soot in the flue. When was the last time you had your chimney swept?
~ Asking for Chimney Information ~
After reading an article, you can ask a question about that article. Replies will come from Chimney Professionals, and sometimes from homeowners, who are giving their answer based on the information you provide. Remember that they are providing answers SIGHT and SITE unseen!
CHIMNEYS.COM recommends that you use these comments to better inform yourself to discuss your chimney and venting issues with a professional whom you call to your home to evaluate the issue.
