Winter in the Midlands has a funny way of showing up all at once. Columbia will be wearing shorts in November, and then one weekend in December the temperature drops into the thirties and everybody decides to light a fire the same night.
That is the week the phones ring the most at Chimspector Venting Specialists. And unfortunately, a lot of those calls come from folks with smoke in their living room, a smell they cannot place, or a fireplace that has not been looked at since they bought the house.
Drew Stein, owner of Chimspector, has spent more than 25 years inside, on top of, and underneath chimneys all over South Carolina. And if there is one thing he wishes every homeowner knew, it is this: the best time to take care of a fireplace is before it is needed.
A chimney seems simple from the outside. Brick, mortar, a hole for the smoke. But South Carolina weather is harder on chimneys than most people realize. Summer storms drive water into aging mortar joints. Birds and squirrels move into uncapped chimneys while nobody is paying attention. By the time October rolls around, a fireplace may look exactly like it did in March and be in a completely different condition.
With the season approaching, here are five things every fireplace owner in the Midlands should do:
1. Get an annual inspection. This is the most important one on the list, and it is not close. A proper inspection catches small problems like a failing cap, a cracked flue liner, or creosote buildup before they become dangerous or expensive. Most of the problems found during an inspection are simple fixes when caught early. Ignored for a few seasons, they turn into the phone calls nobody wants to make.
2. Burn seasoned wood only. Firewood should be split, stacked, and dried for at least six months to a year before burning. Green or wet wood smolders, produces more smoke, and builds creosote in the flue faster than anything else. If the wood hisses when it burns, it is not ready.
3. Open the damper all the way before lighting. A partially open damper is one of the most common reasons smoke ends up in the living room. Open it fully, and if the fireplace has been sitting unused, take a look up the flue with a flashlight before that first fire to make sure nothing has moved in over the summer.
4. Keep the area around the firebox clear. Rugs, stockings, furniture, and decorations should stay at least three feet from an open flame. It sounds obvious, but every year it is the cause of house fires that never should have happened.
5. Check the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Fresh batteries, every fall, no exceptions. A working detector is the last line of defense if something does go wrong.
One more thing worth knowing this season. Be careful who works on your chimney. There are companies advertising in the Midlands with no local office and no certifications, running prices that sound too good to be true and finding thousands of dollars of urgent repairs once they are in the door. Before anyone touches your fireplace, ask if their technicians are certified, whether they have a real office, and whether they put findings in writing with photos. A legitimate company will welcome those questions.
The team at Chimspector holds NCSG, CSIA, and FIRE certifications. Beat the rush, get on the calendar now, and when that first cold December night shows up, the only thing left to do is light the fire.
Chimspector Venting Specialists serves the Midlands and beyond. Call 803-602-5929 or visit chimspector.com.
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