Keeping Snow Out of Your Chimney
With the weather turning cooler and fall waning, it’s a harbinger of snowfall to come. You probably know how to winterize your home for the approaching cold weather, but do you know that keeping snowfall out of your chimney is crucial? Here are some reasons why.
What Happens if Snow Gets in My Chimney?
There are several consequences from snow making it into your chimney. First, it can damage the components inside your chimney by causing them to rust. Your damper and firebox are the most likely victims of melting snow. If your damper rusts, you won’t be able to open or shut it. If your firebox rusts, it could develop holes and become a fire hazard.
How Do You Protect Your Chimney from Snow?
The best way to protect the inside of your chimney from the effects of snow and ice is to hire a professional chimney sweep service to install a chimney cap. Ideally, a chimney cap should be installed before winter, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be installed during the winter. The sooner you install a chimney cap, the less likely snow will cause damage to the inside of your chimney.
How Does a Chimney Cap Work?
A chimney cap is mounted to the top of your chimney and looks like a cap where it gets its name. It has a cage to keep sparks from escaping your flue, but that same cage can help keep snow out. A chimney cap also deflects snow, keeping it from entering your flue. If packed snow blocks your chimney’s flue, the results could be catastrophic. Deadly gases like carbon monoxide and smoke can’t exit the chimney when there is packed snow, forcing it back down into your home. A chimney cap prevents snow from becoming packed. So, a chimney cap acts as an umbrella and deflects snow away from the inside of your chimney.
A chimney cap can also serve other functions. It can keep debris such as leaves, pine needles, and trash from collecting in your chimney’s flue. It also keeps animals looking for warmth in the winter from making your chimney their home. Like packed snow, things like bird’s nests, raccoon nests, and other wildlife can create blockages. It also keeps hot embers from escaping your chimney and setting your roof, or someone else’s, on fire.
A chimney cap can also prevent other elements, such as rain and hail, from saturating and rusting your firebox. When it comes to weather, a chimney cap is like a sentry that won’t let the enemy in. Winter drafts are unwelcome in any part of your house, but a chimney cap guards against drafts. Your fire won’t struggle to stay lit because of icy winds whistling down your chimney. A chimney cap lets your fire crackle and your home remain cozy in the long winter months.
Mercer County Chimney Knows How to Keep Snow Out of Your Chimney
If you live in the extended Mercer County area, Hamilton, Lawrenceville, Chesterfield, or Allentown areas, we can install a cap on your chimney to keep snow out of your chimney and moaning winter winds out of your fireplace. Contact us today; we can install a chimney cap on your fireplace to keep snow out and warmth in. Don’t wait until the heart of winter to have a chimney cap installed; reach out to us right away.
