Goshen · Utah County
Sweeping Wood-Heat Chimneys in Goshen
Out at the south end of Utah Valley a fireplace is often the thing heating the house, not the thing you light at Christmas. That changes how quickly the flue loads up, and it changes what we go looking for.
What gets burned out here matters more than how often
On acreage, people burn what the property gives them. Cottonwood off the ditch bank, box elder, elm from an old windbreak, orchard prunings, offcuts from a shop project. None of that is bad wood exactly, but all of it comes in wet and most of it never gets the two summers under cover that it needs.
The mechanism is simple. Water in the log has to be boiled off before the wood can burn, and that steals heat from the fire. Flue-gas temperature drops, the unburnt tars and vapors going up the liner cool below the point where they stay a gas, and they condense on the walls as creosote. Burn seasoned wood in the same stove and much of that same material leaves as smoke instead of sticking. It is the same appliance, the same operator, and a completely different deposit.
Overnight burns are the other half of the problem
A stove that is genuinely heating a house gets damped down at bedtime so there is still a coal bed at six in the morning. That is the correct way to run it and we are not going to tell anyone to stop. But a choked-down fire is a cool, smoldering fire, and a whole winter of them lays down a thick, sticky layer that can glaze if it gets baked by one hot fire on top.
How we handle a call this far south
Goshen is a drive, so we plan on doing everything in one visit. If there is a stove in the shop or a second flue on the far end of the house, tell us when you book and we will bring rods and brushes for both rather than making you wait on a second trip.
We seal the appliance opening, vacuum through the whole job, sweep the liner, pull and clean the baffle and the stovepipe on a wood stove, and clear the cap screen. You get photographs at the end. If what we find is glazed rather than flaky, a brush will not touch it and we will say so instead of charging you for a sweep that did not solve anything.
Questions
Chimney Sweep in Goshen — common questions
We heat with wood all winter. Is once a year enough?
Often it is not. A stove used as primary heat can need a mid-season check, particularly if the wood was cut this year. We would rather look in December and find it clean than not look at all.
Do you come out as far as Goshen for a single chimney?
Yes. We schedule the south end of the valley in blocks so the trip makes sense, which sometimes means a specific day rather than any day you like. Booking earlier in the season gives you more choice of dates.
Can you sweep the wood stove in my shop at the same time?
Usually, and it is worth doing. Shop stoves get fed scrap and construction offcuts and often have a short, single-wall pipe run, so they build deposits quickly. Mention it when you book so we bring the right brush size.
Is cottonwood safe to burn at all?
It burns, it just has to be dry and you have to accept it gives less heat per armload than harder wood. Split it, stack it off the ground with the top covered and the sides open, and give it a full year before it goes in the stove.
Also in Goshen
Our other services here
Inspection Chimney Repair Fireplace Repair Installation Gas Fireplace Caps & Dampers Dryer Vents All Goshen services
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