Oil furnaces work hard all winter long, running cycles to keep your home warm and comfortable. As the oil burns to heat your home, it creates soot and other byproducts that build up within your chimney. Your oil flue needs to be cleaned and inspected at least once per year.
The Importance of Oil Flue Cleaning and Inspection
As your oil furnace burns, it pumps combustion byproducts into the furnace flue. This includes soot, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water vapor. When an oil flue isn’t cleaned regularly, the soot can fall down to the bottom of a masonry chimney or back onto the heating unit. The buildup of soot can prevent the other combustion byproducts from safely leaving your home. That leaves you and your family in danger of carbon monoxide poisoning.
On top of the health danger, a dirty oil flue can compromise the efficiency of your heating system. A dirty flue system does not allow your heating unit to work efficiently. That can lead to higher home heating bills and the premature breakdown of your oil furnace.
Additionally, oil furnace flues can break down quickly, as the soot mixes with moisture to create a corrosive concoction. It is important not only to have the flue system swept, but to also have it inspected at least once per year due to rapid breakdown. Your flue inspection will evaluate the health of your oil flue to make sure that the system is safely removing the byproducts of your oil furnace.
The Oil Flue Sweeping Process
You might see your oil technician remove debris from the base of the chimney and dust furnace pipes, but that is not the adequate sweeping process recommended by the National Fire Protection Association. That’s why it is crucial that you schedule a cleaning and inspection with a CSIA-certified chimney sweep.
During your oil flue cleaning and inspection, a sweep trained in oil flue cleaning and inspection will seal any areas that may allow soot from the flue to enter your home. The sweep will then remove and clean the pipe that connects the oil furnace to the chimney flue. The technician will replace the pipe then conduct a thorough visual inspection of the chimney system. The technician will sweep the entire chimney flue if needed. Any loosened soot deposits will be removed, and the entire chimney system will be inspected to make sure that it is safe for use. Once the sweeping and inspection are completed, your technician will restart your oil furnace.
Call Total Chimney Care to Schedule an Appointment Today!
If you are overdue for an oil flue cleaning and inspection, call Total Chimney Care to schedule an appointment today! Our CSIA-certified technicians can check the system to ensure that it is in good repair.