The chimney damper seems a basic device that most homeowners with a fireplace understand. Before you light a fire, you turn a knob or push a lever that opens the damper, a metal flap just above the firebox. That allows smoke to exit through the chimney as your fire burns. The damper is closed when the fireplace isn’t in use to keep drafts from entering your home through the chimney. What many people might not realize is that there is another option in chimney dampers: the top-sealing damper.
What is a top-sealing damper?
As the name suggests, the top-sealing damper sits at the very top of your chimney, rather than within the chimney flue. The top-sealing damper is fitted to your chimney. When the damper is closed, via a lever inside the home, the damper seals completely, preventing drafts, water, debris or animals from entering the chimney flue. Many top-sealing dampers include a wire cage around the outside to keep animals and debris out and embers in when the fireplace is in use.
Why install a top-sealing damper?
Over time, the metal damper within your chimney’s throat warps and fails to seal entirely when closed, allowing drafts to find their way back into your home through the chimney. If your damper is failing, a top-sealing damper can serve as an ideal replacement, performing the function of a damper better than your chimney’s original throat damper. Some advantages of installing a new top-sealing damper include:
- Decreased energy bills. Air can flow freely through your failing throat damper. Drafts can make their way down the flue, or warm air can be pulled from your home’s living space and lost up the chimney. A top-sealing damper can stop this air exchange entirely when the damper is closed.
- Protect your chimney from water damage. Nothing can damage your chimney more extensively than water. And nothing can keep water out of your chimney like a top-sealing damper. Top-sealing dampers include a rubber seal that closes your flue off entirely when the damper is closed.
- Keep animals and debris out. Because top-sealing dampers entirely close off the chimney, they prevent animals, insects and debris from entering your chimney.
- Enjoy a lasting damper option. Unlike throat dampers that wear out and warp over time, the quality top-sealing dampers we sell and install are made from durable metals with strong rubber gaskets that are made to withstand the elements and keep your chimney safe and sealed for years to come.
How can you learn more about top-sealing dampers?
Call Total Chimney Care today! We sell and install top-sealing damper that will block cold drafts from entering your home and prevent warm air from existing your home through your chimney this winter.