Chimney Sweeps

[Dominic]

I was looking through the manual of our wood stove last night (the fun never stops in our household) and they seemed to recommend having your chimney swept annually.

Outside of the bridal industry, I don't think I've ever seen a chimney sweep operating in Paphos, so surely the good people of Paphos poo poo the idea of an annual sweep.

Or am I wrong? Is the annual Dick Van Dyke attack an essential yet discrete service? If so, who do you use?

At the very least, they can be added to our directory.

[JimX]

There is most certainly a sweep in Pafos Dom, I am not a wood burner myself but I know a chap who used to do it, and also attended weddings as a sweep for good luck..I will try later to find his contacts for you off CL..

[memory man]

Last year, we had our chimney swept by Dave the chimney sweep.

I can't find the details, but I will look for them.

[JimX]

That's the man MM, Dave Fearman, I have also lost his contacts..

[cyprusmax47]

In the past I had a wood fire connected to central heating radiators and used it a lot every winter. Depending which fire wood I used, the chimney needed brushing before the new season started. So I went up the roof and did the chimney sweeping myself with a special brush for chimney cleaning which I found in a hardware shop. It is actually a 5 min. job on the roof and the cleaning time indoors extra, which can be quite messy if you have a open fire place..

Max

[JimX]

Well done Lloyd I could not find Dave's number, he also fixes fly screens..

[emgee]

Dave has returned to the UK.

Alan

[Dominic]

Thanks Alan. I won't bother adding him then.

Actually, come to think of it, a month ago, a sparrow fought it's way through the mesh at the top of our chimney, and landed in our fire. It obviously wasn't on at the time. I originally thought there was something wrong with our plumbing as I could hear odd banging sounds. On opening the fire door, the bird flew out and did a flew laps of the room before settling on a high perch. It didn't understand my attempts at shooing it out of the house, so I trapped it with a towel. I shook the towel outside and the bird flew off.

The key thing is this; neither the towel nor any of the walls had any soot on them. So I think it is safe to say our chimney doesn't need cleaning.

Given that our fire is a closed system, I think Max's solution might work well in future, unless a handy bird decides to take one for the team again.

[Uncle D]

Providing you only ever burn seasoned hardwoods, your chimney should rarely need sweeping.

We only burn seasoned hardwoods and softwood kindling. A year or so ago, we decided to have our chimney swept after around 6 years use. What came down the chimney was just a few cupfuls of soot. On that basis we won't be doing ours again for another 6 years.

I believe we also used Dave and he did a clean and excellent job with no mess. Dave's number is 99819137, but he does have a Facebook page.

Yes, if pallet or any other newish pine type wood is used the resin sticks to the inside of the chin chimery.

[cyprusmax47]

If one bird manages to pass through the mesh wire it will happen again... Either your mesh is too big in size or it moved from the wind and needs adjusting again. So it will be a good exercise for you to check..

Max

[cyprusmax47]

Providing you only ever burn seasoned hardwoods, your chimney should rarely need sweeping.

We only burn seasoned hardwoods and softwood kindling. A year or so ago, we decided to have our chimney swept after around 6 years use. What came down the chimney was just a few cupfuls of soot. On that basis we won't be doing ours again for another 6 years.

Lloyd, if you only use up the little bit of fire wood you showed us in a different thread you have of course no need to sweep your chimney. What I explained in my case that it was necessary to sweep was that I used up ca 10 single cabin tracks of fire wood per season. Even this was not enough to keep the house warm enough as it had 350 m2 size and very high ceilings. With a license from the Forestry I was allowed to collect fire wood and cut certain trees down in the forest which I stored than in my garden for a minimum of 3 years before I used it. The only wood creating problems was the so called "Pevkos" which was very hard but full of resin. If by accident you put a larger piece of this wood in your fire place and closed the door the fire behaved like you poured diesel on it and the window became black full of soot. On the other hand this wood was ideal to make kindling to start the fire.

Max

[PW in Polemi]

I was looking through the manual of our wood stove last night

I'm going to be very naughty now ...
A man, reading an instruction book???????
Next you'll be trying to get us to believe that you also ask for directions when lost!

[Maggie B]

I was looking through the manual of our wood stove last night

I'm going to be very naughty now ...
A man, reading an instruction book???????
Next you'll be trying to get us to believe that you also ask for directions when lost!

Triple Like Kay . . . . . . .

PS, having said that - I have one Son who reads manuals from cover to cover and another who immediately throws them aside.

[Alfie]

I never understood why they were supposed to be lucky.

[Sadie]

The guys at Thermodynamics will service your log burner including sweeping the chimney

[DavidatLWH]

The guys at Thermodynamics will service your log burner including sweeping the chimney

Thermodynamics recently serviced our stove and swept the chimney (they supplied the stove many, many years ago). They recommend that, with "normal" usage, the chimney doesn't need to be swept for at least two years, or even three. By normal usage they mean of course mainly using non-resin containing wood over a whole winter.

[PaphosAL]

But now I'm intrigued. Why is it considered lucky for a chimney sweep to appear at a wedding?

AL

[Dominic]

From the web:
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Good Luck is sure to rub off when the groom shakes hands with a Lucky Chimney Sweep who will have a "Lucky Kiss" for the new bride. With the power vested in him by King George II, following a tradition that started about 200 years ago when a London chimney sweeper saved the life of King George II. The sweep had been the only person brave enough to stop the King's out of control horses and carriage.

By Royal Decree the King proclaimed that all sweeps are good luck bearers and should be treated with respect. The folklore was established and to this day chimney sweepers are invited to attend weddings and kiss the bride for good luck.

Since pagan times, the images of fire and the hearth have been associated with luck - when a new bride inherited the fire irons, she symbolically inherited a home and a new family. It's because of his blackened face and his relationship with hearths and fires that the chimney sweep carries the luck with him where ever he goes, and when you meet him, his luck rubs off onto you.

Coal, again connected with fire and hearths, is also believed to be lucky; when given by a sweep the luck is multiplied. Soldiers have carried small lumps of coal into battle to ensure survival, and sailors kept coal in their pockets while at sea.

____________________________

There's an earlier version involving William The Conqueror as well, but you get the gist.