Our Company Blog

Common Chimney Draft Issues

Draft plays an important role in the operation of your fireplace and chimney system, and different factors can cause chimney draft issues. If your house smells smoky or if you have trouble with starting a fire, you are experiencing chimney draft problems. Since several things can cause these issues, it can be challenging to diagnose exactly what is wrong. Atlas Chimney is here to help solve your chimney draft issues. For over 25 years, we have been working on the chimneys of the residents of Central Texas, and we know how to diagnose and fix problems with drafts in chimneys. We would like to tell you a bit more about the symptoms of these issues, what causes them, and how we can correct the problems.

Difficulty Starting a Fire

If it takes you 30 minutes to an hour to get a good fire going in your fireplace, your flue could be too large for your heating appliance. You could also have leaks in the lower half of your chimney. According to Mother Earth News, the best solution for both of these problems is to reline the chimney. Atlas Chimney can install a new stainless steel liner that will provide a correctly-sized flue for your heating appliance. This will also help to seal off any leaks.

Smoke Fills the Room on Windy Days

In the best case scenario, wind helps the draft in your chimney to pull out exhaust gases from your home. However, the wind could be directed downward towards your chimney by part of your roof, another building, or a tree. Atlas Chimney can help with this issue by installing a chimney cap that has vents on its sides. These vents will direct the wind to improve your chimney draft and pull out the smoke and gases from combustion,

Unpleasant Odors in the Summer

The heat and humidity of the summer can worsen the odor of creosote, so if you have not had your chimney professionally swept since you last used your fireplace, you could have stinky creosote deposits inside your chimney. Chimney draft problems can force these odors back into your home. The most common reason for this smelly issue is that your house is preventing adequate airflow up the chimney because it is sealed too tightly for weatherization purposes. This problem can be solved by two simple solutions. You can crack open the window closest to your fireplace to give the chimney enough air to draft properly. You can also schedule your annual professional chimney sweeping in the spring or summer with Atlas Chimney, so our Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA)-certified chimney sweeps can remove all of the creosote from your chimney before it starts smelling so strongly.

Have you noticed any of these symptoms with your fireplace? Contact us at Atlas Chimney so our certified sweeps can diagnose and solve your chimney draft problems.

Why Does My Chimney Stink?

As we head into another hot and humid Austin summer, you may start to notice stinky smells coming into your home through the fireplace from the chimney. At Atlas Chimney, we get calls every summer from customers asking why their chimneys stink so badly, and we are here to help the Austin area with keeping their homes smelling fresh and sweet during the hottest months of the year. We have been dealing with stinky chimneys for over 25 years, and we know what the most common chimney odor sources are. Although the unpleasant chimney odors are entering your home because of draft issues (which we can take care of for you, too), the source of these smells can be several things inside your chimney. We would like to tell you a bit more about why your chimney stinks and how we can help solve this smelly problem.

Do you smell bad barbecue or asphalt?

If the odor smells like a grilling disaster or a road crew paving, the source of your chimney odor is soot and creosote. These byproducts of combustion can accumulate into large deposits over the winter when you use a wood-burning fireplace, stove, or insert. As the weather gets warmer, the scent of creosote and soot gets stronger. Not only is creosote stinky, the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) names it as the main cause of chimney fires. The best way to get creosote and soot out of your chimney is to have a professional chimney sweeping. Atlas Chimney agrees with the CSIA that every chimney needs to be swept and inspected annually. Scheduling an appointment with our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps in the spring or summer will not only reduce your risk of a chimney fire, but you will also be protected from smelling creosote and soot in your home.

Is the odor a rotting, decomposing smell?

When you do not have a chimney cap professionally installed on top of your chimney, you have an open hole that allows water, leaves, sticks, and other debris to fall easily down into your chimney. If you are noticing a musty, dirty, and decomposing smell, the odor source, is a mixture of standing water on the smoke shelf, which is mixed with leaves, dirt, and other debris. Unfortunately, birds, bats, squirrels, raccoons, and other wild animals can also easily get into uncapped chimneys, and these critters can become trapped and die inside the flue. If you have noticed chirping, scratching, and other animal sounds a the smell is a strong rotting and decomposing odor, the source is probably a dead bird or animal in your chimney. To keep everything out of your chimney and protect your home from invasions of water, birds, and other wild animals, Atlas Chimney offers our professional chimney cap and animal covers, sales and installation services. Even if you already have a chimney cap on your chimney, it could be damaged if it has been there for years, so our CSIA-certified chimney experts can check out its condition during the annual inspection and sweeping to see if it needs replacing to keep your chimney and home safe.

Summer is the best time to schedule your annual chimney sweeping and inspection with Atlas Chimney! Contact us today to easily arrange a visit from our CSIA-certified chimney sweeps on the date that is the most convenient for you with no waiting