Our Company Blog

A Brief History of Chimney Sweeping

The craft of sweeping chimneys changed immensely since its early origins during the Ancient Roman era. It is surprising to learn how brutal the job was before modern technology and regulations. Before laws and regulations were introduced in the United Kingdom (UK) during the Industrial Revolution (1760-1830), the majority of chimney sweeps across the globe were young children. These kids, called “chimney climbing boys,” began training as young as age six to work in hazardous conditions. Fortunately, those days are well in the past. Education and technology helped improve conditions and safety. At Atlas Chimney, our chimney sweeps have been trained and certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) and use specialized tools to ensure safety. Since the history of chimney sweeping in the UK is similar to that of the USA, we want to tell you about some of the most important years in this history.

1788

During this year, the British Parliament began discussing how to regulate chimney sweeping. According to a professional chimney service in London and South Essex, Clean Sweep, an age limit of eight for chimney sweeps became law. However, this went mostly ignored. After the turn of the century, George Smart invented the first mechanical sweeper. Groups promoted this new method of chimney sweeping and lobbied to Parliament for stricter laws.

1834

Around a decade earlier, Joseph Glass improved on George Smart’s invention, creating the modern chimney sweeping brush. More and more people used this new tool, lessening the need for small children who could fit into chimneys. Parliament passed a law in this year saying children must agree in front of a magistrate to be a chimney sweeper.

1840

An act of Parliament protected those under 21 years old from chimney sweeping. However, this was not taken seriously because it was not law. Lobbyists continued to press Parliament into declaring this act into law, and over the next 35 years, controls over chimney sweeping were tightened significantly. In 1875, the Chimney Sweepers Act became law in order to stop child labor.

Atlas Chimney is thankful for the many improvements to the technology and other working conditions in the chimney industry. If you live in the Austin area, contact us for your professional chimney maintenance, repair, and installation needs.

How To Prepare For a Chimney Sweeping Appointment?

When we were younger, didn’t we all wish we could live in a giant castle with big windows and huge chimneys? Well, the castle part might have not come true, but for those of us who live in a house with chimneys, the story still holds a little something to talk about. However, we all dread the periodic chimney sweeping appointment. People often picture a chimney sweeping appointment like a war being raged on. This is not necessarily the case, especially if you happen to live in the Texas Hill Country. Our technicians are a mere call away.

Pride of the house

A beautiful and sparkingly clean chimney might be the starting point of a conversation, but maintaining it yourself is simply not feasible. Let us consider the facts here:

• Cleaning a chimney without first covering everything means simply creating more work than you have solved; everyone who has tried poking his head into the duct can attest to this
• Normal vacuum cleaners simply DO NOT work
• Creosote build-up can get really stubborn to just brush off

It can turn dangerous if ignored

You might not be aware of this, but after a while, creosote build-up starts accumulating inflammable chemicals on the flue wall. Better be safe than sorry. This is to mention nothing of the fact that the mortar and cement in the chimney ducts can start weakening due to the fact that they start retaining vapours after a while, being made of porous material to facilitate the passage of smoke. In fact, according to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), every house owner should without fail have their chimney checked at least once annually to ensure that it is in the optimum condition. We can provide the best service and guarantee complete satisfaction.

Getting to the top of the problem

Unless you hire professional help, getting to the root (or we should say the top in this case) of the problem might be difficult. Diagnosing a chimney problem can seem deceptively simple, but you might be starting at the wrong side altogether. And while the mark of a true professional is minimum participation from your end, a few simple steps can help streamline the process a lot.

• Clear the area to ensure that the mantel and the surrounding areas are empty to help the technicians complete the work faster.
• Make sure to have a proper area of safety ready; let the young ones know that the area is off limits until the work is finished and make sure that the pets do not inadvertently stray in.
• A service is never really complete until you get all your questions answered. Always do your research beforehand. We know that a 100% satisfied customer is the best selling point of our firm.

Do not put it off

A mess free chimney cleaning might be a dream to most of us, but there are firms which guarantee exactly that. What would you prefer: Warmth and relaxation or worry about when acrid smoke might come bellowing in due to an unnoticed flue blockage? Call in the professionals right now and get a sweeping appointment because at the end, the headache is not worth it.