This past weekend, we got down and dirty, and swept and cleaned our chimney. Not the most glamorous project, but certainly necessary.
It is good practice, and a good safety rule to get your chimney swept at the beginning of every cold-weather season. And, since we had so many fires last year, this project was a must.
But when I say “we”, I really mean Sean. He did all the chimney sweeping. Let me tell you how we got there.
When we started, I was all in. I helped tape the plastic over the fireplace area. I gave my two cents on which chimney brush we should buy. I was game for anything.
Until we went up on the roof.
I am petrified of heights. In all honesty, I’m lucky if I can get myself into a pair of heels, so when I climbed that ladder, I was almost paralyzed. So Sean took all the pictures from the top of the chimney, and swept that area. And I sat on the roof, and clutched it for dear life.
Coming down was comical to anyone other than me, and then the hard work began.
While I reclaimed my stamina and started singing Mary Poppins, Sean tore a hole in the plastic and started sweeping. And since our house is almost 200 years old, the flue was not removable.
He used a narrow brush, and brushed the chimney thoroughly. He taped extension rods to the brush to get even higher up the chimney.
By keeping the plastic taped around the fireplace, it kept the chimney dust inside the fireplace. And believe me, there was a lot!
After Sean was finished sweeping, he cleaned up the mess. And the fireplace was in full force last night.
So happy that this necessary project is completed. And I know you should never say never, but I hope I never go up on the roof again.