Expert: James Ball - 9/28/2009

Question
We have an insert blower in our chimney.  When I called out the chimney sweeps, they showed up and said since I had an insert, they wouldn't touch it and charged me the fee any way for their time.  How do you clean a chimney where the only access to remove debris is in the burning part of the fireplace?  We can't pull the unit out, it is surrounded with stone work.

Answer
Hello Kay, hard to say what you have, but it sounds like some one cemented an insert into a fireplace and if that unit was not lined I would not clean it either.
I would have a local Certified Chimney Sweep (www.csia.org, there you can look up by zip code to find one near you) take a first hand look at what you have they should be able to help. Ask them how to make this unit safe and cleanable for future use. you may have to remove it and do the job correctly.
Hope this helps
James