Does having my chimney swept improve the air quality inside my house?
Around Black Mountain, sweeping improves indoor air the same indirect way it does everywhere, but two local factors raise the stakes. Montreat's heavily wooded lots drop leaves and needles onto chimney caps, and the Swannanoa Valley's cold-air inversions keep mornings damp. Both foul a flue and weaken draft, letting smoke spill inside. Clearing it fixes the draft, not your general dust.
Trees and inversions
The shaded, wooded lots up in Montreat and along the Swannanoa Valley keep Black Mountain homes cool and damp, and they bury chimney caps in leaf litter each fall. Debris on the cap or in the flue narrows the passage, and the valley's morning temperature inversions, which run 10 to 15 degrees colder than Asheville, add moisture that clings to creosote on the flue walls. A partly blocked, damp flue drafts poorly, so woodsmoke that should rise instead settles back into the room. Sweeping clears the litter and creosote both.
The gas side of town
Downtown Black Mountain and much of the surrounding area sit on natural-gas mains, so plenty of homes here run sealed gas fireplaces rather than open wood ones. Those don't make creosote and don't backdraft combustion into the room the way an open masonry flue can; their annual need is a clear vent, checked for nests and debris. As a licensed gas contractor, we can handle either the wood sweep or the gas-vent check, and correct anything the inspection turns up.
When and what to expect
Late-spring frost lingers here, so the burning season is long. Book a sweep in late summer or early fall. And be realistic: it clears fireplace smoke and the musty creosote odor, but it won't scrub pollen, dander, or ordinary dust from the house. We're 15 minutes east of Emma Road. Call (828) 545-0525.
Fireplace help in Black Mountain
We install and service fireplaces throughout Black Mountain and the rest of Buncombe County — just 15 minutes east from our Asheville-area showroom.
Related questions
- Is creosote toxic to breathe or touch?
- Do wood-burning fireplaces pollute the air inside your house?
- Why do I smell smoke in my house when the fireplace isn't even burning?
- Why does my fireplace smell in the summer or when it rains?
- Can an unused fireplace or chimney cause moisture and mold problems in the house?