The concept of chimney surveys is profoundly gaining importance day by day. Whenever we find any notion of chimney wreck or blockage, we hurry to a professional sweep to take care of the whole hearth and the adjoining chimney who inspects and fix the errors.
A chimney sweep is one who sees whether there is an tearing and wearing in your chimney. He/she removes the soot and ash from the chimney line. Usually, the chimney utilizes the pressure difference occurred due by hot gas to generate a gust and draw the air over the hot wood or coal that validates the continued ignition.
As per surveys, chimneys can be straight or have direction changes. During the normal operation, the creosote layer piles up in the chimney inner that restricts the flow. It can catch fire burning the whole building and its surroundings. The chimney is needed to be swept for erasing the soot and the task must be done by a master sweep.
If we take the example of Great Britain, the master sweep take apprentices who are basically orphan boys or workhouse people. They train the boys to climb the chimneys. In France, Italy, and Belgium, climbing boys are required.
If we take the example of German States, the mater sweeps belong to the grade guilds and they don’t use climbing boys. Then, the age of industrialization arrived with the increase in population and buildings with chimneys. The chimney sweep’s profession becomes very popular. Chimney sweeping was extremely dangerous, low paying and critical occupation of that era.
In 1803, George Smart invented the first mechanical sweeper. It was then defied in the US and the UK. In 1828, Joseph Glass merchandized an upgraded sweeping machine. The person is given credit for inventing modern chimney cleaning brush. In 1875, when the regulation came into being, the chimney sweep’s occupation becomes well favored.
Coming to the health and safety concerned survey related to the chimney sweeping job, we can get that the children who were working as climbing boys were subjected to severe health issues. Incidents of child death due to the entering in the pipeline and got stuck in there shook the whole world. Plus, the poisonous gas, soot and creosote cause extreme harm to the health of the chimney sweeps. Accidental death often occurred inside the chimney pipe due to suffocation.
As per a report released to the Parliament in 1817, the climbing boys experienced hardship from general neglect. They have displayed reduced growth, spine, arms and legs deformity that occurred due to a long time spent in abnormal positions inside the chimney during the growing age. The most affected parts are the ankle joints and the knees. The children have experienced inflammation and sores of the eyelids that resulted in the loss of eyesight. In fact, the ailments were hard to heal. Burns and bruises due to the overheated environment were the common sights.
Scrotum cancer was another health issue that took many lives. It is also known as Chimney Sweep Cancer. Chest inflammation and asthma were common results. Soot wart or Chimney sweeps’ carcinoma, also identified in recent days as an exemplification of scrotal squamous cell carcinoma was another dreadful ailment that attacks the chimney sweeps in their late teens or twenties. It was known to be the first industrial linked cancer that is to be found.
If you wish to give your chimney a professional survey, ask the chimney sweep for customized recommendation related to:
- Wood (4 times in a year)
- Type of fuel
- Sweeping frequency
- Bituminous coal (2 times in a year)
- Smokeless coal (1 time in a year)
- Oil (1 time yearly)
- Gas (once yearly)
The Integrity testing of the flue or the entire chimney is also recommended. The inspectors use specialized equipment for gaining the right readings and pieces of evidence related to the flue’s health.
The causes of integrity test are:
- Problems with the flue
- New fireplace and stove installation
- Renovation of the existing fireplace
- Bought a new house and is unknown about the condition of the fireplace and the chimney
- Old chimney (over 5 years)
- Unused chimney (more than 5 years)
- Reinstating an unused flue
The CCTV survey is of high importance. With the help of the latest camera, the chimney sweeps deliver high-quality footage of the chimney. Accordingly, they diagnose the problem area and give advice about fixing the issues. The CCTV survey is the most efficient way of catching the flaws in a chimney.
That’ s all about chimney surveys. The chimney sweep industry is still growing with advanced technology that is helping the people with more scientific and practical solution.