Chimney Sweeping and Cleaning Around Seattle

Seattle heats mostly with electricity. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 survey counts 61% of Seattle homes on electric heat and only 0.2% on wood. So the fireplace in a Ballard Craftsman or a Shoreline rambler is usually there for comfort, not survival. It gets lit when the weather turns, sits for weeks during a burn ban, then gets lit again. That on-and-off pattern matters, because cool, short fires leave more residue in the flue than one steady, hot fire.

Our sweep starts with the free inspection. We look from the firebox to the top of the stack, take photos, and tell you whether the flue actually needs cleaning this year. If it does, the price is written down before we touch anything. If it can wait, we say so and you pay nothing. Either way you keep the photos, which help if you are selling the house or just want to know what is up there.

Signs you need this

• You burned more than a cord or so of wood since the last cleaning
• A campfire smell drifts out of the fireplace on damp days
• Dark flakes or grit collect on the smoke shelf or the hearth
• Fires are harder to start and smoke lingers before it rises
• You just bought the house and nobody knows when it was last swept

How we do it

1. Inspect and priceWe check the firebox, damper, flue and chimney top, photograph what we see and write the cleaning price before any work.
2. Seal off the roomDrop cloths go down, the fireplace opening is closed with plastic and a HEPA vacuum runs while we work.
3. Brush and clearWe brush the flue with a head sized to it, then clean the smoke shelf, smoke chamber and firebox.
4. Photos and notesYou get before and after photos and a short written list of anything to keep an eye on, such as a worn crown or a loose cap.

Why does a fireplace that is barely used still need a look?

A flue that sits unused through a wet Northwest winter is not idle. Rain finds its way in through a missing cap, birds and squirrels nest on the smoke shelf, and moisture mixes with old soot to make the sour smell people notice in damp weather. Sea-Tac logs measurable rain on about 156 days a year in NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, so an open flue gets wet often.

That is why we suggest a yearly look even when you rarely burn. The look is free. A cleaning only follows when the flue needs it.

What can I burn, and when, in the Puget Sound area?

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency calls burn bans for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. In a Stage 1 ban, wood fireplaces and uncertified stoves must stay cold. In Stage 2, no wood burning device may be used at all, unless the home holds an approved exemption. Natural gas and propane fireplaces are allowed in both stages, according to the agency.

State law also limits fuel. Only seasoned firewood belongs in a fireplace or stove. Garbage, treated or painted wood, plastics and similar materials are banned by RCW 70A.15.3600, and they are also hard on the flue.

Why is there no sweep price on this page?

A one-story rambler with a short, easy flue and a tall brick chimney on a steep, mossy Capitol Hill roof are very different jobs. The number of flues, the roof pitch, the access and the amount of buildup all change the work.

Rather than post a figure that fits nobody, we give you a written price at the free inspection. If we find heavy or glazed creosote, it is priced on its own line so the total does not change after we start.