![]() ![]() Masonry and brick chimneys often show wear and tear earliest – cracking and chipping often being common signs that some sort of basic repair at least needs to be done. Different aspects of the chimney can start to fail before others and knowing what tell-tale signs to look out for will help you know if you even need a chimney sweep or not. Chimneys are composed of the basic exterior, some sort of cap on the top to keep out water, along with a protective shell on the interior called a flue. This basic understanding is necessary but is far from the whole truth. Sure you may know that wood is thrown into the fireplace, it burns, and the smoke and other particulates rise up throw the stack and out of the house. The reason these scams are so prevalent is that most people who own a chimney don’t actually understand it. Overall the best way to combat the threat of scammers is to know what signs to look out for on your chimney. Using pictures of someone else’s chimney can be an effective way to make homeowner’s give them money for a service they don’t need. If there is any issue, they will make it bigger or if there isn’t they will make one up. Unsolicited calls, while not unheard of, are rarely done in the chimney sweeping business.Įven if a faux-sweeper is willing to look at your chimney directly it doesn’t mean they are legitimate. Knowing the gas or energy company of your neighborhood is a fairly mundane thing to do. Littered between this call for action will be little bits to tip your anxiety upwards, phrases that talk about carbon monoxide poisoning, house fires and chimney collapse are all inserted into a scammer’s pitch to provoke some sort of immediate response by the person they’re selling to.Ĭlever scammers will often use other bits of information that give them a tinge of legitimacy. ![]() Coupled with this is the offer of too good to be true pricing, listing a series of deals or discounts they can offer but only if the homeowner invests into their service soon. This unease is what false chimney sweepers like to prey on because it makes it more likely that the homeowner will buy their pitch. One of the easiest ways is a door-to-door sales pitch that seems just a little too aggressive as these confrontations often put homeowners at a sense of unease. Many of the techniques these chimney sweep scam artists employ are often found in other home improvement scams. Knowing how these scammers work is integral but you should also have a 101 on the chimney along with knowing what legitimate chimney sweep looks like. Most people aren’t aware of the basics of their chimney and there are many scammers out there that take advantage of that. Unless the homeowner is familiar with the ins and outs of how a chimney works and have the necessary tools to fix any problems, eventually a professional is going to have to look at it. The best way to deal with these problems is to get ahead of them in the first place, that’s why maintenance and inspection from time to time by the homeowner is necessary. There are a whole host of issues that chimneys can often face, creosote buildup that results in blockages or chimney fires, cracks in the exterior that let humidity into the home, or even animals nesting inside causing a whole range of issues. ![]()
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