KD wrote:
Greetings all:

I have a co-worker who is a new homeowner, and she was just asking me
about how frequently I get my chimney cleaned.

We have a fireplace that we use a lot in the winter, and we have it
cleaned every year. But she doesn't have any woodburning appliances in
her home, just the oil furnace, and this is what she was talking about.


We get our furnace cleaned annually, it's leased and the
cleaning/maintenance is included in our lease price. I didn't have any
idea we needed to get the chimney cleaned for the oil furnace! Am I
nuts, or is she?

KD


Call it uneducated! Yes, an oil burning furnace
and the chimney need to be inspected annually for
correct operation and the chimney needs to be
cleaned out every few years. If the burner is
working ok, the inspection should take about 10
minutes and you can learn to do it yourself.
Unburned stuff falls down and if it accumulates
you might find the stuff blown throughout your
house. Happened to my parents, every surface in
the house needed to be clean and all the walls and
ceilings painted. He could have avoided that by
just cleaning out (that's what the opening is
called) the bottom of the chimney.