It is a very good idea for someone to check the flue every year.

I happened to glance at the living flame fire we have the other day, and
at the top where the flue is, I noticed a dusty deposit on the metal trim
that holds the back panel in place, which looked as though it might be
almost 1mm "thick" in places over a width of about 5". The house does and
always has seemed dusty, although it improved when we replaced old felt
underlay when we got a new carpet laid a few years ago. The fire tends to
be on 24/7 (on "half") from September onwards :-}

Should I be overly concerned at the moment ?

The fire has been in for ~6 years, and has had the OSD replaced once
about 3 years ago - we have a carbon monoxide detector and that`s showing
nothing worrying (brand new one from the BG install of the MIL`s CH the
other week). When the fire was installed it needed some minor blockwork
to accomodate it, and the chimney was swept at the same time.

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