For all those fans of Mary Poppins, you may like to know that we had our own Dick van Dyke come visit Waterloo Farm today! Well, actually, not so much Dick van Dyke as Bob and David, and not so much ‘covered in soot’ as ‘not a spec of soot to be seen anywhere’! I haven’t had a chimney swept for quite a while but I was very impressed with the ‘technology’ employed these days – all high tec and shiny and not a small boy to be seen anywhere 
The brush you can see poking out of the chimney pot is actually rotating on the end of a drill, so as it gets pushed up the chimney, the soot gets removed. No more thrusting the rods up and down, no siree! This method has only been in the UK about 6 weeks and is an American import (apparently) and is 50-100% more efficient than traditional sweeping methods. Then there’s the uber-vacuum which is so powerful that not a particle of soot left the fireplace. This is actually very important as soot is a carcinogenic, but I was quite worried that this vacuum would suck up one the kids, it was that big . The fireplace in the lounge went first and put about 2-3 inches of soot into the bottom of Bob’s rather large bucket, which he said was actually quite a lot. Then the snug got a turn, and I was amazed that the bucket got almost totally filled by the amount of soot that came down – about another 10 inches worth! We concluded that the chimneys have clearly not been swept for a loooong time! Oh, and Bob reckons there has, at some time, been a chimney fire in the snug – he could tell this from the particles of bubbled tar he found in his bucket … this news came as a bit of a shock, and I only hope this does not have implications for our future plans. Anyway, the chimneys are all shipshape now and can safely be used this winter which has pleased ‘Nigel the Pyromaniac’ no end!
Tags: Chimney Sweep, Dick van Dyke, Waterloo Farm
Categories: Home Improvements, Living the Country Life, Posts with Photos
What perfect timing. I’m interested in getting our chimney sweeped. Only 1 though as i don’t really want the one in the dining room done. How much does it cost… if you don’t mind publishing it that is. Also who did you use?
Looking forward to the first burn!
Hi Mark. Always a good idea to get your chimney swept if you intend to use it as you never know how much grot is up there and when it was last done, as we discovered! We used a guy called Bob Russell who is a member of the Guild of Master Sweeps http://www.guild-of-master-sweeps.co.uk. His number is 01953 455512. He charged us £39 per chimney which I thought was very reasonable. He’s a nice guy and had some great advice to offer, so give him a call!
Just think, if you get your chimney swept, you won’t have to go to your mum’s in the winter for your ‘fire fix’
… come to think of it, neither will Nigel!!
Cool, thanks for the info. “Guild of Master Sweeps” … what a prestigious sounding title!!
Going to try my luck by getting the accommodation agency or landlord to pay for it. Highly unlikely but worth asking.