April 2015

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How Does Wood Burn in my Fireplace?
By Marketing

People may never ask it but we all wonder. That is why we stare into campfires. We even fall into a trance-like state gazing at the dancing flames. How does wood burn in my fireplace? Will that edge of the log burn before that twig on the side? What is the meaning of life anyways? Chemists can describe the precise chemical equation of how carbon-based wood oxidizes into water and minerals while releasing light and heat… but there is still a magical effect that will never pass away. We will never grow tired of looking into the fire. The romance of the fireplace will endure forever. It is often around the family fireplace that we have the most significant conversations in the human experience. The young man asks the father of the bride for her hand in marriage. Fathers read stories to their children. Lovers stay up late at night talking and throwing sticks on the fire. At Midtown Chimney Sweeps we get that. We want you to enjoy the fire. So with that, lets us lay the foundation in the next two paragraphs for understanding the three stages of combustion to get a handle on this intriguing and dramatic oxidation process.

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Chimney Inspection Acrobatics
By Marketing

Chimney inspections and repairs often require a unique skill set. Like pseudo-acrobatic skills documented in this photo of a Midtown Chimney technician. Here he is fully submerged in an enclosed attic space that could only be accessed from a hole in the roof. Tight spots and high places punctuated by periodic rain and snow while examining roof leaks- this is what makes the inspection process unique. While most of the time our Level II real estate chimney inspections can be done from the level, warm comfort of the hearth indoors, some times one must simply ascend the heights to document the chimney top for himself. Midtown Chimney Sweeps has created a quality chimney scanning camera that allows most of the flue interior inspection process to be completed from the inside of the home. This reduces the need for chimney inspection acrobatics!

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Why the fireplace will live forever
By Marketing

Man and fire. Mankind versus the elements. Some battles rage on regardless of cultural and political boundaries or enemy occupation. The Great Frost of 1709 covered Western Europe and caused so many deaths that it was likened to an invading army. The Dutchess of Orleans wrote in a letter to her aunt in Germany that she had never been so cold in her life- and she was wrapped in furs sitting next to a roaring fireplace. A rich man can freeze as easily as a poor man. Central heat may come and modern boilers may go. But there is no heat like that of an open wood burning fireplace. That is why the fireplace will never die.

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Automate Your Chimney Cleaning Business
By Marketing

It has been our experience that the American chimney sweep seems to be the quintessential small businesman plagued by traditional operations headaches. But he doesn’t know how plagued he is. He has a profitable trade, a niche market, and he is the go-to person in town for anything chimney cleaning or sweeping related. But nothing is automated in his business yet. The sole proprietor is the automation. In this article we suggest two areas of instant business automation that we can provide to you the sole proprietor. Someone will still need to clean the chimneys and sweep the flue- but that is already your expertise. Once your business is automated, the business can "run itself" to a certain degree, allowing the business owner to concentrate on upselling, improving procedures, new product development or to simply to take a "real" vacation! Automation is the key.

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