Why Do Gas Fireplaces Need to be Serviced?

Gas fireplaces are highly popular for providing the convenience of instant fires, but proper care is not a laissez-faire situation. Gas fireplace services are needed routinely. Proper gas fireplace maintenance includes an annual chimney inspection, as well, according to the nation’s leading fire safety organizations. Oftentimes, homeowners incorrectly assume that because there is no creosote produced by gas fireplaces, their chimney and fireplace stay clean and safe from one winter to the next. This is a dangerous assumption! Read on to learn many of the reasons gas fireplaces need to be serviced each year.

Why are Gas Fireplace Services Needed?

If your gas fireplace is not in optimal condition, various things can go wrong, all of which are potentially serious, costly, or highly inconvenient scenarios. When gas fireplaces are not properly maintained, the following are among the things that can go wrong:

• Your gas fireplace could consume more gas than would be necessary for use;
• Deadly carbon monoxide could seep into your home and endanger your family; or
• The fireplace could stop working altogether.

What is Checked During Gas Fireplace Servicing?

When you call a professional chimney sweep to clean your gas fireplace annually, each component of the fireplace is inspected and cleaned. The following gas fireplace inspection checklists are used by professional chimney technicians:

• If there are faux logs, they are removed (and replaced upon completion of gas fireplace servicing).
• The fireplace in its entirety is cleaned and dusted.
• Every component is checked, including gaskets, the pilot light, blowers, glass doors, and seals.
• The interior gas ignition is checked to ensure that it works correctly.
• Various parts are sometimes clogged with dust or spider webs, and the debris is removed with a vacuum.
• Carbon monoxide detectors in your home are checked to ensure they are working.

Gas Fireplace Chimney Services

The chimney to your gas fireplace needs to be cleaned occasionally and inspected yearly. High-powered brushes are used to clean soot out of the chimney. Bigger problems arise when excess condensation is the issue inside a chimney. It is a common problem that is sometimes caused by failing to install a flue that is the right fit with the gas fireplace, and another cause is an insufficient draft. In the various scenarios, incomplete combustion produces condensation. The basic cause is that the temperature is too low inside the chimney flue.

Problems Caused by Condensation

The coolness inside the chimney and the inadequate draft that often results because
modern homes are tightly sealed can produce carbon monoxide that may not be safely exhausted from the home.

The condensation generated by a gas fireplace is corrosive because it is highly acidic. This substance can eat through metal chimney flues and damage mortar from the interior side of the masonry.

Condensation can result in a chimney leak, and the following are interior and exterior symptoms that signal the presence of excess moisture in the chimney:

• Blistered paint
• Peeling wallpaper
• Damp patches on walls
• Stains on the ceiling in areas near the chimney
• White stains aka efflorescence on the exterior chimney
• Deteriorating bricks
• Eroding mortar joints

Call the Certified Pros at Guardian Chimney Sweeps

Make sure that your gas fireplace is safe and ready for winter. Our chimney sweep experts are all CSIA-certified. We have a quality-control program dedicated to providing 100% customer satisfaction. Beat the rush and schedule chimney cleaning and gas fireplace services in spring or summer. Avoid the problems associated with excess condensation and the dangers of carbon monoxide exposure by contacting Guardian Chimney Sweeps. Gas fireplace chimney services are essential; contact us at one of the
numbers below today.

Conroe – (936) 271-9781

Greater Houston Area – (713) 401-2011

Toll-free – (888) 306-6069