When you have a fireplace, you can get a lot of enjoyment from it. It can also help you to keep your home nice and warm in the winter for less. It can give your family a great palace for nice family photos, and it can help you to ring the holidays in with style. A fireplace can even help you to set the stage for a romantic evening. However, you do need to be sure you are properly maintaining your fireplace, or you can run into some serious troubles. Here is more on the proper care and maintenance of your fireplace and chimney. 

You need your chimney cleaned and inspected annually

The best way to make sure you don't have problems with your fireplace is to have your chimney cleaned before the cooler weather arrives, and you are going to be using the fireplace again. When you do this each year, you will know that your family will be safe when you use the fireplace. 

When someone comes out to clean and inspect your chimney, they will look at many things. They will check it for soundness, to make sure that the chimney doesn't have any damages that need to be taken care of. They will also ensure the chimney has the proper clearance. Also, they will remove any and all debris from the chimney that could cause smoke to back up into your home. Things like leaves or branches can commonly make their way into the chimney and cause major problems, and these things will be removed as well.

Creosote builds up in the chimney over time, and it can catch on fire, so this gets removed during the cleaning process as well. They will also look for signs of any other issues and take care of what they can on the spot. If larger problems are found, they may be able to tend to them then, or they can come back to repair the issues depending on what their schedule looks like. 

Additional benefits of routine chimney cleanings and inspections

Along with the benefits already listed above, another great thing about having your chimney serviced annually is that it helps to save you money on your heating bill. When the fireplace is in great functioning condition, it will heat your home more efficiently. 

Proper maintenance also helps you to ward off expensive repairs in the future. If problems aren't found early on, then they can become serious issues that cost a lot to have taken care of.