I added "Chimney Sweep" to my skillset on Sunday.
We've got an open fire, which we put into service for the first time around this time last year, but it was smelling a little smokey.
I was going to call a Professional Chimney Sweep to do the job, but didn't get around to it since the fire isn't our main source of heating (but nice to have at Xmas time, since you can't roast chestnuts on an open radiator).
I bought a set of drain cleaning rods last year, with which came a Chimney Brush giving the rods a dual purpose.
So I decided to save a little money and do the job myself. With me those are usually famous last words before having to call in a professional to sort out the mess I've made.
This time however I made a "clean sweep" of it. I didn't get the brush stuck in the chimney (as expected - although it did get a bit loose on the end) and there was only a light coating of soot to remove from the mantelpiece and ornaments on it - which I hadn't bothered to shift.
I cleaned out about half a bin bag of soot.
The soot was mainly on me, and not on the carpet so job done.
Told the kids that I was "cleaning the chimney for Father Christmas". I think they believed me - guess I'll have to do this job every year at this time for a while.
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