A lady in Cincinnati told me she never gets her flue cleaned because her fireplace 'looks fine' and it still haunts me

4 comments

4 Comments

Honestly I was the same way for years, figured if it wasn't smoking back into the house it was fine. Then my neighbor had a chimney fire last winter and the fire department said it was pure luck it didn't burn the whole place down. That visual of flames shooting out the top of his roof completely changed my mind. Now I get mine checked every other year, it's just not worth the risk.

sean_green442mo ago

Oh man, that's scary. I mean, @jakewhite, it's crazy how a single moment like that can flip a switch. My uncle had a similar wake-up call, but with his dryer vent. Firefighters told him the lint buildup was basically a tinderbox waiting for a spark. Now he cleans it out like clockwork every few months.

beth2761mo ago

Wait, is it that common for lint to actually cause fires? I had a buddy back in college who never cleaned his dryer vent for like two years, and one day the thing just stopped drying clothes. When the repair guy pulled out this massive clump of lint, he said it was a miracle the whole laundry room hadn't caught fire yet. Honestly that story made me go home and check mine that same week, and I probably pull the vent off every few months now just to be safe. It's wild how something so simple can turn into a huge problem.

john_fisher2mo ago

Read a story where a blocked flue caused carbon monoxide to back up into a house.