Brad Powell's company name pretty much sums up the mood of chimney sweeps these days -- Totally Exhausted.
Powell, 54, of Franklin Park, is tending to at least four appointments a day to clean chimneys, and he's still about 60 customers -- two to three weeks' worth of work -- behind schedule. And that's an improvement. He was 120 customers behind.
"Once Fourth of July is over, I get busy," he said. "After Labor Day, it really kicks in."
With winter officially arriving next Friday, fireplace usage has hit full blaze. But snuggling in front of a roaring fire could carry a risk.
The number of residential chimney-related fires increased by almost 70 percent -- from 15,600 to 26,300 -- from 1999 through 2002, according to the Chimney Safety Institute of America's most recent data. Damage has fluctuated between $108 million to almost $160 million during that time, though deaths have dropped to 20 from a high of 50 in 2000.
The fires most often are caused by a build-up of creosote -- black residue that can be crusty and flaky, or tar-like and sticky -- on the inside walls of chimneys.
The Chimney Safety Institute and the National Fire Protection Association recommend annual chimney inspections.
On average, most chimneys need to be swept once every two to three years, Powell said. But that can depend on use. The more fires burned, the more likely the chimney will need to be cleaned sooner.
"If it's dirty enough, (the creosote) will brush right out," Powell said. "If it's a little tougher, we have whips and chains you can try to gently beat it off. If it's too thick and too bad, I try to change the customer's burning habits."
Don Matthews, 49, of D&G Chimney Sweeps in Sheraden, is cleaning three or four chimneys a day during this season.
"If you're burning a cord or more a year, you should have it cleaned," he said. "But if you're burning properly, you might (be OK)."
Neither Matthews nor Powell puts much stock in chemical logs that are supposed to help reduce creosote buildup.
"It's a false sense of security," Matthews said. "You still have to get that debris out of there."
"I can't say they don't work," Powell said. "But I've never found they made any difference."
