Clean sweep

It was a very chilly morning this morning, and I could easily have curled up under the duvet for another half an hour, but we’d booked for the chimney sweep to come today, and he was due at 8.30am.

Before he arrived I wanted to prepare the salon, clear off the mantelpiece, move the furniture and take up the rug.

In France it is part of your obligation for insurance purposes to have your chimney cleaned once per year. I think it’s a great safety requirement, but also helps support our local chimney sweeps.

He was soon at work, cleaning out the ash from last night, cleaning the damper and generally cleaning around the fireplace.

Next was to sweep the chimney. He first put a cloth up to reduce any dust that would come into the house, then he used a long pipe/brush which was wound around a large wheel. It was all very efficient and quick.

In fact it only took about 30 minutes to get set up, do the job, and clean up. He then emailed us our receipt and confirmation of the visit and results from the intervention. Our chimney now has a clean bill of health.