Many people in Wenatchee enjoy using their fireplace or wood stove in the winter for both heat and the general ambiance of a wood fire. when you burn a fire in your chimney some of the unburnt fuel goes up into the flue and some of it condenses inside the flue as soot or creosote. over the course of the winter this soot and creosote builds up into a thick layer that needs to be swept out.
This is one chimney I encountered in Lake Wenatchee that was particularly bad. this amount of creosote causes a risk of chimney fire and must be removed with chemical treatment
Most chimneys in chelan county should be swept every year or every two years to ensure that soot and creosote is removed. Bellow is a before and after comparison of a wood stove flue that I swept in Leavenworth. the soot was starting to build up enough that the flow of smoke was restricted and smoke would billow out into the room. after the cleaning the draw went back to normal and the homeowner was again able to enjoy their wood stove
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