If you have an unused fireplace, it’s easy to assume that chimney upkeep and maintenance shouldn’t be on your home maintenance to-do list. Even unused fireplaces can cause problems if they aren’t properly protected and maintained. And if there’s one chimney element that should be maintained, it’s your chimney cap. Here’s why it’s important to have a chimney cap even if you don’t use your fireplace.
Protect Your Home From Water Damage
It’s always a danger to your home when water can make its way in, and the chimney is an easy entry point for water. A chimney cap is a chimney’s best defense from water intrusion. Even if you never plan to use your chimney, allowing water to make its way in can weaken the chimney structure until it poses a hazard to your home. It also provides moisture with an avenue to the home structure allowing mold or mildew to grow in your chimney or surrounding home structures.
Keep Animals Out of Your Home
Even if you don’t plan to use your chimney, that doesn’t mean that others won’t. Animals love to make use of an empty chimney, whether it’s a squirrel or raccoon looking for warmth and shelter or bats or chimney swifts looking for a dark place to nest. Animals in your chimney bring debris, droppings and rotting food. They can become trapped in your chimney and die. Additionally, animals can be very noisy, and they can even gain access to your home through your fireplace. A chimney cap that affixes to your flue with a cage can keep animals out.
Block Downdrafts
Chimneys can be drafty on a cold winter’s night, allowing air to come rushing downward into your home. A chimney cap provides a barrier for your chimney, preventing your hearth from being a cold, uncomfortable point within your home.
Keep Debris Out
If you don’t plan to use your chimney, you might not be concerned with leaves and debris collecting within your chimney, but they can pose a problem. Debris in your chimney can rot and smell. It also can hold moisture up against your chimney walls, destroying the chimney structure and introducing mold and mildew to your surrounding home structure. A chimney cap can prevent debris from clogging your chimney and causing complications.
If you’ve never checked your chimney top for the presence of a cap because you don’t use your chimney, now is the time! Make sure your chimney is protected with a cap that is sturdy and within good repair. If you find that your chimney cap is missing or inadequate, call Fluesbrothers Chimney Service today! We’ll help fit your chimney with a cap so you don’t have to worry about moisture, animals, downdrafts or debris causing problems with your chimney or your home.
