Staff Writer
CARIBOU – Randy Adams knows his way around a chimney.
Owner of the Chimney Sweep in Caribou, Adams went back into business four years ago after being away from it for a number of years.
“I had started out of high school with a gentleman in New Sweden, Paul Bondeson, back in the 1970s,” said Adams.
“He called me up and asked if I’d help him out for a little while and I said, ‘Sure.’ I worked with him for a couple of years, and he taught me a lot.
“Back then a lot of people weren’t having their chimneys cleaned, or they were doing it themselves,” he said. “However, it was in the ‘70s that there was a big push on higher oil, and more people started burning wood, so business really picked up at that time.”
Recognizing that chimney sweeping was seasonal, Adams decided to find work that was year-round.
“Thirty years later, I happened to be standing somewhere and a guy said, ‘You know, you can’t get anybody to clean a chimney around here.’ I thought to myself, ‘Well, there’s a chance for a part-time job,’ and I started the Chimney Sweep.”
These days Adams travels the county cleaning peoples’ chimneys.
“I cover Aroostook County,” he said. “If someone’s got a chimney that needs to be swept, I’ll go there because it’s a serious business. I go everywhere from the St. John Valley to Sherman and Island Falls. A lot of my customers are elderly, and they can’t get up there and do it themselves. I try to help those who really need it.”
Once Adams gets on a customer’s roof, he begins by brushing the flue.
“After I determine the size of the flue, I get the right-sized brush and brush the flue,” he said. “Sometimes it may take 15 minutes, sometimes a half-hour … it all depends on how bad the buildup is. Then I inspect it with a spotlight and make sure there are no cracks or missing pieces of the flue. Once I’ve determined it’s clean enough and everything looks good, I go down to where the woodstove is and take the stovepipe off, take it out, brush it, and inspect it.
“I also inspect the back of the stove and inside of the stove, and inspect where the stovepipe goes into the chimney to make sure everything is good there and there’s no damage,” said Adams, who wears a respirator and takes other precautionary measures. “Once that is all brushed, vacuumed and put back together, I go down cellar and clean out the clean-out door.”
The process is similar with a fireplace.
“With a fireplace,” he said, “you have a shelf up above the damper and that’s where everything collects and falls down from the chimney itself. A lot of people don’t realize that; they clean the chimney, but not the shelf. A lot of times there will be three or four inches of creosote that’s fallen down that’s just laying there, and that’s very dangerous. All it takes is a good spark with a good draft and that will light that up and it will go until it burns out.”
Adams recommends that homeowners try to burn only seasoned wood.
“That’s not always possible what with the demand,” he said, “so a lot of wood is cut, split and delivered as it is with the sap or leaves on the tree, which is considered green wood. That’s where 90 percent of your creosote is going to come from … from green wood. Seasoned hardwood is ideal.
“If a person burns a lot of wood,” said Adams, “they should consider burning one of those ‘chimney logs’ once a month. It doesn’t clean the chimney, but the creosote doesn’t seem to form and create a hard tar substance which is highly flammable.”
The chimney sweeper also encourages people to burn only the correct type of wood.
“I’ve seen people burn 2x4s and scrap wood,” said Adams, “and that will plug a chimney … you just can’t get any draft out of the stove which will push the smoke down into their homes.”
Adams has seen a lot of unique things in his years of chimney sweeping.
“You get bats in the chimneys and birds that build nests,” he said. “I cleaned one lady’s fireplace and found two ducks that had fallen down the chimney and couldn’t get up out of there. They just laid on the damper, plugged it, and couldn’t get any air through. Smoke coming into your house just makes a mess.”
Adams reminds homeowners to dispose of ashes in a heavy metal container located a safe distance from their home.
“Some people even spread the ashes on their lawn, which is essentially free lime,” he said.
While Adams cleans chimneys year-round, he receives many inquiries in the fall.
“I’ve cleaned about 40 chimneys since May. I can clean chimneys anytime. I cleaned several last winter. The good thing about winter is there’s more cushion in case you fall,” he joked.
Rates are $95 a flue and $40 for a fireplace.
“It usually takes an hour to an hour-and-a-half from start to finish,” said Adams, noting that chimneys should be cleaned once a year.
To make an appointment, call the Chimney Sweep at 498-6281.
Contributed photo
RANDY ADAMS of Caribou, owner of the Chimney Sweep, brushes a flue on a home in Presque Isle recently. Adams recommends that homeowners try to burn only seasoned wood, as green wood oftentimes has sap and leaves that can create creosote. Adams has cleaned more than 40 chimneys since May throughout Aroostook County.
