The short answer most people are given is once a year. That is right for a stove burning dry wood a few evenings a week, and wrong for almost everybody else.
Wood burnt hard through a whole Kent winter wants sweeping twice, usually once before the season and once in the middle of it. Smokeless fuel is dirtier again and a multi fuel stove in daily use is a twice a year job as a rule. A gas fire with an open flue still needs the flue checked annually even though nothing sooty is coming off it.
Flue height and shape matter as much as fuel. Short flues and flues with two or more bends never draw as cleanly, so deposits build faster. Coastal and exposed properties, of which we have plenty between Burham and the Medway towns, get wind driven rain into the stack that turns soot into a hard glaze.
The signs that you have left it too long are worth learning. Smoke spilling into the room when you open the door, a fire that will not take hold, a smell of tar on damp days and black staining above the lintel are all telling you the same thing.
Every sweep we carry out ends with a certificate, which is what your insurer will ask for after a chimney fire. We book the autumn season from August, and it fills quickly.
How often, by appliance
- Wood burner in regular winter use: twice a season, before and mid season
- Multi fuel stove burning smokeless: twice a year as a rule
- Open fire: at least once a year, more if burnt weekly
- Gas fire with an open flue: flue checked annually
- Aga, range or pizza oven: once a year, more with heavy use
Want a straight answer about your own chimney? Call 01634 786800 or book a free home survey.
About The Stove & Fireplace
Kent stove, fireplace and chimney specialists since 2004.
We are a family run showroom and installation team based at the oast in Burham, Kent. Over sixty stoves are on display, five of them lit on the days we are open, and every installation is carried out by our own fitters from the first survey through to the certificate and the first sweep. We cover the Medway towns, Maidstone and the wider south east.
- 20 years
- Fitting stoves across Kent
- Over 60
- Stoves on display in the showroom
- 5
- Live burning displays to sit beside
- 18
- Authorised stove dealerships held
Speak to a person
Whatever you are planning, start here.
Homeowners, builders, landlords and architects all begin the same way: a conversation. Tell us a little about the room or the project and we will come back with honest advice and one clear price in writing.
- 01
We listen first
Tell us about the room or the project, not the budget. We will ask what it needs to do.
- 02
We come and look
A proper survey, free of charge, with the chimney and ventilation checked before anything is quoted.
- 03
One clear price
Everything in writing, stove to certificate, with nothing added later.
Prefer to talk now
01634 786800info@thestoveandfireplace.co.ukThe Oast, Old Church RoadBurham, Kent ME1 3XY