Southend Chimney sweep

04/08/2026

Before I give the answer, does anyone know what causes this to happen in a chimney?

I did a sweep the other day and the chimney was full of this (see video).
The owner said they get their chimney swept every year, so what would cause this?

Needless to say, it's all clear now and ready for them to safely use (if and when) the cold weather arrives.

If you need yours swept, call me on 07807 854 766 to book it in.

31/07/2026

I've had a couple of new jobs to do this week. This one was in Benfleet.

Unfortunately, due to excessive smoke escaping from above the stove and from the soot door in another part of the bungalow, this one couldn't be used until its been sorted.

I did say to the owner that after the work has been done, to contact me and I'll test it again and issue a Pass certificate, free of charge.

04/07/2026

I had a fireplace to sweep yesterday that the owner said hadn't been cleaned in about 20 years.
He'd also seen a feather.

Instantly, I was apprehensive what I would find.

After opening the hood, a pigeon fell out. It must have only died a few days ago, and the smell was horrendous, and luckily there were no flies yet.

As you can see, there was a lot of soot and debris even before I had vacuumed. After sweeping the flue, the amount of soot and debris that came down made it look exactly how it was ata the start!

Although it passed the smoke test, this fireplace is unsafe to use. Under all the the soot etc, there were big cracks and a very large hole, meaning the smoke could escape outwards instead of upwards.
Once its been fixed, I'll pop back and issue a pass certificate.

16/05/2026

I'm sponsoring 2 classes. It looks like a great day for your dogs!

Don't forget the tickets are on sale for this year's show: https://checkout.square.site/merchant/MLCQRG6K899TB/checkout/ELCSYPY7M5PWUVLCI4RC4CFX

To book your dog into one of many classes we have, click this link: https://2k9petservices.weebly.com/k9-world.html
Please note: you will need a show entry ticket to take part in the fun dog show.

Within the show, there are stands where you can help raise money for the 2 charities we have chosen, MND Association and Acres Way Boarding and Rehoming Centre. Please do give what you can as both do amazing work in their respective fields.

There are also Have a Go's, many stalls to wander around and purchase items for you & your dog, food stands and demonstrations.

This year's Fun Dog Show has more opportunities for you to get a trophy:
- Winning 1st, you go through to Best In Show.
- Coming 2nd, you go through to Reserve Best In Show.
- After both Judge's Choice classes have ended, there is another free class to enter and the winner of that gets a trophy (T&Cs apply). Coming 1st or 2nd in this class does not put you into BiS or RBiS.
- All classes are placed from 1st to 6th (each getting a rosette), with winners receiving a award.

It's a great day out for your dog!

09/05/2026

Another happy customer today.

This small multi fuel stove was tricky to keep clean, but keeping on top of it made it easier.

There was a quite a lot to vacuum up, and the owner was surprised how much came out of the flue.

20/04/2026

I did a double open fire sweep today, and it ended in a sad way.

After the phone call from the owner saying they have bene getting loads of flies coming out of the fireplace, could I come round and sort it out.

My first thought was bees. But when I got there, I saw the owner had screwed in panels with parcel tap completely sealing off the opening, and realised it was a bigger problem.

The first flue wasn't too bad. The second flue, however, had a blockage in, which I thought could have been a birds nest. To my surprise, when I got my last pole out, it had brought down a bundle of loosely balled chicken wire.

This had been put into the top of the chimney to act as a makeshift cowl to stop birds etc from entering and is not an appropriate or safe way of doing it.

Sadly, what had happened, is 2 (what looked like doves) had got tangled up in the wire and dislodged it, making it fall further down the chimney...and sadly they had both died.

This explains the amount of flies that I found.

As sad as it was to find these 2 birds, the owner was very happy that their problem, had been fixed.

They aren't going to be using either fireplace, so I recommended they cap off both stacks with cowls that are designed to be used for inactive chimneys.

17/03/2026

This flue and surrounding work was done by builders in the 90's.

Because of the risk of fire, due to the insulation being so close to the flue pipe, and the join of the pipe coming out of the stove, I unfortunately had to condemn another stove as it was not safe.

27/02/2026

I had a booking today to come and sweep a chimney where the house had been vacant for 6 years.

When I arrived, I saw that there wasn't a cowl fitted, so I began to worry that a bird had made a nice home inside the flue.

Luckily, the flue was clear and apart from several spiders webs, it wasnt as bad as I imagined.

A happy customer who can now use the only method of heating in their new home.

To get your chimney swept, call or message me on 07807 854 766. https://southendchimneysweep.weebly.com/

19/02/2026

I got a call to come and sweep a chimney due to the builders needing to do some work around the fireplace.

After I've swept it, I do the normal smoke test...there seems to be 2 things wrong at the top of the stack. Can you see both of them? 🤔

Luckily, the owner isn't going to be using it as an active fireplace, so they weren't too worried about me condemning it.