Heard a homeowner say 'it's just a little creosote' and had to bite my tongue

I was at a job in Portland last week, cleaning a flue that clearly hadn't been touched in 5 years. The homeowner watched me scrape out this thick, shiny, tar-like creosote buildup and casually said 'it's just a little creosote, right?' I had to stop and explain that stuff is basically fireplace napalm. One hot ember hitting that glazed layer can ignite a chimney fire in seconds. It makes me wonder how many folks think 'a little buildup' is no big deal until their roof catches fire. Has anyone else had customers brush off serious safety warnings like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

sullivan.abby10d agoMost Upvoted

Isn't that basically asking for a house fire?

kai_brown2310d ago

@sullivan.abby I mean "asking for a house fire" seems a bit dramatic lol. Yeah if you leave a space heater on right next to a pile of laundry 24/7 that's one thing. But if you're just using it to take the chill off a room and you've got basic common sense it's really not that big of a deal. I've had one running in my garage for years without any issues.