One of the many upshots of the resurgence in the popularity of wood-burning stoves in recent years is that chimney sweeps are suddenly in great demand.
People who perhaps have never had cause to contact a chimney sweep in their entire life now need one every 6-12 months.
The question is: how do you find a good chimney sweep?
Trust accredited chimney sweeps
Our best advice – in order to give you the best possible chance of finding a reliable chimney sweep – is to track down a chimney sweep who is part of an accredited trade body.
Of course, there is no foolproof way of ensuring you get the right person for the job. But choosing someone who is a member of an accredited body gives you the best possible chance of finding someone who is capable of completing this job to a high standard.
Here are some of the easiest ways to find an accredited chimney sweep:
HETAS website
HETAS is the government-approved body for the biomass and solid fuel industry. Among its responsibilities is the registration of competent servicing businesses, including chimney sweeps.
They offer a registration scheme for sweeps. Any accredited sweep will have undergone HETAS’s training programme, so you can have confidence that they know what they’re doing. The HETAS website offers a Find A Chimney Sweep function, which allows you to find accredited sweeps near you via a postcode search. Click here to use that.
NACS website
As its name suggests, the National Association of Chimney Sweeps (NACS) is a trade body representing chimney sweeps. NACS members undergo compulsory training, are fully insured and work to a code of practice and code of conduct. They also offer a postcode search function, allowing you to search for sweeps near you. Click here to use that.
