Advice and Regulation

Regulation

Chimney sweeping is a legal obligation and it is governed by article 31 of the Rsdt (standard departmental health regulations) of your department. In Haute-Savoie, your flues (fuel and wood) must be swept twice a year, including once during the heating season (link rsdt 74 – go to page 35: Departmental health regulations 74 (sante.fr)) .

The chimney sweep frequency for gas is once a year.

For your information: the use of chemical sweeping will not exempt you from mechanical sweeping, which alone is effective.

The sweeping must be carried out by a qualified professional. He takes care of the emptiness of the conduits. The professional has a duty to advise and can go so far as to prohibit the use of a generator, if he considers the installation to be too dangerous.

Chimney sweeping: what are the benefits?

The 1st: security.

The combustion of wood, fuel or gas generates fumes which, rising in the flue, create soot deposits.
The sweeping of the flues reduces the risk of fire but also of intoxication, by eliminating these deposits.

The 2nd: your finances
Did you know that 1 mm of soot reduces the yield of your device by 10%

Advice

You would like to make an appointment to have your installation swept and you wonder if there is a more favorable period for sweeping?

Note that your chimney sweeper will be much more available at the end of the heating period, that is to say in the spring rather than in the fall.
A lot of users don’t think about it until the end of summer.

In addition, the soot deposited in your flues is still dry in the spring, while in the fall, it will be particularly wet and more stubborn to remove.