Chim chiminey! It’s a good time to be a chimney sweep
CHIMNEY sweeps are rushed off their feet as the energy crisis bites and families look to burning fires to cut heating bills.
Some homeowners are recommissioning fireplaces that haven’t been used for decades. And millennials – who have only ever known central heating, controlled by turning a thermostat – are having to be given lessons on how to start fires and keep them safe.
Families bracing for gas and electricity bills to rise to £3,549 a year from October and as much as £7,000 next year are desperately looking at ways to cut usage. Heating homes using central heating – which almost nine in ten Britons do – makes up about half the total.
It means savings in the hundreds and even thousands of pounds a year – even accounting for the cost of wood or coal, the Stove Industry Alliance said.
Chimney sweep David Sudworth, owner of North West England-based Mr Soot, has never been busier bringing chimneys back to life. ‘We’re seeing several a day. Customers want them swept, tested and inspected, as well as advice on how to light a fire.’
Lawson Wight, chairman of the Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps, said a proper survey was required for a chimney which had not been in use for years. This costs about £200.
There is also a trend for woodburning stoves. Some 1.5million households have them, with 200,000 sold every year. This year’s figure is expected to be 300,000.