Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterChimney Cleaning Before & After in Catonsville, MD
Most Catonsville homeowners never see the inside of their flue. That’s the problem. A fireplace can look fine from the hearth while the flue above is lined with creosote thick enough to fuel a chimney fire. We bring a camera up every single time, so you see exactly what we see before a brush ever touches the wall. And when we’re done, you see the after footage too. No guesswork, no “trust me.” Just the pipe, clean and breathing.
Recent Transformations
First-Stage Creosote Removal, West Side Catonsville
The homeowner was doing everything right, burning seasoned oak and scheduling yearly sweeps, but even a well-managed fire leaves a film behind. This flue had a thin layer of first-stage creosote, the flaky kind that scrapes off with a brush rather than glazing over. Wendell ran the brush top to bottom, vacuumed the smoke shelf and firebox, and the after shot shows bare terra cotta tile again. Total time inside the home was under an hour, and the fireplace was ready for the next cold snap that same evening.
Third-Degree Creosote Glaze, Catonsville Manor
This one had been skipped for a few seasons, and the camera showed us why that matters. Third-degree creosote is tar-like and baked onto the flue wall, hard enough that a standard brush just slides over it. We used mechanical rotary tools to break the glaze down, then swept the loosened material out completely. The homeowner got the full before and after camera footage, and the difference looked like a different chimney entirely. Annual sweeps keep this from recurring, but the good news is it’s reversible.
Bird Nest and Debris Blockage, Winters Lane Area
This chimney hadn’t been used in a while, and the homeowner called because the house smelled faintly of rot in the living room. The camera went up and found a bird nest stuffed in the flue, along with enough twigs and debris to block the draft almost completely. We pulled the nesting out, swept the full length of the flue, and capped the top so it wouldn’t happen again. The fireplace went from unusable to fully operational in a single visit.
Coal-Dust Creosote and Smoke Stain Cleanup, Historic Catonsville
Older homes in the historic district often have fireplaces that saw decades of coal burning before wood ever touched them. This one had a mix of old coal residue and newer wood creosote layered up. We deep-cleaned the firebox, swept the entire flue, and used a smoke-stain treatment on the brick face that brought it back to something close to original. The homeowner said they’d been trying to clean that brick themselves for years without success.
Wood Stove Connector Pipe Buildup, North Catonsville
Wood stoves pull creosote faster than open fireplaces, especially when the stove runs low and slow. This connector pipe had enough buildup to make the stove sluggish and dump smoke into the room with every reload. We removed the pipe sections, brushed them out completely, and cleaned the stove outlet and main flue. The homeowner said the difference in draft was immediate, and the stove ran cleaner in the first fire after we left than it had in two years.
Want Results Like These?
You should be able to see inside your chimney before you decide to spend a dollar on any work. We’ll put a camera up there, show you what it looks like on screen, and sweep it clean the same visit. Call (443) 332-7798 and ask for the camera report. We’ll schedule a time with a real arrival window, show up in uniform, and hand you the footage before we hand you an invoice.
Written by Wendell Pike, Owner at Top Hat Chimney, serving Catonsville since 1999.