Sootbusters of Berkshire

I wonder who used to sweep that?!

Home - Stove Industry Association | SIA The Stove Industry Association is the trade association for the UK stove sector. Our members include appliance, flue and chimney system, component, glass and fuel manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and installers. We also have members representing competent person schemes, the chimney sweep sector....

I know a lot of customers use Lekto Woodfuels
Please note price increase 01-09 👍

Stock Up Before Heating Prices Go Up! Buy Now! Order now and save!

Keep your chimney and appliances clean and keep you and your loved ones safe.
Always use a qualified Chimney Sweep.

Good Morning to all the Solid Fuel Users, Merchants and Chimney Sweeps who read our page!
Hudson's story is a powerful reminder that carbon monoxide can be a threat to anyone, regardless of age or health. This invisible and odourless gas can be present without any obvious signs, making it a silent killer. Stay informed, install detectors, and protect yourself and your loved ones from this hidden danger.
If you need any information about Carbon Monoxide Safety, click on the link below
https://solidfuel.co.uk/pdfs/Carbon-Monoxide-Safety-2018.pdf

Alternatively, contact our office on (01773 835400) We are always happy to help.

Tradespeople need to keep warm as well you know.

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Most town and city homes are located in Smoke Control Areas as designated by the Clean Air Act 1993. ⁣
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Within these areas there's a limit on how much smoke you can release from a chimney and you can only burn wood in a Defra exempt appliance. All appliances with a clearSkies Level 3 or above have been independently verified as meeting Ecodesign AND having Defra exemption.⁣
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Check out clearSkies certified models here ⬇️⁣
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https://www.clearskiesmark.org/product-search/

They gave their all for us to enjoy the freedoms we live today.

Stocking up early pays off.
Booking your sweep early avoids the rush and having to wait!

Lowest prices of the year on Smokeless Fuel Lowest prices of the year on Smokeless Fuel

One for Star Wars fans though I wouldn’t advise using it indoors!

Always use well seasoned wood which means more heat, less pollution.

Burning dry quality fuel will reduce your environmental impact and release fewer particulates. When wet wood is used, it's harder to keep the fire going as the moisture within the wood will need to be burnt off! 💧🪵🔥

If you want to see the difference between burning dry and wet wood, check out our Advice Hub for a demonstration. 👇🎞️

https://pulse.ly/yfhtii6roe

Professional NVQ Qualified Chimney Sweep.

Your local family run Chimney Sweeping Service working 12 months of the year.

NVQ qualified, fully trained, insured, registered and the all important Chimney Sweeping Certificate issued, needed to keep your Home Insurance Valid.

All appliances Swept/serviced including open fires, wood and multi fuel stoves, gas fires, Aga’s and ranges. CCTV Inspections available. Inactive nests cleared. Live and dead birds removed.
Domestic and Commercial work undertaken.

Please call without obligation for further information and to secure your appointment.

Regular sweeping reduces risk of Chimney Fires and Carbon Monoxide poisoning.

The Royal Berkshire Fire Service attended 25 chimney fires last year. All avoidable with cleaning and maintenance by a qualified Sweep. Bucks, Surrey and Hants TBC.

Always use a properly trained and insured Chimney Sweep who issues a Chimney Sweeping Certificate or you will invalidate your Home Insurance.

Sootbusters are licensed waste carriers.

Also Lucky Sweep for your Wedding or Civil Ceremony. A Great British tradition since 1720! 🎩
07429242835

Please like our page to keep up to date with all the latest safety information and Chimney Sweep related humour and folklore!
🎩👍


A grate service every time.

https://www.facebook.com/ChimneysweepICS/

Sootbusters of Berkshire Professional Chimney Sweep. NVQ Qualified.
A family run business. Fully trained by ICS and insured.

Ensure your stove is serviced and your chimney swept at least once a year – the SIA recommends NVQ qualified sweeps for the ongoing maintenance and servicing of your stove and chimney.⁣
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Find the main sweep associations by following the link 🔗: https://federationbcs.com/

www.stoveindustryassocation.org

So pleased to have swept again today for the lovely Sara Cox whose latest book Way Back is about to be launched.
So kind of her to have acknowledged me in the book as well for some advice I gave her when writing.
I look forward to reading my signed copy (pictured) and wish her the very best of luck with it 🎩 🍀

A clean chimney is a safe chimney.

Monday Motivational Tip. Sweep a working chimney regularly. Maintain appliances and flues etc... to avoid Fire Safety Issues. https://bit.ly/FedBChim
Federation of British Chimney Sweeps

As the Taxpayer DEFRA funded war on Log Burners fails to gain any traction some more inconvenient facts emerge!

Cap it off I said!!

Following the recent propaganda adverts from DEFRA (paid for by taxpayers) here’s a few facts they forgot to mention.

Endorsing the NVQ Chimney Sweeping qualification the BFCMA represent stove manufacturers and the industry in general.
Always use a qualified Sweep.

BFCMA recommends the NVQ in sweeping, maintenance and inspecting flues and appliances.

Happy New Year to all our friends, followers and customers.
This is Bert a New addition to the Sootbusters team. I can’t think who he reminds me of 🤔
Bert was specially commissioned for me for a recent big birthday.
Thank you so much Fiona Clarke.
Bert and I look forward to seeing you in 2024 😊 🎩

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers, friends and followers along with your families a very Merry Christmas.
Thank you all once again for your support during 2023 and I look forward to seeing you all next year 🎄🎅⛄️ 🎩

No one likes a Sooty Santa.
Keep it clean for Christmas and beyond 🔥

And remember.
Keep it swept, clean and safe by a trained competent Chimney Sweep.

No one likes a sooty Santa 🎅

Ho Ho Ho! Here it is, your weekly Elf and Safety Reminder!

Seriously though, check your co alarms. Please share this post, it could save a life!

Always happy to recommend this company to customers.
Great products and service 👍

From an American Sweep.
Use it wisely!

WOOD ASH

If you’re heating with wood, there’s always plenty of wood ash to go around. Did you know there are many uses for wood ash?

Wood ash is little more than the remaining minerals after burning wood, and fireplace ashes contain calcium and all manner of other things that can be handy around the house, if used properly.

NATURAL ICE MELT

Probably one of the most practical uses for wood ash is to use it slowly over the course of the winter as ice melt. The natural minerals in wood ash work the same way as salt does to melt ice on driveways and walkways. Be careful using it near your front door though; tracking wood ash into the house makes a big mess.

NATURAL TOILET CLEANER

Wood ash is especially valuable as a toilet cleaner, not only because it polishes the bowl, but also because it won’t harm septic systems.

CLEANING CLOUDY HEADLIGHTS

One of my readers told me they “make a rubbing paste from wood ashes and remove clouded headlights on a vehicle.” It makes sense because road grit and the accumulated exhaust fumes from the car in front of you aren’t that much different than dirty stove glass.

SILVER POLISH

In the same way that wood ash works to clean glass, it can also polish silver. Just dampen a towel and add a bit of wood ash before working some tarnished silver.

Wood ash is also commonly used to scour dishes in rural communities and while camping.

SKUNK ODOR REMOVER

Wood ashes naturally help neutralize skunk odor on pets. If an animal gets sprayed, dust them thoroughly with wood ash and leave them outside for a few hours before giving them a thorough bath.

While this method is likely effective to an extent and may have been important historically, these days there are many better options. If you have a skunk-sprayed animal, use wood ash if you have nothing else on hand, but I’d highly recommend keeping skunk-off spray and skunk-off pet shampoo.

HIDING STAINS ON PAVING

Wood ash is naturally grey, and it can help cover up stains on sidewalks and paving. Simply dust a bit on and scuff it in with your boot.

CLEANING OIL SPILLS

In the same way that wood ash can be used to hide stains on concrete, it can absorb oil spills to help prevent them in the first place.

COCKROACH REPELLANT

Spreading a bit of ash in dark corners of the house or under appliances will keep roaches out. Their hard outer shell doesn’t stand up well to wood ash, and it’ll keep them from setting up shop in your house.

SMELL ABSORBER

Similar to baking soda, wood ash can help absorb odors around the house. Try adding a small jar to the fridge to absorb odors. It works even better if there are small pieces of charcoal still left in the ashes to help out.

DESICCANT

Wood ash can be used to absorb humidity and help prevent moist areas from developing mold. Place a cup of wood ashes in a damp cupboard or basement room. Again, small chunks of charcoal left in the ashes help for this purpose.

GARDEN FERTILIZER

Wood ash contains all the trace minerals from inside a trees wood, which are the building blocks needed for plant health. While it doesn’t contain carbon or nitrogen, those are in ready supply from compost.

The University of Vermont recommends about 5 gallons of wood ash per 1,000 square feet of garden. Since wood ash will raise the pH of soils, it’s not good for acid-loving crops like blueberries or potatoes.

BOOST COMPOST

A small amount of wood ash can help give compost piles a boost. While birds may be beautiful around a backyard compost pile, in rural areas open compost can attract bears. We’ve found that dusting a bit of wood ash on top of the pile helps keep bears and other large omnivores from digging in the scraps as well.

After we started adding wood ash to our compost, we noticed that it was markedly more healthy. Stick a hand into the middle of the pile, and you’ll come out with a palm-full of hard-working worms actively converting everything into nutrient-rich compost.

CONTROL POND ALGAE

Since wood ash contains micronutrients that plants need to thrive, it can also help strengthen aquatic plants. The potassium in wood ash can boost rooted aquatic plants in a pond, making them better able to compete with algae. That in turn, slows the growth of algae in a pond. Be careful not to add too much.

PREVENTING PLANT FROST DAMAGE TO PLANTS

Dusting plants with wood ash before an early light frost can help prevent frost damage. It makes sense, as the mineral salts in wood ash would lower the freezing point of water without harming the plant tissues as other types of salt might.

PREVENT CALCIUM DEFICIENCY IN TOMATOES

Those ugly black spots on tomatoes are often the result of calcium deficiency. Eggshells and bone meal are often added to tomato planting holes to provide them with calcium, but wood ash can do the same job. Add about 1/4 cup of wood ash to each tomato planting hole and scratch it into the soil before setting out transplants.

SLUG AND SNAIL REPELLANT

Creating a circle of wood ash around crops prevents slugs and snails from crossing into plant beds. We use this around our homegrown shiitake mushrooms, which are particularly susceptible to snails and slugs. It’s also a good solution for leafy crops like lettuce. The wood ash barrier is only effective until it rains or the ash gets wet, which is unfortunate because you’ll need to reapply regularly. The benefit, on the other hand, is that it’ll wash off easily at harvest time.

NON-TOXIC ANT REPELLANT AROUND KIDS & PETS

Placing a pile of wood ash on top of an anthill gives them notice that they need to move their nest.

It won’t kill the nest, but they will have to pack up and relocate, which works great for relocating ants’ nests away from kids’ play areas.

CHICKEN FEED SUPPLEMENT

Since wood ash is high in minerals, it can be good as a food supplement for chickens in small amounts. Community Chickens notes that “Wood ash offers calcium and potassium. Adding wood ash to your chicken feed (less than 1% ratio) may help to extend a hen’s laying period and can help reduce the smell of chicken droppings.” Be sure to use only ashes from clean burned wood and nothing treated if using for a food aupokement.

A Chimney Sweep's Life

In the heart of a town, where the chimneys stand tall,
A chimney sweep's life is the most daring of all,
With brush in hand, and heart full of might,
They conquer the flues from morning till night.

Through soot and ash, in darkness they tread,
Ensuring each fireplace is thoroughly fed.
Oh, a noble pursuit, theirs to uphold,
In homes old and new, in winters so cold.

They sweep away worries, they sweep away fear,
With each stroke they make, clarity appears.
From the homes filled with laughter, to the silent abodes,
They carry a promise down each winding road.

A guardian of warmth, in the biting frost,
A silent hero, where warmth matters most.
Their life is a testament, a display so grand,
To service and duty, in our hearth's warm sand.

So here's to the sweep, with their soot-covered grace,
Bringing warmth and safety to every place.
Through the chimney's mouth, to its dark, hidden core,
A chimney sweep's life is never a bore.