So you have your new solid fuel fireplace or stove installed the last thing on your mind is maintenance and cleaning of chimneys and flues etc.
Most of the time this is very seriously overlooked and a lot of customers do not even have the chimney swept before installing a new real fire fireplace or stove.
As most people are aware fitting of a solid fuel fuel appliance must be done by HETAS registered fitter or have it signed of by Building Control inspector from your local council.
Bizzarely after that there is no further regular maintenance required by law, in my opinion this is very shortsighted as burning solid fuel can also create carbon monoxide which is a silent killer if the fuel is not burnt correctly i have read online about a death from a blocked flue for a Kitchen Range.
There are no regulations currently that say solid fuel fires of any type must be serviced and chimneys swept once a year. It would be good to have a regime in place or guide line so people know how often to service the fireplace, flue etc they have.
I understand most people would detect a fully blocked flue but how often have you heard people say sometimes the fire blows back smoke into the room, normally there is an underlying reason for this do not leave it have it investigated by HETAS registered fitter.
As a guide chimneys should be swept once a year by a decent sweep try the NACS which has sweeps numbers all over the uk they will give you free advice as to how often you will need it cleaning depending on the fuel you are burning.
As the flue is the only source for the toxic fumes escaping make sure it is in good condition so smoke does not enter your property right through the run of the chimney if in doubt have a chimney sweep test it for you and if found to be faulty it can always be lined.
So enjoy your winter fires and as good sound advice get your chimney swept just as you start to reuse the fireplace after the Summer so if you do have birds nest etc in the flue it will be removed before you light the fire.

Happy Burning and just to let you know our local sweep is cleaning my stove Thursday next week