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Mold on Your Chimney is a Warning Sign

Mold is a warning sign. Its presence means your chimney is absorbing rather than repelling water. Mold deteriorates mortar and can cause widespread structural damage within a chimney system.

Advanced Chimney Sweep of Georgia and South Carolina would like to share some facts about mold and some strategies for dealing with it.

chimney mold, Orangeburg SC

Why is mold growing on my chimney?

Mold is a living fungus that thrives in damp, poorly ventilated areas. Chimney bricks are porous and allow small amounts of moisture to penetrate their surface – and this can be all it takes to start the growth of mold.

If your chimney cap, chimney crown or chimney flashing are damaged, water can get in through the damage and start a mold growth in areas of the chimney system you can’t easily see.

What about mold on the inside of the chimney?

You can fairly easily address a mold issue on your exterior chimney masonry. It’s not as simple when there’s a major mold outbreak on the inside of your chimney and other areas adjacent to the chimney below the roof.

Remember – dampness and poor ventilation are ideal environments for mold to grow, and your chimney flue along with the exterior chimney within your home are perfect targets if water is getting in.

Is all mold harmful to people?

There are many varieties of mold, and some of them have been proven to be harmful to people. Black mold, in particular, is known to produce a variety of upper respiratory symptoms such as sneezing, coughing and watery eyes. In extreme cases, black mold can lead to major asthma attacks and even contribute to pneumonia.

It’s not important to determine exactly what kind of mold strain is growing on or inside your chimney. What is important is to get it removed and take some preventative steps for the future.

Removing and preventing chimney mold

If you see mold growing on your chimney, the first step is to call Advanced Chimney Sweep or a qualified, licensed chimney company in your area. We’ll thoroughly inspect your chimney inside and out to detect where and how much mold is growing.

We can remove the mold, but if nothing else is done, it will come back. For this reason, you’ll want to have any and all chimney leaks properly repaired. The next step is to keep water out of the system. We do that in two ways:

1. By applying a proven water-sealant to your exterior chimney masonry

2. By sealing the gaps in your chimney flashing to keep water from running down into unseen areas of your home

cleaning chimney in Augusta GA

Solve your mold problem now

Our crew has the tools, equipment and training to detect and remove mold from your chimney structure. Mold removal is not a do-it-yourself project, so rely on professionals to do the job correctly and safely with our professional chimney sweeps.

Advanced Chimney Sweep serves the Central Augusta River Area and the South Carolina Midlands region including Augusta GA, Martinez GA, Evans GA, Dearing GA, Hephzibah GA, Lexington SC, Columbia SC, Orangeburg SC, Aiken SC, and all areas in between.

In Georgia, call (706) 833-4630. South Carolina homeowners call (803) 508-3990. If you prefer, you can use our convenient contact form.