Fireplace Cleaning Services 

Your fireplace brings warmth and comfort—but it also needs regular cleaning to stay safe and efficient. Soot, ash, and creosote can build up quickly, affecting performance and creating fire hazards.

Here are a few quick tips from Chimney Monkey:
📞 Call Now for Professional Fireplace Cleaning: 847-994-4388

1. Burn Seasoned Firewood – Dry, well-seasoned wood burns cleaner and reduces buildup.
2. Use Proper Cleaners – Stick to fireplace-safe products to avoid damage.
3. Avoid Water – It can crack hot masonry—never use it for cleaning.
4. Schedule Professional Sweeping – Even with good habits, regular cleaning by pros is essential.
5. Enjoy with Peace of Mind – A clean fireplace looks better and burns safer.

Proudly Serving Chicago’s North Shore

With years of experience and thousands of satisfied customers, our team continues to deliver exceptional chimney care across the North Shore. We’re dedicated to protecting your home year-round while expanding our reach to new towns every season. Our growing team ensures prompt, reliable service—wherever you are.

Core Service Areas

Specifically, we proudly serve Evanston, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Deerfield, Riverwoods, Bannockburn, Northfield, Northbrook.

Extended Service Areas

We also cover Arlington Heights, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Glenview, Hawthorn Woods, & Fort Sheridan.

No matter where you live across the North Shore, Chimney Monkey is ready to help—with fast response times and service tailored to your home.

📞 Call Chimney Monkey at (847) 994-4388 and let us take care of your chimney needs!

What a Fireplace Cleaning Actually Involves

A real fireplace cleaning is a systematic job, not a quick sweep of the firebox. We seal the opening and run a HEPA vacuum the entire time so soot stays in our equipment instead of on your rugs. We brush the flue from top to bottom, clear the smoke chamber and smoke shelf where the heaviest deposits collect, clean the firebox and the damper assembly, and remove everything we take out of the system. Drop cloths go down before anything else happens and come up with the debris.

Every cleaning includes a Level 1 inspection. That means we are not just removing soot, we are looking at the firebox joints, the damper operation, the smoke chamber, the flue liner, the crown, and the cap while we have access. If something is wrong, you get told and shown, with photos where it helps.

Wood-Burning and Gas Fireplaces Need Different Work

A wood-burning fireplace accumulates creosote, and creosote is the reason chimney fires happen. It builds in layers, and the stage it has reached determines how it comes off. Light, flaky first-stage deposits brush away. Hardened, tarry third-stage glaze does not, and pretending otherwise is how people end up with a chimney fire after a cleaning they paid for.

Gas fireplaces produce almost no creosote, which is why people assume they never need service. They do, just for different reasons. Gas units accumulate dust and pet hair on the burner and logs, develop soot when the burner is out of adjustment, and can suffer venting problems that are genuinely dangerous because the byproduct is carbon monoxide rather than visible smoke. We clean the glass, the burner assembly, and the logs, check the pilot and thermocouple, and verify the venting is drawing properly.

What Fireplace Cleaning Costs

A standard fireplace and chimney cleaning is $335, and that price includes a Level 1 inspection. There is no separate inspection fee tacked on afterward.

If you need an inspection without a cleaning, a Level 1 inspection is $205. A Level 2 inspection is $295 and adds a camera survey of the flue interior, which is what you want before buying or selling a home, after a chimney fire, or any time we suspect a problem inside the liner that cannot be seen from either end. A utility chimney inspection is $205, the same as a Level 1.

Pricing accurate as of July 2026. Call 847-994-4388 to confirm current rates and schedule.

How Often Should a Fireplace Be Cleaned?

The NFPA standard is an annual inspection for every chimney, with cleaning as needed based on what that inspection finds. In practice, if you burn wood regularly through a Chicago winter, plan on cleaning every year. If you burn a few times a season, you may go two years between cleanings, but you should still be inspected annually because the things that go wrong with a chimney — a cracked crown, a failed liner, a missing cap, water damage — have nothing to do with how much you burn.

Gas fireplaces should be serviced annually as well. The venting and the burner adjustment matter more than the soot.

Signs Your Fireplace Needs Attention Now

Call before your next scheduled visit if you smell a strong campfire or tar odor from the fireplace when it is not in use, if smoke rolls into the room when you light a fire, if you see black tarry buildup you can scrape with a fingernail, if there is visible debris or nesting material falling into the firebox, if the damper will not open or close properly, or if you hear animals in the flue. On a gas unit, black soot on the glass, a lazy yellow flame instead of a steady blue one, or a smell of gas are all reasons to stop using it and call.

What to Expect on the Day

Plan on roughly an hour to ninety minutes for a standard cleaning, longer if the system is badly built up or if we need roof access in difficult conditions. We work off drop cloths with the vacuum running, and the goal is that you cannot tell we were there except that the fireplace is clean. Someone should be home to give us access to the firebox, but you do not need to hover; we will walk you through what we found before we leave.

Book a Fireplace Cleaning

Call 847-994-4388 or book online. We clean fireplaces across Chicago’s North Shore and the surrounding suburbs. If you also need gutters cleared before winter, a gutter cleaning can be scheduled on the same visit. For structural issues we find during the cleaning, see chimney repair, and for a full breakdown of inspection levels see chimney inspections.

Fireplace Cleaning FAQs

How much does fireplace cleaning cost?

A standard fireplace and chimney cleaning is $335 and includes a Level 1 inspection. A Level 1 inspection on its own is $205, and a Level 2 inspection with a camera survey of the flue is $295. Pricing accurate as of July 2026.

Is a chimney sweep the same as a fireplace cleaning?

In practice, yes. Cleaning the fireplace without cleaning the flue above it accomplishes very little, so our service covers the firebox, smoke chamber, damper, and the full flue as one job.

How messy is it?

It should not be messy at all. We seal the fireplace opening, run a HEPA vacuum throughout, and lay drop cloths before we start. A properly done cleaning leaves no soot in the room.

Do gas fireplaces need cleaning?

Yes, annually. Gas units do not produce meaningful creosote, but they collect dust on the burner and logs, can soot up when the burner is out of adjustment, and can develop venting problems that release carbon monoxide rather than visible smoke.

Do I need to be home?

Yes, for a fireplace cleaning we need interior access to the firebox. You do not need to stay in the room while we work, and we will review what we found with you before leaving.

How long does it take?

Usually one to one and a half hours for a standard cleaning. Heavy buildup, difficult roof access, or multiple flues will take longer.