OAK RIDGE, N.C. — It’s not your everyday winter prep, but cleaning out your chimney is an important step, especially before a winter storm blows through.

“As the colder weather hits, you’re going to want to use your fireplace a lot more. With that cold front coming in, it’s going to be a lot of heavy, cold air that’s going to push down,” chimney sweep Chad Carroll said. “When you have a clean chimney, all your air and all your smoke is going to go out of the chimney, where if it’s dirty or it hasn’t been cleaned in a while, that cold air is going to push the smoke into your home.”

 

What You Need to Know

A dirty chimney allows cold air to push smoke from the fireplace back into your home

You should get your chimney cleaned once a year

Tracy Carroll has been running Carolina Chimney Sweep for over 30 years

He started with his brother and now works with his son — it’s a family business

 

Chad Carroll and his father, Tracy Carroll, run Carolina Chimney Sweep. Tracy’s been in the business over 30 years and originally started with his brother. Having his son carry the torch seemed like a rite of passage.

“It’s great man, I’m glad that he wants to continue doing that. I’m thankful for my brother and what he taught me and me passing it down to Chad and Chad actually wanted it,” Tracy Carroll said. “I’ve been doing it 30 years. I didn’t know it was going to last this long but it has, and it’s just good to know someone like him wants to continue it.”

“It’s a lost art,” Chad Carroll said.

There aren’t too many sweeps in the Triad, so the profession is dying a bit. But for the pair, that means there’s always plenty of work to go around.

“Snow, cold front comes in, people utilize their fireplace, they really need a chimney sweep,” Chad Carroll said. “I wouldn’t say I’m necessarily helping my community, but it’s a way to help people when it’s cold, and they need a source of heat.”

It originally started as a side hustle. Tracy Carroll said he got into it through his brother, making extra money working with him. 

Now, it’s a full-fledged family operation.

“Family business, trying to keep it going,” Chad Carroll said with a smile.

One way to do that is helping people prep for a winter storm.