With the arrival of warmer weather to the Indianapolis area, heavy rains are often in the forecast. After a rainy day, you may have noticed signs of a chimney leak, including standing water inside your fireplace or stained ceilings and walls. When you notice these...
Every summer, The Mad Hatter receives calls from customers complaining about unpleasant odors coming from their chimneys through their fireplaces. Several things can create stinky smells, and the heat and humidity in the summer can make these odors even worse. Now...
Spring is a popular season for taking care of your home with deep cleaning tasks and other maintenance jobs, so it makes since to schedule your annual chimney sweeping and inspection in the spring. There are a few advantages to having your chimney professionally swept...
If you live in an older home, you are most likely familiar with updating the systems in your home to keep everything up to modern building codes, but did you know that you should also make sure your chimney and fireplace system have been updated to current standards...
Within the inner walls of your chimney, dangers could be lurking that you are not able to see. If it has been a while since your chimney has been professionally swept and inspected, you may not know exactly how great the risks could be. As the Chimney Safety Institute...
One of the most important things you can do to prolong the life of your chimney is to take as many preventive measures that you can to prevent water penetration of your chimney. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA), the least expensive way to...
In order to work efficiently and safely, the components of your chimney system, such as the damper, need to be in good condition. Your chimney damper plays an important role. When it is opened, it allows the toxic byproducts of combustion to exit your chimney, and...
The snow, ice, and freezing temperatures that winter brings can end up causing a lot of damage to your masonry chimney. In the Indianapolis area, we must endure some tough winter weather, and The Mad Hatter knows that we will be busy repairing damage after a big snow...
You could have a dangerous fire hazard in your home - your clothes dryer. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), approximately 16,800 residential fires were reported in the U.S. in 2010 that involved clothes dryers. The majority of these fires...
If your older traditional masonry fireplace has not been heating your home as well as it should, you may be considering options to make some improvements. Unfortunately, older fireplaces just are not very efficient as a lot of its heat escapes out of the chimney, and...
