Level 1 sweep and inspection to the NFPA 211 annual standard - flue, crown, cap, and flashing checked and photographed
Chimney sweep logs do not sweep chimneys. They loosen some creosote - which then falls where a brush and vacuum still have to collect it.
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AfterFast, Reliable Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Across Arlington Heights
A Level 2 chimney cleaning and sweep in Arlington Heights typically runs $199-$289 and includes a full camera-scan inspection of the flue, written price before work starts, and a documented photo record. Our crews serve Arlington Heights from our Chicago office, and we book most sweeps within a week of your call. Call (331) 200-4445 to schedule.
We’ve worked on chimneys all over Arlington Heights, from the ranch homes clustered near Pioneer Park to the older Cape Cods and bi-levels off Rand Road and Arlington Heights Road. The village’s housing stock is unusually uniform: most of it went up fast between 1955 and 1973, and that speed left construction shortcuts we still encounter every day. Shared masonry chases. Oversized flues converted from oil to gas. Single-wythe brick that has taken fifty-plus winters of Lake Michigan freeze-thaw cycles. Our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep team knows what to look for because we’ve documented it on thousands of Arlington Heights inspections.
Why Level Two Chimney Hoffman Estates Is Arlington Heights’s Preferred Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Company
More than 38,000 chimneys inspected and cleaned since 2009. Every one with a written price before work started and a documented record when it was done. That is not a tagline. It is the Haven Standard, and we have operated under it from day one.
Arlington Heights homeowners find us because they read reviews carefully. They check the three-star reviews first. They want to know what happens when something goes wrong. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise - stamped on every job under the Haven Standard - means if it’s not done right, we make it right. No voicemail maze to navigate. Our phone is answered by a live person, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When you book in Arlington Heights, you get a named technician, a background-checked and uniformed crew member with their license number on the page, and a text when they are on the way. That is Haven Standard Clause 2: Arrive on schedule, verified crews. We do not send a random subcontractor. We send someone whose name you know before they ring your bell.
Our Chicago office coordinates dispatch and scheduling for Arlington Heights, which means crews are already working in the northwest suburbs most days of the week. We are not driving down from Wisconsin or up from Indiana. We are local to this corridor.
Our Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Services in Arlington Heights
Level 1 Inspection
A Level 1 inspection is a visual examination of the readily accessible portions of your chimney and appliance. In Arlington Heights, this is appropriate for chimneys that have not changed service, have had no known damage, and are continuing under the same conditions. We check the firebox, smoke chamber, damper, and the exterior crown and cap from ground level or the roof. For the thousands of ranch homes and split-levels built during the village’s 1950s-1970s boom, a Level 1 is the baseline annual check. But if your home has a shared chase, an oil-to-gas conversion, or any change in appliance, we will tell you upfront: you need Level 2.
Level 2 Inspection
This is where we differ from every sweep company that charges you for a flashlight look and calls it an inspection. A Level 2 inspection is NFPA 211 compliant and includes a camera scan of the entire flue interior. We lower a high-resolution camera from the top of the flue to the smoke chamber, documenting every crack, gap, glaze deposit, and liner failure. In Arlington Heights, this is not optional for most homes. The village’s defining chimney problem is the oil-to-gas mismatch: flues originally sized for high-output coal or oil appliances were converted to natural gas, creating chronically oversized flues that under-draft modern low-BTU equipment. That under-drafting accelerates condensation, liner acid erosion, and creosote staging. A camera finds what a brush cannot. Clause 4 of the Haven Standard requires a documented photo record on every job, and we have done this continuously since 2009.
Creosote Removal
Creosote is the tar-like residue that builds up when wood smoke cools before it exits the flue. Arlington Heights’s oversized flues make this worse. A flue that is too big for the appliance creates sluggish draft, cooler gas temperatures, and more creosote deposition. We classify creosote by stage: first-degree (sooty, brush-removable), second-degree (shiny flakes, requires more aggressive tools), and third-degree (glazed, hardened, often requires chemical treatment or rotary removal). Third-degree creosote cannot be brushed away. It is a glazed, rock-hard layer that reduces flue diameter, traps heat, and creates the conditions for a chimney fire. We remove it with rotary chains, chemical modifiers, or in severe cases, recommend a liner replacement. We tell you which class we found and show you the camera footage.
Soot Removal and Annual Sweep
Even gas appliances produce soot and debris, and in Arlington Heights’s shared-chase construction, that soot does not stay neatly in its own lane. We sweep fireboxes, smoke chambers, and flue liners to NFPA 211 standards, removing all combustible deposits. An annual sweep is the minimum for any wood-burning system. For gas systems in shared chases, we inspect the adjacent flue for cross-contamination and document what we find. The sweep includes a written condition report, the photo record, and a written price for any recommended repairs before we leave.
Fireplace Cleaning
Fireplace cleaning addresses the visible and accessible components: the firebox floor and walls, the damper assembly, the smoke shelf, and the hearth extension. In Arlington Heights’s older homes, we often find degraded mortar, cracked firebrick, and damaged throat dampers that leak conditioned air year-round. We clean, inspect, and document. If the damper is beyond repair, we quote a replacement in writing before we touch it.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Before
AfterTrusted Brands We Service in Arlington Heights
We source materials through Haven’s buying network to keep customer prices honest: Gelco caps and accessories, Olympia Chimney stainless liners and components, and Famco termination fittings. For Arlington Heights homeowners, this means we stock the parts that fit your chimney locally, not ordering from a catalog and making you wait two weeks. A Gelco stainless cap on a ranch home near Euclid Avenue, an Olympia Chimney liner for a split-level off Palatine Road - we have done both, and the parts are on our trucks or available next-day.
Common Chimney Cleaning & Sweep Problems We See in Arlington Heights Homes
- Shared masonry chases with abandoned furnace flues. Many ranch homes in Arlington Heights squeeze a fireplace flue and a furnace or water-heater flue into one chase. When the furnace is upgraded to high-efficiency PVC venting, the masonry side is often left open and unlined, pulling cold outside air and wildlife directly toward the living space. We find this on inspections weekly.
- Third-degree creosote glaze in oversized oil-to-gas flues. The flue mismatch that defines Arlington Heights chimney work creates conditions where creosote hardens into a glazed, ignitable layer. A standard brush sweep will not touch it. We identify it with the camera, remove it with rotary tools or chemical treatment, and show you before-and-after footage.
- Spalled brick and fractured mortar from freeze-thaw cycles. Arlington Heights sits in the Chicago northwest-suburban climate corridor with 30 or more freeze-thaw cycles in a typical winter. North- and west-facing chimney exposures stay wet longest and deteriorate fastest. We inspect crown and mortar condition as standard, not as an upsell.
- Unlined or partially lined chimneys in pre-WWII homes near downtown. Closer to historic downtown Arlington Heights, a significant number of older homes have chimneys that predate modern flue-liner requirements and violate current Illinois code. A Level 2 camera inspection is essential to determine whether relining is required for safe operation.
Pricing for Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Arlington Heights, IL
| Service | Typical Range in Arlington Heights |
|---|---|
| Level 1 Inspection with Annual Sweep | $179-$249 |
| Level 2 Inspection with Camera Scan | $199-$289 |
| Creosote Removal (first- and second-degree) | $249-$349 |
| Third-Degree Creosote Removal (glazed) | $399-$589 |
| Fireplace Cleaning (firebox, damper, smoke shelf) | $149-$219 |
| Chimney Cap Installation (stainless, standard size) | $289-$459 |
What moves the price? The height and accessibility of your chimney, the degree of creosote buildup, whether we find damage that requires repair before safe operation, and whether your flue requires specialized tools for removal. We deliver a written price, written scope, and written warranty before anyone starts - Haven Standard Clause 1, H.A.V.E.N. “Have it in writing.” No exceptions. Estimates are free. Call (331) 200-4445 for your exact quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Arlington Heights
Our crews work throughout the northwest suburban corridor. We regularly schedule Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Arlington Heights alongside appointments in Palatine, Hoffman Estates, Bloomingdale, and Elmhurst. If you are unsure whether your address falls within our service area, call and we will confirm while you are on the line.
Serving Arlington Heights, IL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Arlington Heights area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Chimney Cleaning & Sweep in Arlington Heights
Yes, because the abandoned furnace flue is often open, unlined, and creating a path for cold air, moisture, and wildlife into your home. On a ranch near Pioneer Park, our tech found the original terra cotta flue liner had spalled and was pulling cold air into the living room because the furnace had been upgraded to PVC venting and left the masonry side orphaned. We swept the firebox and smoke chamber, removed first-degree creosote, then capped and sealed the abandoned chase with a stainless liner while the neighbor’s water heater continued venting into the adjacent flue. The homeowner noticed the draft stopped within a day. Even without wood burning, the chase needs inspection and the open flue needs addressing. Call (331) 200-4445 for a free estimate.
Third-degree creosote is a glazed, hardened, tar-like layer that forms when smoke cools and condenses repeatedly in an under-drafting flue. It is essentially baked-on fuel. A standard wire brush will skid across the surface without removing it. We use rotary chains, chemical modifiers, or in severe cases recommend liner replacement. We classify what we find with the camera and show you the footage before recommending the removal method. Arlington Heights’s oversized oil-to-gas flues create this condition more often than properly sized systems. Call (331) 200-4445 to schedule a Level 2 inspection.
Water enters micro-cracks in the crown or mortar joints, expands when it freezes, and fractures the masonry wider with each cycle. Arlington Heights’s north- and west-facing chimney exposures take the worst of it, staying wet longest after rain or snow. By late winter, we regularly find spalled brick faces and mortar joints that have opened to the point of water intrusion into the attic or wall cavity. We inspect crown and mortar condition on every sweep and document what we find with photos. Repairs are quoted in writing before work begins. Call (331) 200-4445 to book.
It can be, if the dividing flue tile is cracked or missing, or if your side of the chase has been abandoned and left open. Cross-contamination between flues in a shared chase is a documented hazard: exhaust gases, including carbon monoxide, can migrate from one flue to another. We inspect the integrity of the flue separation with our camera and test draft performance on both sides. If the chase is compromised, we recommend repair or relining before continued use. This is not rare in Arlington Heights. It is routine. Call (331) 200-4445 for a Level 2 inspection.
Yes. The pre-WWII homes closer to historic downtown Arlington Heights often have chimneys with no flue liner at all, or a partial liner that fails current Illinois code. We perform Level 2 camera inspections to determine the condition of the masonry and recommend stainless steel relining when required for safe operation. We use Olympia Chimney and DuraFlex liners, sized precisely to the appliance, and we quote the work in writing before starting. Free Second Opinion on any written estimate from a competitor. Call (331) 200-4445 to schedule.
Written by Corrine Halstead, Owner at Level Two Chimney Co., serving Arlington Heights since 2009 under the Haven Standard.