Sweep & inspection
Caps & crowns
Flue relining
Masonry repair
Gas fireplace serviceLevel 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.
Fast, Reliable Chimney Sweep Across Bloomington
Most chimney sweeps in Bloomington run $149 to $289 for a standard cleaning with inspection, and an older clay-tile flue with a camera inspection typically lands between $249 and $379. That’s the honest range we quote before we ever pull up to a home in 92316. If you live off Cedar Avenue or anywhere near the 10 and Sierra, our crew can usually reach you within a day or two, and every estimate is free.
Ashwood Chimney Sweep has worked around Bloomington long enough to know what these older houses throw at a flue. The 1940s and 1950s masonry fireplaces here were built with clay-tile liners that are now decades past their best years. Sand from Santa Ana wind events settles on smoke shelves. Creosote builds up slowly through mild winters and turns into something a brush won’t touch. We clean, inspect, and repair all of it. Call (833) 805-3229 and we’ll schedule a time that works.
Why Ashwood Chimney Sweep Is Bloomington’s Preferred Chimney Sweep Company
Bloomington homeowners have dealt with enough one-truck sweep crews to know the difference between a real inspection and a quick brush job. Norm Castillo runs our operation, and he built Ashwood Chimney Sweep around one rule: nothing gets recommended unless we can show you camera footage of the actual problem. No scare quotes on a full reline for a flue that just needs joint repair. No “you need a new liner” when a HeatShield restoration will do the job. That’s why homeowners off Cedar and Slover keep calling us back.
We carry materials most sweep-only companies don’t stock. DuraFlex liner components. HeatShield resurfacing product. Parts sourced from Copperfield and Famco. When we find a clay-tile flue with crumbling mortar joints behind intact tile, which is common in Bloomington’s older homes, we can repair it properly instead of handing you a phone number for someone else. One contractor handles assessment and repair. No broken telephone between the person who finds the problem and the person who fixes it.
Styles & brands we work with
Chimney Cleaning in Bloomington
Chimney cleaning in Bloomington usually means one of two situations: a homeowner who burns fires every winter and wants an annual sweep, or someone who just bought a house and has no idea when the flue was last touched. Either way, the job starts with a careful vacuum of the smoke shelf and damper before any brushing happens. That first step matters more in Bloomington than almost anywhere else in the Inland Empire, because Santa Ana winds push fine desert grit into chimneys that can hide first-degree creosote underneath. A standard Chimney Sweep in this area runs $149 to $249 without a camera, and $249 to $379 when we add a Level 2 camera inspection.
Creosote Removal
Creosote is the flammable residue left behind when wood smoke cools inside the flue. In Bloomington, where winters are mild and fires get lit intermittently from November through February, creosote builds slowly. Homeowners skip a year or two, and a first-degree soot layer becomes a second-degree flaky glaze that a standard brush drags right over. Our crew uses rotary brushes and solvents matched to the degree of buildup we actually find. A heavier creosote removal job in Bloomington typically runs $199 to $329 depending on flue dimensions and what’s baked onto the tile.
Level 1 and Level 2 Inspections
A Level 1 inspection is visual, no camera, included with a standard sweep. A Level 2 inspection adds camera work and is required by NFPA 211 any time you buy a home, change fuel type, or suspect damage after a weather event. Skip it on an older Bloomington fireplace and you may not know the mortar joints behind the clay tile have opened up until smoke or odor becomes a problem.
Fireplace Cleaning in Bloomington
Fireplace cleaning in Bloomington gets overlooked because the firebox itself looks fine from the couch. What you can’t see is what happens where the firebox narrows into the smoke chamber and flue. On a 1950s single-family home off Cedar Avenue in 92316, our tech pulled the damper and found the smoke chamber packed with wind-blown sand over a clay-tile flue with open mortar joints at the second course. We vacuumed the grit first, brushed the flue, then ran a camera down and showed the homeowner the joint gaps on screen before recommending a HeatShield resurfacing. No camera image, no recommendation. That’s the standard.
A basic fireplace cleaning in Bloomington, including firebox vacuum, damper service, and smoke chamber access, runs $149 to $219. If we’re also tackling a flue packed with wind-blown grit and creosote, expect $199 to $329. Fireplace cleaning here means more than ashes and soot. It means clearing the sand that Santa Ana winds push past a loose-fitting damper and down onto the smoke shelf, where it sits for months and produces a stale odor every time the house warms up.
Annual Maintenance for Brick and Stone Fireplaces
Bloomington’s masonry fireplaces were built to look good and burn wood, but nobody in 1965 planned for 60 years of desert wind and intermittent use. Annual maintenance keeps the firebox sound, the damper seating properly, and the flue clear. It’s the cheapest insurance against a chimney fire that starts behind ceramic tile no one’s inspected since the house was sold.
Cleaning for Gas Inserts and Wood-Burning Inserts
Gas inserts still produce acidic condensate and need annual service even though there’s no creosote to speak of. Wood-burning inserts vent into the same older clay-tile flues as open fireplaces, often with an undersized liner. We clean and inspect both, and when the liner’s the wrong size or deteriorating, we quote a DuraFlex liner rather than asking a homeowner to stop using their fireplace.
Trusted Brands We Service in Bloomington
We don’t carry bargain-bin substitutes, because the homes we work on in Bloomington deserve better than a patch job. Ashwood’s repair work uses HeatShield for liner restoration, DuraFlex for flexible liner systems, and components sourced from Olympia Chimney, Gelco, Famco, and Copperfield. These are the same materials certified chimney contractors specify nationwide. That means when we find a failing flue in a 1960s ranch on Slover, we can restore it or reline it with professional-grade product rather than telling you to call around. We stock common components for fast turnaround on Bloomington jobs.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterCommon Chimney Sweep Problems We See in Bloomington Homes
- Open mortar joints hiding behind intact clay tile. A brush passes right over these gaps and the flue looks clean enough, but combustion gases can escape into the surrounding masonry. This is the single most common finding on Bloomington homes built between the 1940s and 1970s.
- Wind-blown grit on the smoke shelf masking creosote. After a strong Santa Ana event, fine desert sand coats the damper and shelf. Brush over it and sand spreads into the firebox while first-degree creosote underneath goes unnoticed and unaddressed.
- Third-degree creosote from intermittent burning. Bloomington winters are mild, so fires happen a weekend at a time. That slow on-off cycle lets creosote climb through the degrees until a brush-only cleaning can’t touch the tar glaze. Homeowners get told they need expensive work when a proper chemical treatment and rotary removal is the right call.
- Detached garages or additions with their own chimneys. Plenty of Bloomington properties have a second flue on a detached structure that hasn’t been cleaned in a decade. These are non-standard by design and need a sweep who can adapt to odd configurations rather than walking away.
Pricing for Chimney Sweep in Bloomington, CA
A straightforward chimney sweep in Bloomington runs $149 to $249. Add a Level 2 camera inspection and you’re at $249 to $379. Creosote removal beyond a light soot layer can push a job to $199 to $329 depending on flue length and buildup. Fireplace-specific cleaning without full flue service runs $149 to $219. What actually changes the price here: the age of the flue, whether it’s clay tile or unlined, how much Santa Ana grit has accumulated on the smoke shelf, and whether you have a second chimney on a detached structure. Nothing gets recommended without camera evidence. Call (833) 805-3229 for a free estimate, and we’ll give you a flat price before any work begins.
We Also Serve Cities Near Bloomington
Our Chimney Sweep in Bloomington coverage extends into Fontana, Rialto, Glen Avon, and Pedley. If you’re just over the line in any of those neighborhoods, the same crew, same pricing, same camera-first standard applies. We schedule across the area weekly, so call (833) 805-3229 and we’ll find a slot that gets your flue cleaned before the next burn season.
Serving Bloomington, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Bloomington 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 About Chimney Sweep in Bloomington
The smell is almost always fine desert grit and dust that’s settled onto the smoke shelf and damper, then warmed by the house and pushed back down. In Bloomington’s dry, windy climate, this grit can sit for months and produce a stale, dusty odor that homeowners mistake for creosote. We vacuum the shelf first, which removes the grit and reveals the actual creosote condition underneath. Call (833) 805-3229 and we’ll do exactly that.
Yes. Almost every masonry fireplace in Bloomington built before 1980 has a clay-tile flue, and after 50 or 60 years, mortar joints behind those tiles have frequently crumbled. A brush won’t catch open joints unless someone’s looking at them directly on screen. We run a Level 2 camera inspection as a standard option on older flues, and recommend it strongly for any home that hasn’t been swept in three or more years.
NFPA 211 says a chimney should be inspected at least once per year, and swept whenever creosote buildup reaches 1/8 inch or more. In Bloomington, where fires are intermittent and creosote builds slowly, annual inspection catches problems hidden by the long gaps between burns. A home that’s skipped three years of inspections here is more likely to have second- or third-degree creosote than a home in a colder climate that burns hotter and more regularly.
First-degree is flaky soot that a standard brush removes. Second-degree is a harder, granular glaze that needs rotary brushing or chemical treatment. Third-degree is a tar-like glaze, often from intermittent, cooler burns, and it’s a known fire hazard that a brush alone cannot touch. Bloomington’s mild winters produce exactly the burn pattern that lets creosote climb from first to third degree without anyone noticing, which is why skipped inspections hit differently here.
Yes. Older Bloomington lots often have a detached structure with its own flue, and we clean every chimney on the property in a single visit. These are non-standard by design, so the inspection is more involved, but the same camera-first standard applies. Call (833) 805-3229 and mention the second chimney when you book so we can price the whole property accurately.
Written by Norm Castillo, Owner at Ashwood Chimney Sweep, serving Bloomington and the surrounding Inland Empire since 2008.