The chimney sweep that Michiganders call first.

Almost every chimney has an odor. Normally the draft pulls smells up and out of the chimney.

Some chimneys have a downdraft instead, caused by wind or by pressure problems inside the house. That pushes the smell into your home.

Some odor will likely always remain, but we can get the smell heading in the right direction: up and out.

This is a downdraft, and it is most often caused by a pressure difference. Normally air leaves the house through the chimney. When the pressure outside the chimney is greater than the pressure in the room, air rushes down the flue and into your home.

First, make sure your damper is closed whenever you are not burning a fire.

If the draft continues, we can install a top-mounted damper. It seals the top of the flue and opens and closes with a pull cord inside the fireplace.

A chimney cap keeps rain out of your flue. Rain erodes mortar joints and rusts the metal parts of your fireplace.

A cap also keeps birds, bats and other animals out of your chimney and your home.

A cap costs very little compared with the repairs it prevents.

If you know how your damper works, try to open it the normal way.

If it will not move, something may be blocking it from behind or above, or it may be rusted shut. Either one is a warning sign. Don’t use the fireplace, and have it looked at right away.

Moisture carries most stains through the brick. If water is leaking through the flue onto the brick, further damage usually follows.

Caught early, the problem can be stopped before the staining and damage spread. See chimney repair for how we fix it.

Yes. First, make sure the damper is open. It sounds obvious, but it is a common cause.

If the damper is open and the fireplace still smokes, the more you can tell us, the faster we can find the cause. Useful details include the wind direction, whether it is windy or calm, the temperature inside and outside, how often it happens and how soon after lighting the fire it starts.