Chimney cleaning in Riga and the Riga region

When a chimney must be cleaned

Solid-fuel flues must be cleaned before the heating season, by 1 November. Long-burn appliances that do not store heat for longer than three hours (heating boilers, metal stoves, sauna stoves) need one more cleaning during the season, between 1 November and 1 March. A masonry stove, which holds heat for longer, needs one cleaning a year.

Brick flues for gas and liquid fuel are checked and cleaned once a year, and lined, ceramic and metal flues once every two years. Whatever the schedule, it is worth cleaning the chimney if the stove starts to smoke, the draught gets weaker or you can smell smoke in the house. More detail: how often a chimney must be cleaned.

How flue cleaning works

1. Inspection We find out which appliances are connected to which flue, where the cleaning doors are and how to reach the chimney head. The heating must be switched off, and the stove or boiler must have cooled down.
2. Cleaning We sweep the flue with a metal or plastic brush that matches its diameter and material: from the top with a brush on a rope with a weight, or from the bottom with jointed rods. In a stainless steel liner we do not use a hard metal brush, which scratches the wall.
3. Flue pipe and chimney base We clean the flue pipe and the chimney base, where the soot falls after sweeping, and take it out through the cleaning door.
4. Check We check the draught, the seals of the doors, the chimney head and the chimney cap. If something looks suspicious, the flue can be examined with a camera.
5. Certificate We draw up a certificate for each flue cleaned: where it is, who cleaned it, the cleaner's qualification document and an assessment of the result.

Cleaning a chimney from the top or from the bottom

Cleaning a chimney from the top is the basic method for a masonry chimney with a straight flue: the weighted brush goes through the whole channel, and the soot falls down to the door. It cleans the upper part and the head better, which is where soot and tar build up most because the smoke is coolest there. This work needs safe access to the roof; the building code requires it precisely for chimneys that are meant to be cleaned from the top.

Cleaning from the bottom is used when the roof is steep, slippery or icy, when the chimney is very tall or when it cannot be reached safely. Flexible rods with a brush are then pushed upwards through the cleaning door or the firebox. How this works and where the method has its limits: cleaning a chimney from the bottom.

Soot: why it builds up and why it is dangerous

Soot consists of unburnt fuel particles that settle on the flue walls. Most of it comes from damp firewood, burning household waste and burning with a low flame, when the smoke cools in the chimney. Over time the soot layer grows thicker and can turn into tar, which is sticky and clings firmly to the walls.

Built-up soot can catch fire. Data from the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD): from January to September 2025, burning soot was put out in home flues in Latvia 261 times, and from 1 September to 20 October 2026 there were another 19 such cases. Burning soot damages the flue and causes micro-cracks through which smoke and sparks can reach timber structures.

If soot is burning in the chimney, call 112 first. After that the flue must not be used until it has been checked: chimney check after a soot fire. Burning out soot on purpose is forbidden, and it is not a way of cleaning.

The certificate after cleaning and when it can be skipped

A certificate is drawn up for flue cleaning. It must show the property, the owner, the address and the date, the location and description of the flue, the cleaner's name, the name and number of their education or qualification document, and an assessment of the result. In an apartment building, for a gas or liquid-fuel appliance, and whenever someone else does the cleaning, the certificate is mandatory.

The fire safety regulations allow the owner of a private house to clean a solid-fuel flue themselves, and then no certificate is needed. A certificate is still proof that the chimney has been cleaned, and the terms of BTA, Balta and ERGO require flues to be cleaned at least once a year. More on this: can you clean your own chimney and chimney report for insurance.

A cleaning certificate is not the same as a technical condition inspection certificate, which solid and liquid-fuel appliances need once every five years and when the heating appliance is replaced. That one is drawn up separately: chimney sweep's condition report.

What we find during cleaning

Cleaning is also the best chance to spot damage to the chimney before it becomes dangerous. The most common findings:

• cracks in the brickwork and crumbled joints in the attic or above the roof;
• a crumbled chimney head or a cracked crown slab;
• damp patches and condensation on the walls, often after a switch to a pellet or gas boiler;
• fallen pieces of brick or birds' nests that narrow the channel;
• a door that does not close tightly and lets air in, so the draught weakens;
• a chimney cap that is clogged or blocks the smoke from getting out.

We price repairs, chimney lining or fitting a chimney cap separately and do the work only once you have agreed to the price. Using a damaged flue is forbidden, so we record it in the certificate.

How much chimney cleaning costs

Cleaning one flue costs from €100, usually €100–130. The price includes the certificate and call-out in Riga and the Riga region. The same starting price applies to stove and fireplace cleaning and boiler flue cleaning. The final price depends on:

• the number of flues: we name the price for each flue before the work;
• the height of the chimney and access to the roof;
• the fuel and the type of appliance: stove, fireplace, boiler or sauna stove;
• the amount of soot and tar, and how long ago the flue was last cleaned;
• whether a technical condition inspection or a camera inspection is needed along with the cleaning.

All prices in one place: prices. We work across Riga and the Riga region, for example in Mežaparks, Jūrmala, Mārupe and Sigulda.

Chimney cleaning for your situation

• Chimney sweep for a private house: stove, fireplace, boiler and sauna in one house.
• Chimney sweep for an apartment building: for building managers and flat owners' associations.
• Chimney sweep for a summer house: the first fire after winter.
• Chimney sweep for a business: cafés, bakeries, production sites and guest houses.
• Chimney cleaning before the heating season: the deadline is 1 November.
• Chimney cleaning in winter: the second cleaning for long-burn appliances.
• Cleaning a chimney from the bottom: when it is not safe to climb onto the roof.
• Chimney tar removal: when a brush no longer helps.
• Boiler flue cleaning: wood, coal and wood-gasification boilers.
• Pellet boiler flue cleaning: fine ash and condensation.
• Chimney has no draught: when the stove smokes into the room.