Now that spring has arrived and as the weather warms up you will soon be leaving the fire or wood burner alone until autumn. Now is a good time to do some chimney maintenance and stove maintenance so that it is in good condition for autumn. As you will be using the fire less now, and possibly not at all until the autumn, it is time to think about having your chimney swept. Wood stoves and fires have deposits of soot and creosote that are flammable and corrosive. Removing the products of combustion at the end of the burning season makes sense from both a safety and maintenance perspective.