Why is the smell worse in summer than in winter?

In summer, warm humid outside air meets a cool flue and the airflow reverses, so the chimney breathes down into the house. Damp also brings odour out of creosote deposits. In winter the fire drives air up the flue, so you smell nothing.

I live in a co-op or condo. Can this still be handled?

Most of Manhattan and dense parts of Brooklyn and Queens are co-ops and condos run by a board rather than an HOA, so check with your board or managing agent about access and approvals before scheduling. That is separate from the chimney work itself. Tell us the situation when you call and we will pass it along.

Does chimney work in New York City need a permit?

In New York City permits are issued by the Department of Buildings, not by a state agency, and the city enforces its own NYC Construction Codes rather than the state Uniform Code. Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not need a permit, but relining as part of an appliance installation or structural masonry above the roofline usually does. Call the Department of Buildings before that kind of work begins.

Is there a state chimney sweep licence in New York?

No. New York does not issue a statewide licence for chimney sweeping, inspection or masonry repair — it is handled locally. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, so verify current requirements with that office.

Can I see what the technician found?

Ask. If a camera is used in the flue, ask to see the footage, and ask for the reasoning behind the recommendation in writing. You are approving the price before anything starts, so it is fair to understand what you are approving.

Smells of smoke or damp in New York, NY

You walk past the fireplace and get a whiff of old smoke, or something damp and sour. It is worse on humid days, and worse in summer than in winter. In most cases the smell is the creosote itself. Creosote is the tarry residue left on the flue walls by burning wood, and when it gets damp it releases odour. Add moisture from a cracked crown, bad flashing or an open cap, or a nest and animal debris sitting in the flue, and the smell gets stronger.

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The other half of the problem is airflow. Warm humid air outside and a cool flue inside reverse the draft, so instead of the chimney pulling air up and out, it breathes down into the room. That is why the smell shows up in summer and fades when you light a fire. New York summers are hot and sticky, so this happens a lot here. The city's housing stock does not help. Much of it predates 1940 — brick and brownstone rowhouses, masonry walk-ups, prewar apartment buildings — and those old masonry flues, many of them clay-tile or unlined, hold moisture and odour well. Freeze-thaw cycles from roughly December through March crack chimney crowns and open mortar joints, and those cracks are the water path that feeds the smell all the following summer.

While you wait — please don't

Do not treat headaches or nausea as a smell problem. If anyone in the home has headaches, nausea, dizziness or drowsiness along with the odour, treat it as carbon monoxide until proven otherwise — get everyone outside into fresh air and call 911.
Do not just shut the damper and spray air freshener. Masking the odour hides a flue that may still be loaded with creosote, which is fuel for a chimney fire.
Do not light a fire to burn the smell off. If the flue is holding heavy creosote, or a nest or debris is blocking it, a fire makes the situation far more dangerous rather than clearing it.
Do not ignore a damper that will not close or seal. A damper that is stuck, warped or rusted leaves the flue open to the house year-round, so the chimney breathes into your living space every humid day.

What the technician does

Inspection and free estimate firstThe technician looks at the chimney, finds what is producing the smell, and gives you the price before any work starts. You approve it first.
Sweeping the flueSince the odour is usually the creosote itself, removing it is the core of the job. Clearing the deposits takes away the source rather than covering it.
Clearing nests and animal debrisTwigs, droppings and dead material in a flue smell badly once they get damp. Anything found up there gets removed.
Closing the moisture pathWater keeps the creosote wet and the smell alive. The technician checks the cap, the crown and the flashing and sorts out whichever one is letting rain in.
Damper repair or a top-sealing damperA throat damper that no longer seals lets the flue breathe into the room. Repairing it, or fitting a top-sealing damper at the top of the chimney, closes the flue off from the house.
Looking at house pressureSometimes the house is pulling air down the chimney rather than the chimney pushing it. The technician considers how the home is drawing air before deciding what fix will actually hold.

Why this happens in New York, NY

New York is coastal, and the whole city gets Atlantic and harbour air along with heavy winter road salt. Combine that with summer humidity and long heating seasons and you have flues that stay damp for months. Unused flues are the worst offenders — the damp sits in them and the creosote odour builds. In neighbourhoods with older single-family and semi-attached homes, like Bay Ridge, Forest Hills, Riverdale or St. George on Staten Island, and in the rowhouse stretches of Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Harlem, chimney liners, parapets and mortar joints are a constant maintenance item. Many original fireplaces in these buildings were sealed years ago or converted to gas or heating-flue use, and a sealed-up flue can still push odour into the room.

Timing matters. Demand across New York spikes with the first hard freeze and the start of heating season in late fall, again after winter nor'easters, and during the late-summer-to-October storm and flooding window. A summer smell is worth dealing with in summer, before the queue builds. It also puts the work in the warmer months, which is when exterior masonry repointing and crown repair are normally done anyway, since mortar needs to cure without freezing.

Questions people ask

Why is the smell worse in summer than in winter?: In summer, warm humid outside air meets a cool flue and the airflow reverses, so the chimney breathes down into the house. Damp also brings odour out of creosote deposits. In winter the fire drives air up the flue, so you smell nothing.
I live in a co-op or condo. Can this still be handled?: Most of Manhattan and dense parts of Brooklyn and Queens are co-ops and condos run by a board rather than an HOA, so check with your board or managing agent about access and approvals before scheduling. That is separate from the chimney work itself. Tell us the situation when you call and we will pass it along.
Does chimney work in New York City need a permit?: In New York City permits are issued by the Department of Buildings, not by a state agency, and the city enforces its own NYC Construction Codes rather than the state Uniform Code. Routine sweeping and inspection generally do not need a permit, but relining as part of an appliance installation or structural masonry above the roofline usually does. Call the Department of Buildings before that kind of work begins.
Is there a state chimney sweep licence in New York?: No. New York does not issue a statewide licence for chimney sweeping, inspection or masonry repair — it is handled locally. New York City requires a Home Improvement Contractor licence through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, so verify current requirements with that office.
Can I see what the technician found?: Ask. If a camera is used in the flue, ask to see the footage, and ask for the reasoning behind the recommendation in writing. You are approving the price before anything starts, so it is fair to understand what you are approving.

One call

One call to (866) 576-7943 and we arrange the visit with an independent sweep working in New York — we schedule the work, we are not the contractor. The estimate is free, and the technician gives you the price after inspecting the chimney and before any work begins.

Call now · (866) 576-7943

Something else in this area

One Call Chimney arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.