Chimney sweep in Aurora, IL
The largest city we serve, and the one with the widest spread of housing — century-old homes, two-flats, and new-build subdivisions on the outskirts.
- Insured & Bonded
- 19 years in the trade
- Based in nearby Geneva
- Open 7 days, 7am–8pm
Aurora is the biggest and most varied town in our area, which means the most common misunderstanding shows up here more than anywhere: a chimney is a structure, a flue is a system, and one stack often contains two or three separate flues. Having one swept tells you nothing about the others, and the forgotten one is usually the furnace flue that runs every day for five months.
Smoke coming into the room, flames or roaring in the flue, or a carbon monoxide alarm sounding? Get everyone out and call the fire service first, then call us. We put these calls to the front of the queue.
Useful local links: City of Aurora · East Aurora School District 131
One chimney, several flues
Here is a conversation we have most weeks in Aurora. A homeowner says the chimney was swept a year or two ago, so it must be fine. We put a camera up and find a flue that has clearly never been cleaned.
Both things are true. The chimney was swept. What was swept was one flue, and the house has three.
The brick stack you see from the street is a structure. Inside it there can be several completely separate passages, each serving a different appliance. In older Aurora housing it is common to find a main fireplace flue, a second fireplace flue for an upstairs room, and a furnace flue, all rising through one stack. They do not connect, they are not cleaned together, and the condition of one says nothing about the others.
The flue nobody thinks about
The furnace flue gets forgotten and it is often the one that matters most. It runs all winter rather than a dozen evenings, and it is the flue most likely to have been left the wrong size.
That happens because furnaces get replaced and chimneys do not. A modern high-efficiency furnace produces cooler, wetter exhaust than the unit it replaced, so the original flue is now far too large for it. Gases lose heat, slow down, and condense on the flue walls instead of rising. That condensate is acidic and works on the masonry from the inside for years before anything is visible outside.
If your furnace has been replaced at any point and nobody discussed the chimney, that is worth a camera inspection. See chimney relining.
Two-flats and converted buildings
Aurora has a lot of two-flats and buildings that have been subdivided over the years. When a building is divided, appliances get moved and re-vented, and working out which appliance vents into which flue genuinely requires a camera rather than an assumption.
Two flues side by side in one stack are separated only by masonry. If the joints between them have eroded — which happens on old, unlined or clay-lined chimneys — combustion gases from one can cross into the other. It is not common, but it is precisely the kind of thing that cannot be found from the hearth and is a carbon monoxide question rather than a housekeeping one.
The newer edges
Out on the newer subdivisions the picture flips entirely: factory-built fireplaces, metal chase covers that rust through where water pools, and long interior dryer runs. Nothing structural, but nothing that has ever been looked at either.
What we do in Aurora
Every service, across housing from the 1880s to last year.
Not sure how many flues your house has?
We will find out and check all of them. One visit.
Chimney questions from Aurora
How do I know how many flues my chimney has?
Count the separate openings on top, usually visible from the ground with binoculars. Each opening is its own flue. We confirm it as part of any inspection.
Do you charge double for two flues?
No. We price a multi-flue visit sensibly rather than simply doubling. Tell us when you book so we allow the time.
Does the furnace flue really need attention?
It needs inspecting annually. Gas furnaces produce no creosote, but the flue can block, deteriorate, or be badly oversized after a furnace replacement.
Why would my flue be the wrong size?
Because the furnace was replaced and the chimney was not reconsidered. High-efficiency units need a smaller flue, so the old one is now oversized and the exhaust condenses instead of rising.
Can gases cross between two flues?
On old, unlined or deteriorated chimneys, yes, where the masonry between them has eroded. Uncommon, but exactly what a camera inspection finds.
Do you work on two-flats and rental property?
Yes. Subdivided buildings often have appliances re-vented over the years, so confirming which appliance uses which flue matters more there.
We have a gas insert in an old fireplace. Does the flue matter?
Yes. If the insert was fitted without a correctly sized liner it may not vent properly, and the flue above is still exposed to weather and animals.
Is Aurora too far from Geneva?
No, it is a normal part of our service area and the prices are identical.
Written by Rick Lee, owner of Zenith Chimney Service, Geneva IL. Published September 4, 2026.