Chimney sweeps back in demand
Magnús Hreiðar Þorgeirsson, one of the rare chimney sweeps of Iceland. Photo/ Mbl.is
Chimney sweeps are not only in Mary Poppins singing chim chimney chim chimney chim chim cheree. They're back in huge demand in Iceland as fireplaces become more fashionable.
"The busiest period is before Christmas says Magnús Hreiðar Þorgeirsson to Morgunblaðið today. He works for Blikkás-Funi who specialise in fireplaces for homes, restaurants and summer cottages. When replacing chimney smoke tubes they also offer cleaning services.
Methods used by chimney sweeps these days are not different from those of past centuries. They still use soft sweeps and poles but instead of travelling by bike they use a car. And now, they're able to use new methods of getting onto a roof which are much safer than just climbing a perilous ladder.
Chimney sweeps mostly disappeared in Iceland after 1970 when almost all homes started to be heated with geothermal water instead of coal or oil.
