A Slithery Surprise: What We Discovered During a Routine Fireplace Check

August 14, 2025

A gas fireplace is one of the most convenient and efficient ways to bring warmth and ambiance into your home. With just the flip of a switch or push of a button, you can enjoy a cozy fire without hauling wood or cleaning ashes. But just because it’s low-maintenance doesn’t mean it’s no-maintenance.

Just like your furnace or air conditioner, your gas fireplace should be inspected and serviced once a year. This annual maintenance is recommended by the manufacturer.

What Can Go Wrong Without Annual Maintenance?

Over time, even the best gas fireplaces can develop problems that aren’t visible to the untrained eye:

Dust and debris buildup – Dirt, pet hair, and cobwebs can clog burners, vents, and air passages, affecting performance.
Soot accumulation – Improper combustion can create soot, which can stain your fireplace and damage components.
Worn or damaged parts – Gaskets, valves, and ignition systems can wear out or fail, leading to inefficient burning or gas leaks.
Vent blockages – Birds, insects, snakes or debris can block the venting system, creating a potentially hazardous condition.

What We Do During a Professional Maintenance Service

At Fireplace Services Denver Flame, our annual maintenance visits include:

Thorough inspection of all components for wear, corrosion, or damage.This picture shows two thermocouples side by side-the new one on the left, the one on the right is the one installed in the fireplace. At the time of the inspection, the pilot light was working, but when the tip of the thermocouple deteriorates further, then the pilot light would have no longer stay lit. By replacing the thermocouple before a complete failure, the homeowner should reliably use their fireplace through the winter season.
Cleaning burners and logs to ensure proper gas flow and flame quality. Some of the issues that we have found was soot buildup on the logs due to improper placement or improper adjustment. This also turned the glass black. We have found cracked burners such as in the photo below.

Checking gas connections for leaks.
Testing safety controls like shut-off valves and high limit switches.
Inspecting and cleaning the venting system for obstructions. (on certain types of fireplaces)

Customer testimonials

    
 
 
         
   Kathleen Gibson 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We have used this company for years, have always been pleased, and will continue to use it.
  
 
        
   Mary Weyer 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Great , as usual
  
 
        
   Anne Tippets 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. They did a very professional job installing a gas fireplace in our home, it adds warmth and ambience. We highly recommend their services.
  
 
        
   Polly Davis 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I would highly recommend him for anyone!  He was knowledgeable, neat, on time and professional!
  
 
        
   Gene Barron 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Over the past few years my wife has smelled natural gas as she walked through our family room to the kitchen. We've had the gas company come out, plumbers come out and no one found any leak. I don't have a sense of smell so we do have Natural Gas Alarms in the house but this time she called Buck at Denver Flame. He checked every possible place we could have a leak-furnace, hot water heater, gas stove, and fireplace. He took his time and really worked to find the leak - and it WAS in our fireplace, but not where all the gas lines were, it was in the upper part above the firebox where it attaches to the flue system. Our gas fireplace was original in the house, about 24 years old, but Buck diagnosed the problem. He gave us some recommendation on Fireplace shops and one of the salesmen we spoke to knew Buck and gave us a wholesale price so we bought a new gas fireplace and are having Buck install it. He came out the next day after we called him, took time to explain what we needed, and found him to be reliable and honest.
  
 
  
 
  
 
   Google rating score: 4.8 of 5, based on 109 reviews