![]() This made it possible for the device to clean the chimney without a person going inside and risking their lives. He created a new system that allowed a device made of canes and brushes to move up and down the chimney to clean it. Joseph Glass is widely known in the industry for his contributions. One of the ways that we were able to protect workers was to utilize new inventions that contributed to safer work conditions. Later, laws would also be put in place to help the environment and the homeowners, too. This was the start of a long list of laws that were developed to protect workers. Of course, it took time for real change to occur. The children were no longer legally allowed to climb up the chimneys to clean them. In England in 1864, they passed the “Act for the Regulation of Chimney Sweepers”, which instilled laws to protect workers, especially children, from the dangers of the trade. Luckily, people realized that something needed to change in the industry. William Blake, one of the greatest poets of his time, describes the difficult job that some children had in his poem Songs of Innocence- The Chimney Sweeper. ![]() In order to motivate the child worker, some horrible employers would even light a small fire to encourage them to get to work. The children were still terrified sometimes. These children were either from very poor families or orphans, so they didn’t understand or care how dangerous the job was they simply needed the work. The children were small enough that they could climb up into the chimney to clean it. Worse, many of the chimney sweepers were children. Others would fall from roofs and not survive. More quickly, though, some would get stuck in the chimney and die from inhaling the soot for too long. What made the job so dangerous? Workers could inhale soot and develop lung problems. It was an unskilled job that just about anyone could do. It didn’t require an extensive amount of knowledge. Not cleaning the soot was causing dirty homes, lung problems, and fires (read all about ways to get the soot out of your carpet here).Ĭhimney sweeping was not always an easy profession. People quickly realized that the soot building up in their chimneys needed to be cleaned somehow. Hence the need for the chimney sweeping industry. While coal was cheaper than wood, it caused a lot of soot to build up. People first started using coal for their fires. Some homes even had a fireplace in every room. The BeginningĬhimneys became extremely popular in the 1600s because fireplaces were used for heat. ![]() ![]() Let’s a quick look into chimney sweeping history and what made them so popular. It’s hard to remember the time where chimneys were used for heat, and the job was dangerous. Most classic homes will have several fireplaces, and they are considered a luxury item in real estate today. Many people sit around the fireplace and read a book or talk to their family with a glass of wine. ![]()
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