Wilkins Chimney Sweep (Halesowen-Kidderminster)

Wilkins Chimney Sweep was established in 1895 by Tom Wilkins in Newbury and has been sweeping chimneys for more than 120 years. It is a franchised business; in 2011, Peter and his wife Louise franchised it to expand nationwide, and in 2018 Darren Taylor became Managing Director. Mark Yeomans is the local sweep for Halesowen, having moved there in early 2014. He serves towns and villages including Belbroughton, Bell End, Blackheath, Blakedown, Bournheath, Broome, Catshill, Chaddesley Corbett, Churchill, Clent, Cookley, Cradley Heath, Dodford, Fairfield, Hagley, Halesowen, Harborne, Kidderminster, Kinver, Netherton, Old Hill, Oldbury, Quinton, Romsley, Shenstone, Stourbridge, Stourton, Wildmore, and Wolverley.

Sweeps are fully insured with public liability and professional indemnity insurance, have undergone a full police check, and receive comprehensive training with regular assessments by experienced, expert sweeps. They are trained on interacting with people who have dementia or disabilities. The company holds HETAS Approved Chimney Sweep registration.

Services include traditional brush or power sweeping with a vacuum, removal of bird nests or blockages, fitting chimney cowls, and a CCTV service. Sweeps arrive in a branded uniform and fully liveried van, and the company has a special process to protect carpets and floors. The company is fully trained and insured for services including cages, caps and cowls, carbon monoxide alarms, other sweepable flues, AGAs, Rayburns, open fires, wood burning stoves, nest and blockage removal, and Jetmasters.

Householders with log burners and open fires repeatedly commend the service they receive from this chimney sweeping business. A number of customers describe Mark by name, noting that he arrives at the agreed time and works efficiently, leaving the room as he found it. Reviews time and again mention the absence of mess, with soot and dust kept under control throughout. The quality of the sweep itself draws consistent praise, particularly on chimneys that had gone uncleaned for years before the visit.

An aspect raised across a number of reviews is the advice given alongside the work, covering safe use of the fire and the fitting of carbon monoxide sensors. Customers describe Mark as friendly, polite and knowledgeable, answering questions patiently and explaining each step. Those with wood-burning stoves value his familiarity with their appliances after years of repeat visits, while newcomers remark that the booking process was straightforward and the pricing sensible.

The care taken with furnishings and flooring features in many accounts, as does the willingness to check every detail before signing off the job. Regulars return year after year, and the thoroughness shown on first appointments encourages the same loyalty. Chimney sweeping for open fires and log burners sits at the centre of what customers describe.