Before chimney sweeps, homeowners had to clean their chimneys using a decade's worth of toothbrushes crudely glued end to end. Rid homes of smoky reside with today's Groupon: for $64, you get a one-story chimney sweep from American Heritage Fireplace (a $129 value). This Groupon is valid for homes within its service area only.

American Heritage Fireplace's chimney technicians scour soot and finesse flues to leave home heaters clean and free of excessive soot and creosote build up. After arriving at abodes, an experienced sweep performs a visual inspection of the chimney interior and exterior, as well as any connected fireplace or wood stove. Then they’ll prep the work area to corral dust and debris and manually scrub Santa chutes with a brush perched atop a graphite rod. The sweeping process ferrets out ash, creosote, and minor clogs, such as bird nests, squirrel nests, and licorice-rope nests; an industrial vacuum devours the falling particles.

Techs will clean the smoke shelf above the damper for chimneys attached to a fireplace, remove interior baffles for those connected to a wood stove, and disconnect and cleanse the interior pipe attached to the chimney for those with furnaces and hot-water flues. A service manager will then hand over a note outlining the chimney’s overall condition and any recommended repairs plus an autographed VHS of Mary Poppins.