You empty the ashes and sweep your fireplace after every use to keep it safe and looking nice. But is it ready for Santa?

Your fireplace isn’t really clean until you remove what you can’t see: the creosote, soot, ashes, dust, leaves and even birds that are stuck in the flue and chimney.

Unless you want Santa to scrape off the flaky mess with his big belly on his way down the chimney on Christmas Eve, you’d better get the job done before he arrives.

If you do, you’ll have a clean, safe chimney and fireplace to sit around with company during the holidays.

You might want to hire a professional chimney sweep to do this time-consuming and messy job.

Why bother? When smoke from your fireplace goes up the chimney, some of it condenses into soot and tar in the flue, which is the chimney’s inner surface. That creosote builds up over time, and it’s highly flammable.

Keeping your chimney clean will help Santa slide down it worry free. And it will help your family enjoy celebrating the holidays around a dancing fire — also worry free.