If your mother's house has a fireplace or wood stove, the chimney is one of the few parts of the home you can plan well from far away. The job runs in stages: booking, preparing the room, the sweep itself, and the report with any repairs. Each stage has a point where you can ask a question or get something in writing.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
Stage one: the booking call
Ask whether the company is trained for the kind of flue and chimney you have, whether the visit includes an inspection along with the cleaning, how long it takes, and whether someone needs to be home. Ask for the arrival window in writing. If a local person has to let the crew in, name that person and confirm they will be there. Ask what the cancellation rule is before you agree to anything, and confirm what is due at booking and what is due afterward.
Stage two: prepare the room
A local person should clear the space in front of the fireplace or stove, move small furniture and rugs, and take fragile items off the mantel. Ask the company what it covers, such as drop cloths, dust sheets, and cleanup of soot, and what it expects the homeowner to move. A visit that starts with a cleared floor finishes faster and leaves less mess behind.
Stage three: watch the sweep
You may not be there, and that is fine if the crew calls your local contact at the start and at the end. Ask what they find: how much soot is built up, whether there is a tar-like buildup on the inside walls, whether the liner is cracked, whether the damper sticks, whether there is a nest, and whether the chimney cap is missing or damaged. Ask them to show the damper opening and closing fully.
Stage four: read the report
The written report is the document that matters most. It should name each part they checked, the condition they found, what they cleaned, and what they recommend. Ask whether any repair is urgent, whether it is required or only suggested, and who would do the work. Keep the report with the house papers so the next visit starts from what this one found.
If they recommend a repair
Get a separate written quote and do not approve repairs over the phone. Compare the quote against the report line by line, and ask whether the repair can wait until you or a local person can see the work.
Tonight
Ask your mother, or whoever is closest, whether the fireplace or stove gets used regularly and whether anyone has noticed the damper sticking or smoke coming back into the room. Then write down the name of the company you are considering and ask them to send the booking terms by email.
What to leave with the sweep company
A local contact who can open the door, directions to any outside cleanout or roof access they will use, a note about pets or anyone who uses the room, and a request that every finding go into a written report that you receive.