Tips for keeping wood-burning fireplaces maintained

There are several benefits to utilizing a wood-burning fireplace, including cost savings on heating. Here are a few pointers to help you keep your fireplace in good working order so you may enjoy it for years to come. Maintaining your fireplace on a regular basis helps ensure that it runs as safely and efficiently as possible in the fireplace outside.

Safety.

Wood-burning fireplaces can cause home fires if they are installed, operated, or maintained incorrectly. Embers bursting from an unscreened fire or creosote build-up causing chimney fires are only two of the dangers that may get voided with appropriate use and maintenance. Indoor air quality can also get harmed by the wood-burning fireplace outside. The fireplace isn’t working if smoke is leaking from the firebox into the room.

Tips for Maintaining a Well-Maintained Fireplace

• Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and make sure they’re working.
• When a fire is raging, keep flammable things such as rugs, draperies, and furniture away from the fireplace. Children and dogs will be safer with a guard in front of the fireplace. Within 12 inches of the lintel, be sure there are no combustibles, such as a wooden mantel.
• When ash reaches the bottom of the fireplace grate, clean it out to avoid obstructing ventilation. For your protection, put on a dust mask and gloves.
• Have a qualified sweep clean and check your wood-burning fireplace and chimney at least once a year, after the burning season, or more frequently if creosote and soot build up on the interior of the chimney exceeds 1/8 inch.
• Light a couple of tiny pieces of seasoned wood from the top down to test the function of your fireplace. If the smoke does not depart the fireplace vertically into the chimney but instead enters the room, diagnose and solve any issues right once. Creosote/soot build up, other materials in the chimney such as bird or animal nests, a closed or partially closed damper, or wet wood that isn’t burning well are all examples.
• Hardwoods, not softwoods, should get burned. Hardwoods like oak, ash, and maple are denser and heavier than lighter softwoods like pine, poplar, and cedar, giving more heat.