It’s always a great feeling to sit in front of a fireplace as the storm rages from outside. Other than keeping your house warm, it also offers an opportunity to come together as a family and share your experiences.
But maintaining a safe and efficient fireplace or chimney can be a challenge, especially for those using it for the first time.
Below are tips for maintaining a safe and efficient chimney:
1. Invest in the right tools
It is important to have all the necessary tools readily available to be able to manage the fire well. Here are some of the tools that you will require:
• Fireplace holder: It is possible to get a set of fireplace tools that contain everything you need to manage the fire. Try to purchase a set that has a poker, shovel, broom, and tongs. The good thing is that most sets are inclusive of a hanging rack for convenience purposes
• Mesh screen: It is important to contain embers because of their hazardous nature. This is because the air movement in your home or backdraft in the chimney can propel the embers. But a mesh screen will ensure that the embers don’t fly out and cause a fire in your home
• Andirons: also known as firedogs, andirons are fireplace brackets mean to hold up firewood. The device facilitates proper air circulation, making the fire burn with more heat and less smoke.
• Ash bucket: In every fire, you will always have plenty of ash left behind. It is good to have an ash bucket on standby to rid out all the remaining ash after your fire goes off.
• Fire gloves: Ensure that you protect your hands by wearing fire gloves. The gloves are made of material designed to withstand high heat – meaning you can adjust or change fire logs without any worry.
After ensuring that you have the right equipment in place, the next thing is to build the fire. You should know that not any kind of wood can be used in a fireplace. This is because some firewood are toxic and may also give you a lot of chimney cleaning work.
Recommended type of wood to use
• Birch: This is one of the best woods for a fireplace. It burns faster and leaves minimal soot.
• Ash: The good thing with as is that it is easy to ignite and burns consistently
• Oak: It is a great hardwood, highly dense and burns for a long time
• Wood bricks: These are some of the latest materials for generating consistent flames with very minimal smoke in a fireplace. You can easily find them in different parts of Fort Wayne
Type of wood that you should never use
• Wet wood: Using wet wood will not only refuse to burn but also generate a lot of smoke in your home
• Softwood: Softwoods are not good because they generate a lot of soot. Besides, they also burn very fast
• Endangered wood species: While looking for wood for your fire, be mindful of the wood species that are restricted
This is another important tip when it comes to maintaining a safe and efficient chimney. As mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of soot and ashes left behind after every fire. If the ashes are not removed from time to time, your chimney won’t function efficiently.
That’s the reason why fireplace cleaning should be done regularly. The good thing is that there are several companies in Fort Wayne such as Dusty Brothers of Fort Wayne
that can assist.
There’s no doubt that a lot of soot will always build up on your chimney. If a lot of it accumulates on the flue of the chimney, then it can actually ignite and cause a fire in your house.
Chimney cleaning is recommended at least once per year – if you regularly use it.
In general, maintaining a safe and efficient chimney requires some effort. Choosing the right type of wood, chimney, fireplace cleaning are some of the tips that can keep you on the safe side.
