Fireplaces add a beautiful touch to any home, but despite the elegance it can add to your living room, it seems wasted if you never really use it. You deserve to get warm and cozy in front of a fireplace, but you also want to keep your family members safe. Here, we offer some of the easiest ways to be sure you’re using your chimney and fireplace in the safest possible way.
- Leave the glass doors open – You have to keep oxygen going to the fire, so keep the protective glass cover open while using your fireplace.
- Close the screen – But you should keep a protective screen in front of the fireplace in order to prevent sparks from reaching the living space.
- Always open the damper – This is such an easy step—and one you can’t afford to forget if you don’t want smoke blowing through your home. Keep the damper shut when you’re not using the fireplace and open it up when you are!
- Limit your time – A fireplace shouldn’t replace your heating system. Minimize the risk of a house fire and health troubles by limiting fires to no more than a few hours.
- Don’t use your hands – Don’t pick up or attempt to move logs with your hands; purchase a set of tools, like tongs and a shovel, made for this purpose at your local hardware store, home goods store, or online.
- Only burn wood – The flame may react poorly to household trash, and it can cause flammable creosote to build up quickly in the chimney and fireplace. Only use wood that has been dried (seasoned) for 6 months or more.
- Have someone else do the hard work – Our easiest tip so far is to let someone else take care of your chimney and fireplace safety for you. Follow all of the above rules, and call a technician to your home at least once a year to clean and inspect your chimney.
Call the Minneapolis fireplace and chimney experts at 2nd Generation Chimneys, Inc. to schedule a chimney cleaning today!
