Chimney Safety And Maintenance Tips

Fireplaces are a wonderful add-on to have in your home. Whether it was made from masonry, or was built with a thin metal firebox at a factory, if it has a chimney it needs to be cleaned and maintained. Fires create smoke, which contains substances that can stick to the inside of your chimney. Creosote is the biggest substance to worry about, as it is flammable and can cause a fire in your home to occur. See below for some chimney safety and maintenance tips to help prevent this from happening to your home.

Chimney Safety Tips

Prevent a fire from happening by following a few fire safety tips.

• Use Seasoned Wood. Using seasoned, dry wood is best for your wood burning fireplace. Newly cut wood has moisture still in the wood, which results in excess smoke. You can also use creosote logs found at most hardware store to give you a cleaner burn.
• Extinguish Smoke. Once your fire dies down and begins to have more smoke than flame, it's best to extinguish it. Allowing your fire to smoke that way will create excess creosote and soot build-up.
• Keep Flames Roaring. Your fire should be hot enough that it burns everything up, leaving nothing in it's wake, and only ash should be left in your fireplace.
• Remove Ash. When ash builds up, remove all but a one inch layer at the bottom of your fireplace. Keeping some ash will help build your fire, allowing it to light and burn faster. 

Chimney Maintenance 

Contacting a professional chimney sweep is the best way to clean and maintain your chimney, but in between professional cleanings, you can clean the flue yourself. Clean your flue using a special chimney sweep brush. The brush can be found at most hardware stores. The brush should easily scrape creosote and soot from your chimney. It's best to clean your flue from the top of your chimney, rather than inside your home. The dust is messy and dirty, and not something you want in your home. Be sure to seal your fireplace before performing this task. Be sure to clean out the soot and creosote from inside of your fireplace before starting a new fire.

Chimney fires can burn undetected until they become so hot they actually cause something else in your home to ignite. Having your chimney swept and inspected by a professional from a company like Early Times Home Solutions will help ensure this will not happen to your home.