Fireplaces are very comforting and bring warmth and relaxation into your home. However, open wood fires can be dangerous if not respected and looked after properly. With great power comes great responsibility! Use these points to ensure that your fire is safe.
Annual Chimney Clean
With regular use, particularly in the winter, the chimney will start to have soot build up inside it. This can become a huge problem if not cleaned regularly. Soot and creosote buildups can result in damages to both the chimney and to you.
To avoid any health issues or issues with your fireplace, it is recommended that you get your chimney inspected every year to ensure that all systems are working efficiently. If you are not a trained, then get a professional chimney sweep to clean your chimney. They will remove any build-ups of soot and creosote and look out for any hazardous issues in the process.
Safety Precautions
Having a real wood fire in your home is cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing than radiators or gas fires. As lovely as fires appear they can be very dangerous and need to be respected and prepared with the appropriate fire safety equipment. Having young children or pets, such as cats and dogs, can be a hazard with the fire. To protect them the responsible thing to do is to take some safety precautions. Fireplaces can be fitted with doors with fireproof glass. This will mean that live embers don’t fall out into the room and damage the floor. It will also mean that your children and/or pets will be safe from the fire and will not get too close. However, if you don’t want doors on your fire, you can get a fire screen to go around the fire that will also ensure that everyone remains a safe distance from the fire.
Use the Right Type of Wood
Real fires are beautiful to look at and have in your home. They bring the family together and produce a calm morale. Alongside this, it is essential that you then make sure you use the right type of wood for your fire. The best types of wood to burn are hardwoods such as maple, birch and oak as they will burn for long periods of time and will burn cleaner and hotter than softwoods, like pine. Burning hardwoods means that there will be less or a slower buildup of creosote in the chimney. This will result in the chimney being cleaner and safer.