Fireplaces are the focal point, whether in the outdoor living space or the house’s living room. It lights the ambiance of your place, giving it an elite touch. It is wonderful to hear the crackling sound of wood and the golden flames giving you warmth in the year’s colder months. Hence, fireplaces are a great addition to uplifting the house’s curb appeal and simultaneously seeking benefits in winter.
However, to seek the benefits, you must also maintain the fireplace. Everything in your house demands maintenance and cleaning; fireplaces are one of them. You need to keep, clean, and regularly inspect your fireplace for any problems for effective usage. A well-maintained fireplace will save you extra expenses and time and add value to your house.
Below are mentioned some of the tips to maintain your fireplace-
1) Clean the interiors of the fireplace-
Although a fireplace gives your home an edge, it produces various by-products that can cause health issues and other problems if not cleaned. Therefore, it becomes necessary to regularly inspect your chimney or fireplace and clean the clutter inside for the fireplace to produce heat effectively. Besides, you can use the produced ash to sprinkle in your garden as it makes an excellent nutritional source for them. However, if the condition of your fireplace is worse, call the fireplace inspection professionals for the job.
2) Install heatproof glass frames and fans-
Although you love to enjoy the warmth of the wood in the fireplace, the safety of your family and others is also the main concern. You never know when the ash and heated wood particles can erupt suddenly and harm you. Therefore, it is important to install heatproof glass frames that deter these dust particles and ash from settling in the room or breaking your loved ones. Besides, fans can circulate the heat faster in the room, making you burn wood in minimum quantity.
3) Install carbon monoxide and smoke alarms-
Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that can harm human health and lead to choking, followed by death. So is the case with smoke, which can cause certain health issues if inhaled in large quantities. This usually happens when you have clogged chimneys, and the smoke doesn’t get an exit point. Therefore, call the chimney inspectors and install smoke alarms for safety.
4) Burn the right type of wood-
Many homeowners believe all wood burns the same, but that’s false. It would help if you always stuck to seasonal woods like maple, oak, cedar, and pine, which are light woods and burn without emitting extra smoke. Never use a wood that is moist or wet; it will not burn; instead, fill your house with all the smoke.
5) Remove soot and creosote build-up-
Creosote is a hard and flammable substance that is left if the wood is not completely combusted. Such implications remain in the interiors of the chimney and are easily combustible, obstructing ducts. Therefore, remove soot and creosote with mild sprays and scraping tools.