Whether in the outdoor living space or the living room of the house, fireplaces are the focal point. It lights the ambiance of your place, giving it an elite touch. How wonderful it is to hear the crackling sound of wood and the golden flames giving you warmth in the colder months of the year. Hence, fireplaces are a great addition to uplift the house’s curb appeal and simultaneously seek the benefits in winters.
However, if you want to seek the benefits, you need to maintain the fireplace too. Everything in your house demands maintenance and cleaning; fireplaces are one of them. You need to maintain, clean, and inspect your fireplace for any problems regularly for effective usage. A well-maintained fireplace will not only save you extra expenses and time but also add value to your house.
Down below are mentioned some of the tips to maintain your fireplace-
1) Clean the interiors of the fireplace-
Although a fireplace gives an edge to your home, it does produce 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 worst, 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, yet the safety of your family and others is the main concern too. You never know when the ash and heated wood particles can erupt out 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 harming your loved ones. Besides, using 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 be very harmful to 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 that all wood burns the same, but that’s not true. 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 substances remain in the interiors of the chimney and are easily combustible, obstructing ducts. Therefore, remove soot and creosote with mild sprays and scraping tools.