How to Properly Take Care of Your Fireplace

With colder days just around the corner, it is about to start thinking of all the best ways to keep your feet toasty hot when at home without breaking the bank with skyrocketing heating bills. Naturally, many people dream of the cosiness, warmth, and homey atmosphere a real fireplace can create. In case you are lucky to own one, you already know that as much it is pleasant and very comfortable to have your own fireplace at home, it can also require a lot of maintenance and care to work properly. In order to help you prepare for the upcoming autumn and winter seasons, here are a few handy fireplace maintenance tips and tricks.

Clean the Chimney

Before the season of enjoying your fireplace finally comes, make sure the chimney is absolutely clean, otherwise, there is a risk of fire if the chimney has not been prepared and cleaned properly. Make sure to hire a professional to do the thorough chimney sweep and prepare your chimney before you start the first fire for the year.

Inspect Fire Alarms

Before you start the first fire of the season, make sure your fire and carbon monoxide alarms at home are working properly. In case they are not working for some reason, try to replace the batteries and if this one does not work, have someone professionally fixing them.

No Decorations Around the Fireplace

There is hardly anything more beautiful than lit and cosy fireplace surrounded by beautiful autumn or Christmas themed decorations. Yep, the fireplace will always be the centrepiece of the room and you would like to build your seasonal decoration on this spot of the house. However, this is strongly not recommended to do. Placing a lot of things and items near the fireplace has a very high risk of some of these items catching on fire and cause a disaster. In addition, make sure that rugs and furniture pieces are also far enough from the hearth of the fireplace to prevent disasters.

Choose the Right Wood Species

Indeed, different wood species come with different texture and density, which means they burn differently. Some kinds of wood require a lot of elbow grease until they catch fire. Other types burn too quickly or too slow. It is important to choose the right wood species. The best types of wood to use for your fireplace are seasoned woods such as ash, oak, birch, or maple.

Remove Excess Ash

In it important to keep your fireplace clean and regularly remove the excess ash left after the wood is burned down completely. Cleaning up the ash will help the next pieces of wood you place into the fireplace to burn better and it will also keep your entire house cleaner. Always make sure to remove and shovel out all the excess ash that exceeds one inch, but leave a little bit as it will help you start a fire quickly.