A fireplace installation is a beautiful complement to a living room or other rooms of a home. However, it's important to realize that a wood-burning fireplace installation needs to be maintained and used properly to continue to function efficiently and safely.
You need to be aware of all the considerations you need to keep in mind that help maintain your fireplace installation in good condition. The following are four important considerations for keeping your fireplace installation in good shape.
Cleaning the interior
One of the most important maintenance tasks you'll have to stay on top of is cleaning your fireplace interior. Ideally, you want to do this after every fire.
To clean your fireplace interior, you need to sweep out any ash. You should also inspect for any creosote and/or soot buildup on the fireplace interior.
Making sure your damper is functioning
The damper is an essential component of any wood-burning fireplace. The damper is responsible for both letting air into the home to fuel the fire and insuring that smoke is channeled to the home's exterior.
Make sure you're fully aware of how your damper works. Also, remember to open your damper before starting a fire and close your damper only after a fire has burned out completely.
Having your chimney swept out
The chimney of your fireplace will inevitably experience the build-up of substances like soot. These substances must be cleaned out periodically. The frequency with which you need to have your chimney swept out depends on both the design of your chimney and how often you use your chimney.
Discuss chimney sweeping needs of your fireplace with the contractor who installs your fireplace. Make sure you keep up with chimney sweeping needs to avoid hazards in your home and to ensure good interior air quality.
Using the right kind of firewood
You don't want to burn just any type of firewood in your fireplace. Your firewood needs to be the right kind. It also needs to be adequately dried out before you burn it.
Ideally, you want to burn hardwoods in your fireplace. The best types of tree wood to burn in a fireplace are ash, oak, and birch. That's because these woods tend to burn at higher temperatures to better give off heat. The also tend to burn for a longer period of time.
If you try to burn softwoods in your fireplace, you will be more likely to experience problematic creosote buildup. It's also worth noting that softwoods tend to give off more smoke as they burn.
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