Enjoy Your Fireplace And Woods Stoves Safely

The high cost of energy are driving consumers to find alternative ways to reduce their home heating costs, they are rediscovering their fireplaces and wood stoves and using them more often to heat their homes. Although these are attractive alternatives there are many inherent dangers associated with using them.

Many times these fireplaces and wood stoves has not been used for a long time and may require some careful attention and inspections. It is recommended to contact a professional to inspect your fireplace, wood stoves and chimneys to make sure they are properly working and are safe to use. Careful attention to safety can also minimize their fire hazard.

Here are some safety tips you can follow before using your fireplace or wood stoves.

• Be sure the fireplace or stove is installed properly. Wood stoves should have adequate clearance (36”) from combustible surfaces and proper floor support and protection.

• Wood stoves should be of good quality, solid construction and design, and should be laboratory tested.

• Fireplaces, wood stoves and chimneys should be inspected annually and cleaned if necessary, especially if it has not been used for some time to ensure that they are in proper operating condition, (i.e., no cracks in fireplace masonry or wood stove linings).

• Keep children and pets away from fireplaces and wood stoves. They can be burned badly by touching such hot surfaces as fireplace screens or the exterior of a stove.

• Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate any fire.

• Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace opening, to prevent embers or sparks from jumping out, unwanted material from going in, and help prevent the possibility of burns to occupants.

• The stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15-30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup.

• Try to keep the fire at a moderate level. Continuous burning of wood at a low-fire level may contribute to creosote build-up, increasing the potential for chimney fires and the corrosion of metal parts. Inspect the chimney and chimney connector on wood stoves at least twice monthly and clean if necessary. Avoid over-firing the stove, since overheating may damage the stove and chimney connector or cause a fire in adjacent structures.

• Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build roaring fires in fireplaces. It is possible to ignite creosote in the chimney by overbuilding the fire.

• Use only the proper fuel. Don't use charcoal in a fireplace or stove that is designed only for wood fires, burning charcoal can give off lethal amounts of carbon monoxide.

• Keep flammable materials away from your fireplace mantel. A spark from the fireplace could easily ignite theses materials.

• Before you go to sleep, be sure your fireplace fire is out. NEVER close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper will help the fire to heat up again and will force toxic carbon monoxide into the house.

• If synthetic logs are used, follow the directions on the package. NEVER break a synthetic log apart to quicken the fire or use more than one log at a time. They often burn unevenly, releasing higher levels of carbon monoxide.

Photograph is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
Courtesy of Thomaswm

www.thediypal.com