Using and Maintaining a Fire Place
There is no other time of the year you will need a fireplace like winter! Yes, the cold forces you to keep warm always. Your fireplace should be in good condition all the time, and you should always have your chimney and fireplace inspected before you set the first fire for the season. Fire can keep you warm, but you never want it to get more than that and burn down your home.
Putting on your fire
For the popular wood fireplace, make sure you take out old ashes, and before you do, ensure that they’re cool. The wood you are to use should be hardwood, that is dry enough, dried at least for six months. They should have cracks at the end and when knocked together, producing a hollow sound. You want a fire that will last long, and you can achieve this by placing beneath the grates a rolled-up ball of newspaper, and then in a crisscross pattern, lay pieces of thinly split wood on the grates. Finish this up by resting one or three dry logs securely over the kindling.
In order to avoid getting a backup of smoke, ensure that before lighting the fire, you lit up a sheet of newspaper that is tightly rolled up and hold it towards the open damper. Let it stay there for a few minutes until you notice the smoke starts going up.
At this stage, you should light up your fire and enjoy. If the fire begins dying off, use a folded newspaper to fan it up gently, or you can use a poker. You can provide more fuel by adding logs. Before going to bed at night, ensure that the doors are closed when the fire goes out.
What kind of fireplace should you use?
Obviously, fireplaces are for keeping you warm¸ but more heat is lost using wood-burning fireplaces, since most of it rises and escapes through the chimney. If the fireplace is built against an outside wall, then it will lose more heat due to the cold from outside.
For this reason, it is advisable to use a woodturning fireplace occasionally, and try getting an inflatable plug to add insulation if you don’t plan using the fireplace often. The best you can get now is gas fireplaces, since they are more efficient, but they are costly though.
Safety precautions
It is better to be safe than sorry, and since fire itself is very dangerous, maintaining your fireplace is highly necessary. Clothes, papers and other flammable materials should be kept far away, and firewood should be stored at the backyard or any other place away from the house.
One dangerous thing to lookout for is carbon monoxide, since it is deadly and can be caused by wood and gas fireplaces. For this reason, installing a detector in your home is highly recommended.
Conclusion
A fireplace is good since it keeps you warm, especially during winter. You should be fine if you know how to properly get one up and going and also maintaining it. Enjoy the warmth of your home!
