Having a fireplace truly adds something special to your home.
You can enjoy a fire on chilly nights while spending time with your family and friends. Or, you can enjoy your free time by yourself, curled up by your fireplace with a hot cup of cocoa.
A chimney and fireplace are the perfect addition to any home and even adds something magical to the holiday season. This is especially true if you are part of a family with young children.
But having a chimney does come with responsibility: chimney maintenance. And it is vital that you keep your chimney well maintained in order to avoid damage and a variety of other issues.
Sometimes, chimney smoke can come back into your house while you are using your chimney, and this can become a problem. It is usually a simple fix. But make sure you take care of this problem right away so you can avoid damage to your home and to your chimney.
Here are some reasons why chimney smoke may be getting into your home and how you can solve this issue…
Firewood
If you have just gotten a chimney, you may not be aware of the importance of properly-seasoned firewood. If you do not use the right firewood, your wood can backfire. This leads to smoke continuously making its way into your home.
The best firewood is seasoned for about one year. This means that the wood has had no exposure to moisture for that time period, but it is not too dry to use.
If you do not use this kind of firewood and you use damp firewood instead, you will notice a sizzling sound when you light the wood. Then, smoke will instantly back-puff into your home.
The more experience you have with your chimney, the more you will learn about the correct firewood to use. In this case, there is no issue with the actual chimney. And with more experience, you will be able to stop this issue altogether.
Cold Air
When very cold air is in your chimney and the chimney smoke hits it, chimney smoke can back-puff into your home. This is common when you are lighting your chimney for the first time in the winter season and the chimney has not had time to adjust to the freezing temperatures.
You can avoid this issue by priming your chimney and burning something small in your fireplace before burning any firewood.
For example, you can burn newspaper or some kindling to get your chimney ready for the season.
If you consistently have this problem when starting fires in your fireplace, you should call a professional so that they can diagnose the problem.
A Dirty or Blocked Chimney
You might end up with a dirty and blocked chimney if you use it frequently enough.
A good rule of thumb here is to have professionals come in to clean your chimney every two years.
If you fall behind with cleaning, your chimney will not work properly. Then, you will definitely experience back-puffing from chimney smoke in your home.
Other Blockage Issues
You might not have a blocked chimney because of dirtiness. But it may have blockages for a variety of other reasons.
For example, there could be a bird’s nest on top of or in your chimney. This bird’s nest could be blocking smoke from exiting your chimney properly.
Or, you may have a beehive, or branches and sticks from a nearby tree, blocking the top of your chimney.
Nature can always be responsible for plenty of chimney issues. But you may not realize it since your chimney can be so hard to get to.
If you think a natural cause could be blocking your chimney, you should call a professional right away.
A Faulty Damper
Your fireplace damper is an essential part of your chimney. It is what keeps drafts from entering your home when you are not using your fireplace. It is the opening into which smoke travels to get to the flue.
To enjoy your fireplace without any safety risks, it is important that you have a working damper. If you cannot open your damper all the way, or it will not open at all, you will end up with fireplace smoke in your house whenever you have a fire. Other than a safety hazard, this is also an inconvenient hassle every time you want to relax with a nice fire.
Replacing your damper is an easy fix, though, with professional help.
If you are experiencing issues with your chimney or you just need some regular maintenance, Ray Arnold Masonry and General Contracting is here for you.
We specialize in chimney repair and waterproofing, and we can help you with all your chimney problems. Contact Ray Arnold Masonry today for exceptional chimney repair services!