Smoke coming out from your chimney can be a frustrating situation. Not only does it smell bad but also enters your house, raising serious health concerns, especially if you have kids living as well. Therefore, it is important that your fireplace runs smokeless and for which you may schedule regular fireplace and chimney inspections. We have compiled a list of some important tips that will help reduce the amount of smoke coming into your house. Let’s discuss!
Use A Fireplace Grate
The first thing you need to do when it comes to stopping your chimney from smoking is to use a fireplace grate. A fireplace grate is designed to lift the fire further off the floor of the fireplace. In other words, it helps with the airflow for the fireplace. This way, the fire is lifted and directed towards the chimney.
As the fire is lifted up into the fireplace, the chances of smoke escaping and entering your house are relatively less. This is particularly important for larger fireplaces as the chances of smoke escaping are comparatively more.
If you happen to be using a fireplace grate and observe that the smoke is still escaping, you might want to opt for a specially designed fireplace grate that will help keep the fire against the fireplace’s back wall.
Build Fires Towards The Back Of The Fireplace
Another great way to stop smoke coming out of a fireplace is to build fires as further or far back into the fireplace as possible. Even if you do not have a fireplace grate, building a fireplace further towards the back is going to help minimize the amount of smoke entering your house.
Build Fires Using The Top-Down Method
Building fires using the top-down method means placing the logs first and adding some newspapers and other materials on top before igniting a fire. The main reason the top-down method happens to be successful is that since the fire is added to the top, the chances of smoke escaping into another direction are less.
However, traditional fireplaces use a technique that involves creating a fire at the base of the fireplace. This creates a problem in terms of burning and also produces comparatively more smoke. With fire burning at the top, the smoke generated is automatically generated towards the chimney.
Burn Dry & Low Moisture Content Firewood
While trying to reduce the amount of smoke coming out from your chimney, it is best that you target the source that is causing it. One of the main reasons a fireplace produces a lot of smoke is if the wood happens to be too wet. Relatively dry wood in that respect will hardly produce any smoke once it is being combusted properly.
Wet wood produces more smoke because a fire will struggle to burn the excess moisture before the wood can be combusted properly. Therefore, one of the best ways to reduce the amount of smoke is to opt for dry firewood. If you have already purchased moist wood, keep it under direct sunlight for a few days to dry.
In addition, there are several ways to identify wet wood. First of all, wet wood is relatively heavier than dry wood. Secondly, it has a darker color tone as compared to the light color tone of dry wood. To make sure that the wood you have opted for has less moisture, you should use a moisture meter.
It will help you burn wood that is dry and does not cause discomfort due to smoke and irritating odor.
Open The Damper Fully Before Each Fire
Another key factor that helps produce less smoke is sufficient airflow. Even if the wood happens to be dry, insufficient airflow will still make it harder to burn wood. Therefore, to ensure that the wood burns properly, make sure that you open the damper fully before each fire.
Dampers are usually used to help prevent the heat from escaping from the house. Opening them is important for the waste gasses and smoke to escape. Once the situation is clear, you can close the dampers.
Final Word
That’s it! Always use dry wood and light a fire at the top. You can use a fire grate as well that will help reduce the amount of smoke produced. If the problem is severe, hire chimney contractors Columbia MD to fix the issue.
