There’s nothing quite like a roaring fire on these cold winter nights. During this time of year, you should be thrilled to have a working fireplace. By the same token, you might be frustrated to find that you have issues preventing you from enjoying your fireplace as you should. One of the most common issues people have is smoke emanating from their fireplace and into their house. Here are a few tips to help you determine why your fireplace smokes.
Is smoke coming out of your fireplace and into your house? Try out these solutions.
Your Flue is Too Cold
When you hear the term ‘draft’ associated with chimneys, you might think it’s a bad thing. In fact, the opposite is true. When chimney professionals use this term, they aren’t referring to cold air coming from your fireplace. Instead, your chimney’s draft is its ability to direct smoke out of the house.
If your fireplace smokes, there’s a good chance that your flue is too cold. This prevents it from drafting properly. Thankfully, there’s an easy fix for this. Simply light a bit of newspaper and hold it up your flue. If this doesn’t fix the problem, check out these other potential causes.
Improperly Seasoned Firewood
Next, you should consider the condition of your firewood. If your wood hasn’t been properly seasoned, it may be excessively smoking. An easy way to see if this is the case would be—if you can—lighting a bonfire with the firewood outside. If you notice an excessive amount of smoke in the air, that could be the reason your fireplace smokes.
Properly seasoned firewood has had at least one year to dry. It should look more silver than brown, and feel significantly lighter due to its reduced moisture content.
You Need Chimney Sweeping
The above two causes are easy enough to rule out. If they don’t solve your problem, then your chimney is likely in need of sweeping. As you burn wood in your fireplace, a substance called creosote will build up on the walls of your chimney. This will restrict the draft, and could be the reason your fireplace smokes.
We’re sure that you schedule a chimney inspection at least once annually. During your inspection, the inspector should recommend whether or not you need sweeping. If you are a heavy fireplace user, it’s possible that you need your chimney swept more than once annually.
No one should have to contend with a fireplace that smokes. If you contact Champion Chimneys, we’ll get to the bottom of it in no time.
Call the Experts at Champion Chimneys for Chimney Sweeping Today!
Champion Chimneys, Inc. is a fully licensed, bonded and insured chimney service company that has served customers in Baltimore County, Howard County, and Anne Arundel County, Maryland since 2001. Our team is trained and certified by Certified Chimney Professionals, Inc. (CCP, Inc.). Courteous service is our trademark, and our crews arrive on time in uniform, driving fully equipped trucks. We specialize in all aspects of your chimney system. Whether you need chimney and flue cleaning service or a full chimney rebuild or inspection, contact us at 443-Chimney today and let us fix all your chimney problems. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.