| A cold winter day and it would be great to have a nice | | | | raise the grill to stop smoke by creating more draft. |
| fire in the fireplace, but the last time you used it you | | | | Narrow the fireplace opening. Large fireplaces may |
| had too much smoke. You can fix your smoky | | | | have chimneys that are too small for them so not |
| fireplace with a few steps with these tips. | | | | enough draft is created to such all of the air out. You |
| In addition to being an annoying nuisance, a smoky | | | | can scale down the opening by installing reducers, |
| fireplace can ruin your carpets, drapes and discolor the | | | | available at a fireplace store. |
| paint on your walls. Most importantly, it is very | | | | Lower your furnace. You may be cutting down on the |
| unhealthy to breathe in this smoke, especially for | | | | air in the house and the air in the chimney comes out |
| children, the elderly or anyone with allergies. | | | | smoky. Lower your heat to a level that keeps the rest |
| The first step is to be sure your damper is open. | | | | of the house just comfortable, or turn it off completely. |
| There is a switch in front of the fireplace that you | | | | Make sure the pipes are clear and clean. Leaves, |
| have to pull back on. Next step, get the chimney warm | | | | debris, birds nests and other items may be stopping up |
| by burning an easy to burn material such as paper. | | | | the free circulation and pushing the smoke back into |
| You are trying to get the cold air out of the chimney, | | | | the house. |
| since the cold air will push the warm air down and | | | | Have the fireplace professionally cleaned. If none of |
| push smoke into the room. | | | | these solutions work, you may have a coating of |
| Next step, choose the right wood. Use seasoned | | | | creosote that has formed on the inside of the chimney. |
| wood, not green lumber which has too much moisture | | | | This is a by product of burning wood, but the only way |
| and will smoke. Larger logs take a long time to get hot | | | | to get rid of it is professional cleaning. This is a wise |
| enough to burn off any residue, so use smaller logs. | | | | decision for both the health and safety of you and |
| Open your windows. If there is not enough draft in a | | | | your family. |
| room a fire will not ignite, only smoke. Older homes | | | | You want to enjoy your fireplace, not let it be a cause |
| usually have plenty of draft, but a newer, well insulated | | | | for worry. But you have to give it the proper care in |
| home may not have enough air circulating to let the fire | | | | order for it to function well. Do your maintenance and |
| catch. | | | | get a cleaning every fall, and then when the cold |
| Put some bricks under your fireplace grill in order to | | | | winter days roll in, you can sit back and enjoy a smoke |
| create more air circulation. By adding fireplace bricks to | | | | free fireplace. |