Important Fireplace Safety Tips in Wausau, WI

Any time you’re dealing with open flames in your home, it’s important to make sure you follow all of the proper safety precautions. Every type of fireplace could potentially pose a danger to you and your home if you don’t use it properly and keep it clean.

With this in mind, here are just a few examples of some important fireplace safety tips in Wausau, WI you should be sure to follow:

• Use the proper kind of wood: In a wood-burning fireplace, you should only use manufactured logs or seasoned hardwoods. This will help you to minimize the buildup of creosote and soot, which are the two biggest causes of chimney fires.
• Follow directions: When using manufactured logs, make sure you fully follow the directions provided. These kinds of logs will burn faster than standard wood, which means you could potentially do some damage to your chimney or your fireplace if you burn more than one at a time or otherwise fail to follow the instructions.
• Don’t place other items in your fireplace: You should only burn wood and manufactured logs in your fireplace. If you put other types of items like Styrofoam, wrapping paper, evergreen boughs or other such items in your fireplace, they could potentially release toxic fumes. While you can use paper or newspaper to help start the fire, you should avoid placing it in your fireplace in large quantities.
• Keep the fireplace doors open: Open up the fireplace doors, but keep the fireplace screen closed while you have a fire going. The doors are not mean to be exposed to that level of heat, and could shatter. They’re only meant to keep drafts out of your home when you’re not using the fireplace.
• Open the damper: Before you light a fire, make sure you open up the damper, and keep it open until you’ve completely extinguished the fire. This will prevent smoke from filling the room in which your fireplace is located.
• Don’t let it get too hot: Any fire in an indoor fireplace should be a slow burn rather than a blazing hot fire. Only use a couple logs at once—letting the fire get too hot could create an unsafe situation in your home.
• Know how to stack: You should aim to position any logs at the back of the fireplace to prevent ashes and fire from spilling out onto the hearth and into your room. Make sure that all logs are secure in their position and aren’t going to roll over easily.
• Clean the firebox: In between fires, scoop out all the cool ashes and put them into a metal container. You’ll need to leave the chimney cleaning to a professional.

With fireplace season about to kick into full swing, it is important you follow all of the proper safety precautions when enjoying fires at home. For more information and fireplace safety tips in Wausau, WI, contact the team at Marcell’s Specialties Inc. today. We’ve been in business since 1949 and would love to help you get the most out of your fireplace.

Categorised in: Fireplace Safety

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