6 Easy Steps to Make Sure Your Fireplace Is Safe

You can make sure your & fireplace is safe by following a few easy steps. Enjoying cozy times in winter could be truly effortless, knowing that you’ve done your part to ensure the safety of your home and family. Some are do-it-yourself actions and others should be left to the professionals. Read on to learn more.

Add a Safety Guard

Unless you already have glass fireplace doors, you may need to invest in a fireplace screen. A fireplace guard is important to prevent hot embers from popping out of the fireplace and onto combustible materials inside the home. The guard can also prevent damage caused by a burning log that unexpectedly rolls out of the fireplace.

Ensure the Correct Grate Size

The grate in the fireplace needs to be the correct size for the firebox. There is a basic formula to follow. Simply make sure that the grate is no more than two-thirds the size of your fireplace opening. When a grate is too large, it becomes easier to add too much firewood and overheat the fireplace.

Keep Ashes Cleaned Out

For optimal operation of your fireplace, plenty of air must be able to get to the firewood. Clearing out the ashes routinely is an important way to make sure fires get the oxygen they need. It is smart, however, to leave a thin layer of ash along the bottom of the firebox. The efficiency of fires is increased by the ashes and they help get heat into the room more quickly.

Keep a Fire Extinguisher Nearby

Remember to ensure that you have a fully charged, ready-to-use fire extinguisher near the fireplace.

Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Check your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors to ensure that the batteries are working and in good working or Both types of detectors are essential life-saving devices.

Schedule an Inspection

It is rarely easy to get a lot of experts to fully agree on recommending any one course of action. Nonetheless, every leading fire safety expert in the U.S. agrees that scheduling annual chimney inspections is essential. Chimney experts can identify damage in its early stages, which ultimately helps to lower the cost of ongoing maintenance.

During an inspection, the chimney sweep checks the flue for blockage. Most chimney fires that spread into homes occur because of an unseen obstruction in the chimney flue. Creosote build-up in the chimney is caused by wood fires, and is the most common cause of chimney blockage.

A special camera can be used by chimney sweeps to carefully inspect every inch of the chimney flue. A damaged chimney flue is a life-threatening hazard when fires continue to be burned in the fireplace. Even the tiniest crack in the flue can expose the home to deadly carbon monoxide and to a home fire resulting from pyrolysis.

Contact Guardian Chimney Sweeps

At Guardian Chimney Sweeps, all our chimney sweeps are CSIA-certified. We have gained the trust of homeowners and business owners throughout the Conroe and Houston areas. Our customers are pleased with our dedication to fine workmanship, superior customer service, and more. If you need help with the steps for making sure your fireplace is safe, give us a call today at any of our numbers shown below:

Toll-free: (888) 306-6069

Conroe: (936) 271-9781

Houston: (713) 401-2011