How to diagnose a smoky home
It's cold and you want to use your chimney, but you've had problems with smoking. You can correct your smoky chimney problem in a few easy steps. Take a look at these chimney tips to fix any smoke problem.
This list of tips should help you solve any problem with a home that fills your home with black loam smoke. Not only must this be done because you can not use your fireplace, but smoke from a home damages walls, carpets and curtains. This type of smoke is almost impossible to get out of any fabric, including your clothes. In addition, it is not healthy to breathe smoke and this is especially true for people with allergies.
Stoke the fireplace chimney. Make sure to open your registry. It is usually found in front of the fireplace and is a simple pull switch. Then, heat the air in the fireplace by burning newspaper or any other type of safe material in the fireplace. The goal is to bring warmer air into the chimney to repel cold air. The colder air pushes the warmer air down and smoky air can form.
Use dried wood. Do not burn green wood in your chimney. Large chimney logs tend to produce more smoke because they require a certain amount of time to heat up enough to burn the residue. Small logs are the best choice.
Open the windows. Sometimes there is not enough draw in a room for the chimney to ignite. If you live in an old house, the problem is not as bad. Older homes were not as energy efficient as newer models, so there is not much traffic to use the fireplace. Then open one or two windows so that your chimney begins to burn.
Buy fire bricks. Even if you sometimes use a grill, it does not allow sufficient air circulation under the wood. Smoke is the result that invades your home. You can buy additional chimney bricks to build your grid to a higher level. This will help stop smoking by creating enough draft under the grate.
Reduce the opening of the chimney. Large chimneys have more problems heating an area. This is usually due to the fact that the chimney is much smaller than the part of the open hearth. The trick is to balance the size with the chimney. Some chimney stores have reducers that can be installed. Also look for a shield to catch the smoke that could circulate in the room
Lower the furnace. It is possible to create smoky air if there is not enough air in the house. For example, when it heats the air in the chimney, the fan sends it home as smoke when your furnace is on. So lower the furnace to a level acceptable for other rooms, or if you can withstand it, turn it off.
Clean the pipes or raise them. Sometimes pipes outside can be clogged with debris or even bird nests. At other times, the pipes are not long enough and need to be replaced. Reducing growing trees and branches will also help reduce smoke in the chimney because the air is not prevented from flowing and pushed back into the house as smoke.
Hire a professional cleaning staff. Wood smoke can release a substance called creosote. It is a natural product of burning wood in your home. Have your fireplace checked once a year and cleaned. Home maintenance is also a safety issue.
