Helpful Tips

Table Of Contents

American Chimney Sweeps

Providing Quality Products And Accessories For Fireplaces

"Helpful Tips"

Are you experiencing a smoking problem and you can't seem to figure it out? Sometimes your furnace can cause the fireplace to smoke. The return air from the furnace can draw air from the fireplace, and can cause the chimney to billow smoke into the room. Not all furnaces cause this problem, but this has been a source for fireplaces smoking, and not drawing properly.
Always build your fire to the rear of the firewall (Towards the back). The smoke will go up the chimney better.
When it is cold, and you want to light the fireplace, always prime the flue with newspaper (this means rolling up a piece of newspaper and lighting it and holding it in the throat of the fireplace and letting it burn for a minute or two before lighting your wood. (especially good on those real cold days.), or light your gas log lighter for a minute before lighting the fire.
If you have made your house air tight, and you are experiencing a smoking problem, it is because there is not enough air moving around in the house to allow enough oxygen into the fireplace. Try opening a window or a door to allow more air into the room.
Try not to burn wet or green wood (unseasoned wood) as it tends to want to smoke and it doesn't burn well.
If you have a shake roof. make sure to have a spark arrestor installed to prevent sparks from landing on the roof and catching the roof on fire.
Keep your eye out for cracks in the firewall of the fireplace (firebox) and have those cracks filled in, and have a cast iron fireback installed by a professional chimney sweep
If you have had your chimney inspected recently by a chimney sweep and you have been told that you have a cracked flue liner, don't use the fireplace until you have this repaired. This can be a serious fire hazard if not corrected.
If you have a woodstove, check the pipes for corrosion, and cracks in the pipes. Replace old pipes with new ones, pipes do not last forever.

For customer service or sales please email us at customerservice@americanchimneysweeps.com or sales@americanchimneysweeps.com

"Helpful Tips"

Always build your fire to the rear of the firewall (Towards the back). The smoke will go up the chimney better.

If you have made your house air tight, and you are experiencing a smoking problem, it is because there is not enough air moving around in the house to allow enough oxygen into the fireplace. Try opening a window or a door to allow more air into the room.

Try not to burn wet or green wood (unseasoned wood) as it tends to want to smoke and it doesn't burn well.

If you have a shake roof. make sure to have a spark arrestor installed to prevent sparks from landing on the roof and catching the roof on fire.

Keep your eye out for cracks in the firewall of the fireplace (firebox) and have those cracks filled in, and have a cast iron fireback installed by a professional chimney sweep

If you have had your chimney inspected recently by a chimney sweep and you have been told that you have a cracked flue liner, don't use the fireplace until you have this repaired. This can be a serious fire hazard if not corrected.

If you have a woodstove, check the pipes for corrosion, and cracks in the pipes. Replace old pipes with new ones, pipes do not last forever.