|
 |
 |
Fireplace
Cleaning and maintenance |
|
> Keep your fireplace clean and properly
maintained. |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
Keeping your fireplace clean and properly
maintained is extremely important. Along with the pleasure of a
fireplace, comes the responsibility of ensuring you are getting the
most efficiency possible and keeping you, your family, and home
safe. The best way to clean a fireplace depends on the type of
fireplace that you have - each fireplace is different. This article
is designed to provide general information on how to clean or to
maintain the fireplace.
Regardless of the type of fireplace owned, wood burning, gas,
freestanding, etc., it is a good idea to have it inspected once a
year by a professional. Generally, a professional will check the
fan, pilots and burners, proper ignition and combustion, venting,
and chimney draw. The price of such service will vary from state to
state but you can expect to pay around £100. If you are familiar
with each of these things, you may be able to do this yourself,
however, certain parts of this check can be quite challenging,
particularly if there is something wrong.
Birds, squirrels, and even raccoons are famous for building nests
and adding debris to chimneys. When chimneys are not checked for
obstructions, homes catch on fire and you have a real problem on
your hands. If you hear noises near the top of your chimney, or if
you see animals congregating close to the area, it is likely that
you have a problem. If the animals are near the chimney, you could
immediately clear them out and also clear out any nest. Anything
that obstructs the flow of air can result in fumes or smoke staying
in the fireplace or coming out of the wrong area.
In addition to professional service, you can do numerous things to
clean your fireplace on an on-going basis and ensure safety. The
list below is intended to outline some of these options:
• Use a toothbrush and Worcestershire sauce to keep brass
shiny. You can scrub the brass knobs, or even the door or metal
areas around the fireplace. This will help to keep the area
clean and shiny for guests and future use.
• Avoid burning a fire longer than five hours and be sure the
door is open for proper venting.
• Always keep the screen closed to keep hot embers from
jumping onto the carpet.
• Consider placing a non-flammable rug directly in front of
the fireplace just in case any sparks do escape.
• The rug will prevent sparks from igniting a carpet or wooden
floor in case some of these spark escape from the fire.
• Also make sure that the rug is kept clear of flammable
items.
• Never leave your fire unattended, especially when small
children are present.
• To prevent water damage, animal nesting, or other types of
debris to obstruct the chimney, uses a chimney cap.
• Keep the firebox cleaned out once a week during the time you
use the fireplace. During this time, keep one inch of ash in the
bottom, which works as an insulator to help coals heat faster
and retain heat longer. During the months that the fireplace is
not in use, remove all the ash.
• Before removing the ash from the firebox, open the damper,
which will draw any flying ash up and not out into the room.
• Since coals can stay hot for several days after a fire is
extinguished, never use a vacuum cleaner to clean out the ash.
You could easily end up with an unexpected fire.
• Exterior slate hearths can be cleaned by using lemon oil
every month or two. If your fireplace has brick, you can
purchase actual brick cleaner from a fireplace store. Either of
these items will help keep this clean. Be sure to check on the
type of items so that you can determine what cleaner or solution
will be right for you.
• Gas logs should be cleaned once a month by using a soft
bristle brush and cleaned only when cool. Do not clean the gas
logs right after a fire - wait several hours until you are sure
that they have cooled down.
• Remove excess ashes and unburned logs from the fire for wood
fireplaces periodically.
You want to enjoy your fireplace to the fullest and with proper
cleaning, care, and maintenance, you will be able to burn
beautiful fires with complete safety. Moreover cleaning the
fireplace will make sure that the fireplace lasts a long time
and that you will be able to create fires many years in the
future. Keeping the fireplace well cleaned can also make the
fireplace more pleasant to use and can make it a better feature
for quests and visitors. |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
No Coverage
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
