Fireplace are one of the most comforting places in a house. It is not only aesthetically pleasing but also keeps your home warm and cosy. Winters become all the more beautiful and happening with the warm fireplaces in your home.
It’s unimaginable to survive London’s winter without a fireplace. However, what is important is to keep your fireplace well repaired and maintained throughout the winters and during the off-season. A well-kept fireplaces serves its purpose well and can last for a longer period. Regular maintenance also ensures that there is no risk of fire from the fireplace.
Here are a few tips that can be followed to make sure that your fireplace is properly maintained and regularly repaired for better service:
Install a Chimney Cap
A good tool to protect your fireplace from the snow and water that can enter into it is to install a Chimney cap. Small insects or flies can also enter and collect in the chimneys, clogging them and making way for fleas, ticks, worms, and other disease-causing pests into the home. Either of the cases can be avoided if you have a chimney cap in your fireplace.
Chimneys also make way for the smoke and heat to move out of your house, keeping you from inhaling potentially hazardous gases. Installing a Chimney cap in your fireplace is a good way to protect your fireplace and help maintain it.
Keep Your Chimney Clean
What marks wood-burning fireplaces is the release of immense amounts of heat and smoke that goes directly into your Chimney. Creosote released from the fire can collect on the inside of the fireplace flue and can accelerate a chimney fire. This event can be avoided if your Chimney is kept clean and is regularly maintained. The flue of the fireplace should be regularly cleaned of potentially hazardous creosote and other flammable debris.
The Chimney of your fireplaces should also be changed for exterior defects for chipped bricks or masonry joints or holes or cracks. If you happen to find any of these defects, make sure they are fixed at once. The Chimney should be cleaned from top to bottom, including the ashes in the firebox and the exteriors as well.
Use the Correct Wood
Using the correct type of firewood is also important. Some will leave you with far more creosote residue and unpleasant odours than others. They will also release excess smoke. If you are looking for the most appropriate choice of firewood, choose hardwoods like birch, beech, maple and oak over softwoods like cedar and spruce because they burn less quickly and create fewer ashes.
Hardwood might be more expensive than other woods, but they also produce more heat and burn longer, assuring better fireplaces. Burning the incorrect type of wood quickly dirties the inside of the fireplace quicker and will require frequent cleaning. The excess smoke can also block the Chimney quicker.
Keep the Bricks of the Fireplace Clean
Making sure that the bricks of your fireplace are kept clean is also an important step towards the maintenance of the fireplace. You can use warm water mixed with dishwashing detergent if the bricks of your fireplace are only mildly dirty.
Ammonia and pumice, along with the detergent, can be used if the bricks are slightly moderately dirty and need more concentrated solutions for cleaning. However, if it has been long since the bricks were clean last and in need of deep cleaning, then the bricks require cleaning with hot water and trisodium phosphate (TSP).
Install a Blower and Heat Proof Glass Door
Installing a blower in your fireplace is a comparatively new technique but increases the overall efficiency of your fireplace. Blowers will help circulate the heat to cover a bigger space and will keep your house warm in less time and keep it warmer for a longer time.
Heat Proof Glass Doors are also a good way to increase the efficiency of your fireplace. The glass door will prevent sparks and embers of the fire from reaching out from into the room. It is also safer since the fireplace will then be out of the reach of little children or pets. This will also reduce the risk of unpredictable fires that can happen otherwise. The blower might need periodic cleaning with your regular brush, while the glass can be cleaned with your regular cleaner and a damp cloth.
Use a Fireplace Damper
A fireplace damper is a gadget that is built into the flue of the fireplace and can be closed when the Chimney is not in use so that the water and moisture are kept out. To use a fireplace damper, use the control knob to open the airway before you start the fire.
A damper is useful for starting a fire, as well as fine-tuning the fire as it burns. After the fire begins to burn, partially close the damper to keep the warm air in for a while, allowing the smoke to find a way to move out. The damper can be closed after the fire is burnt.
Take Professional Help
In order to effectively incorporate all the above-mentioned points, contacting a professional is one of the best things to do. You can also hire a professional to get your fireplace cleaned if it has not been cleaned in a long time.
Look upon the internet for Fire pits in London, get a list of professionals. The professionals might be able to clean the fireplace correctly and be able to detect any defects or shortcomings. They will be able to fix those problems. They will help you in cleaning and installation if you are looking to set up a new one or replace the old one.
After a point, your fireplace needs to be replaced with a new and better one. An annual chimney inspection is recommended even if you do dust or clean your fireplace regularly because there are plenty of issues that can be difficult for the average person to spot.
Conclusion
The fireplace in your house can only work effectively if it is timely repaired and is properly maintained. It is important to keep checking the fireplace for interior or exterior defects. Even if you happen to notice no defects, you should get it cleaned at least annually. Wet ceilings, damp attic insulation, and mushy wall drywall are some of the interior problems that can result from an improperly maintained chimney and flashing. Contact professionals for cleaning or repairing.