Chimney Care Company's Blog
Chimney Health Hazards You Should Know About
Fireplaces are warm and cozy, and it’s easy to understand why the hearth often serves as the heart of the home. Unfortunately, the reality of fireplaces is that they aren’t always the ideal feature for a healthy home. There are some chimney health hazards you should know about.
Some chimney health hazards include:
- Particle inhalation.
When you burn a fire in your open-hearth fireplace, fine particles are released into the air within your home. These fine particles can make eyes burn and itch, noses run and cause lung infections like bronchitis. Regular, long-term exposure to the particles from wood-burning fires can lead to lung diseases. The health risk is greater for small children, the elderly and people with chronic lung conditions. - Creosote exposure.
Each time a fire burns, creosote builds up within the chimney. That creosote can become a hazard if it breaks free and begins to flake into the fireplace and find its way into your home. Creosote can irritate skin, the eyes and the lungs. Chronic, long-term exposure can lead to organ damage. - Carbon monoxide poisoning.
When a chimney becomes clogged, carbon monoxide from your fireplace can’t exit your home, and the levels of carbon monoxide in your home can build up to dangerous levels. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause faintness, dizziness, nausea, confusion, organ damage and even death. - Disease exposure.
Birds and bats often find their ways into chimneys and leave behind their droppings. These droppings contain a variety of bacteria. Cleaning bird droppings from your fireplace is especially dangerous because it sends the disease-causing spores airborne.
Health hazards associated with a chimney could be enough to scare any homeowner away from using their fireplace. However, you don’t need to go to extremes to keep you and your family healthy. There are several ways to protect your family from chimney-related health hazards.
To mitigate chimney health hazards:
- Have your chimney swept at least once per year.
When it comes to operating a chimney safely, keeping your chimney clean has the greatest impact. A clean chimney drafts more efficiently, drawing smoke and fine particles away from your home more effectively. A chimney sweeping also removes dangerous creosote, any chimney clogs that could prevent carbon monoxide from being vented and disease-carrying bird droppings or other animal waste. - Upgrade your appliance.
There are other options to warm your hearth in a healthier way. You could install gas logs or a gas insert in your open-hearth fireplace. Gas burns hotter and more cleanly, reducing the amount of pollution released into your home. If you love the look of burning wood, you could consider an EPA-certified wood-burning insert, which creates less particulate matter and creates a barrier between the fire and your home. - Burn only dry, seasoned firewood.
Dry, seasoned firewood burns hotter and more cleanly. That means less pollution released into your home and a slower creosote buildup within your chimney. - Install a chimney cap.
A chimney cap can keep birds, bats, animals, and the diseases they carry, out of your chimney.
If you’re looking to reduce chimney health hazards in your home, call The Chimney Care Co!
Whether you need to have your chimney swept, want to upgrade your appliance, or are in need of a chimney cap to keep critters out, we can help!
Summer is a great time to have your chimney cleaned and inspected!
Come summer, most homeowners forget about their fireplace and chimney. Then, as fall begins to chill the air, everyone rushes to schedule their annual chimney cleaning and inspection! However, don’t wait. For a variety of reasons, summer is a great time to schedule your chimney sweeping and inspection!
Take advantage of summer weather.
No homeowner likes to think about the possibility of chimney repairs. Having said that, one of the main purposes of your annual chimney sweeping and inspection is to spot repairs. Schedule your chimney cleaning and inspection for the summer. By doing this, you give yourself time for any repairs that might need to be made to your chimney. In fact, many masonry repairs can’t be performed in cold or damp weather and are ideally completed in the summer. This means that if damage is spotted during the fall, you might need to wait until spring to have the damage repaired. That could mean rendering your chimney unusable for an entire winter season! In addition, allowing damage to worsen as you wait for suitable weather for repairs.
Avoid a stinky chimney!
When you burn fires in your fireplace, creosote builds up within your chimney. During the cold winter months, you might not give much thought to creosote. Unfortunately, during the summer, creosote in your chimney mixes with hot, humid weather. This can make creosote stink like hot asphalt! By having your chimney cleaned in the summer, you can avoid having your home filled with foul chimney odors all summer.
Plan for improvements?
Have you been thinking about improving your fireplace or chimney? Whether it’s with a new fireplace insert, fireplace doors, or cosmetic masonry repairs, summer is the time to consult with chimney professionals! When you have your chimney swept and inspected in the summer, you can ask your chimney technician about possible improvements. Afterwards, have those improvements completed before you’re ready to use your fireplace in the fall!
Beat the fall rush.
Most homeowners plan their annual chimney sweeping and inspection for the fall. Fortunately, you can skip the fall rush by scheduling your sweeping and inspection for the summer! When you wait to schedule your annual chimney maintenance until the fall, you risk calling the chimney sweep after his or her schedule has filled up for the season. That could have you waiting weeks for you annual sweeping and inspection. This could delay your first fire of the season!
Scheduling a summertime chimney sweeping and inspection comes with a host of benefits. Not to mention, it allows you to check something off your home maintenance to-do list. Enjoy the benefits of a summertime chimney cleaning and inspection. Call the Chimney Care Co. to schedule your appointment today!