Chimney Care Company's Blog

National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 4 through 8!

Did you know that as CSIA-certified chimney sweeps, we at the Chimney Care Co. are charged with educating our customers about fireplace safety? We take that charge seriously, that’s why we’re taking the time to honor National Fire Prevention Week, which runs Oct. 4 through 8. Here is what you should know about fire safety, as it relates to your fireplace, chimney and clothing dryer.

Chimney and fireplace safety tips

Fireplaces are a source of warmth and comfort within the home, but they do pose a fire risk. From chimney fires to popping embers, fireplaces can increase your chances of a home fire. Fortunately, you can do a lot to reduce your risk of a fireplace- or chimney-related fire.

• Have your fireplace and chimney swept and inspected at least once per year. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that all vented heating appliances are swept and inspected at least once per year. Your chimney sweeping removes flammable creosote or any other blockages from the flue, while your chimney and fireplace inspection verifies that all components of your chimney and fireplace are in good repair and operating properly.
• Keep the area around your fireplace free from flammables. It’s recommended that homeowners create a 3-foot zone around their hearth and keep that area free from flammables, like papers, blankets, paper and décor. Also check your mantel; nothing should be dangling down over the fireplace.
• Create a barrier over your hearth. Burning embers or shifting logs can fall from your hearth and burn people or pets who are nearby, or ignite your flooring or other flammable objects. To avoid the danger, use a fireplace screen or fireplace doors to contain your fire to the firebox.
• Never burn other objects in your fireplace. Only burn the fuel your fireplace was intended for. Items like wrapping paper or cardboard can overheat your chimney and spark a fire, while burning a leftover Christmas tree can lead to an excess buildup of flammable creosote in your chimney.

Dyer safety tips

Clothing dryers spark a lot of fires in the United States each year. It’s estimated that dryers are responsible for nearly 15,000 home fires every year. That’s why you need to know how to keep your home and family safe from a dryer fire.

• Clean your lint trap every time. Laundry lint is largely responsible for dryer fires. Make sure you clean your lint trap between every load of laundry, and never run your dryer without the lint screen in place.
• Have your dryer vents professionally cleaned. Even if you’re dedicated to keeping your lint trap clean, lint inevitably bypasses the screen and builds up within your dryer vents. Have your dryer vents cleaned at least once per year to keep blocked vents from inhibiting your dryer’s operation and posing a fire hazard.
• Never overload your dryer. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendation for load size and operation.
• Check your dryer vent from the outside. Periodically inspect the exterior exhaust for your dryer vent to make sure that it is clear of any debris or landscaping.

At the Chimney Care Co., we want to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to lower your fire risk. Call to schedule your chimney, fireplace or dryer vent cleaning and inspection today!

Reduce Fireplace Hazards This Winter

Your fireplace helps you to keep your home warm and cozy all winter long. But the knowledge that fireplaces also can be a fire hazard can leave you feeling anything but cozy. You can implement fireplace safety tips to reduce fireplace hazards and enjoy your fireplace without fear this winter.

Have your fireplace swept and inspected.

The No. 1 thing you can do to lower the fire hazard in your home is to have your chimney swept and inspected at least once per year, preferably between fire-burning seasons. A chimney sweeping and inspection ensures that your chimney is free of flammable creosote and other obstructions that could pose a danger. It also ensures that the fireplace and chimney are free from damage and in good operating condition.

Clear the space around the fireplace.

Embers can jump out of the fireplace and ignite nearby objects or burn anyone sitting too close. Items that are too close to a fireplace can overheat and begin to burn. To reduce this fire hazard, make sure that the area around your fireplace is free of any flammable materials, and encourage pets and children to stay away from the hearth when a fire is burning. All flammable objects be kept at least two feet from the hearth to avoid a fire hazard. Make sure you also check your mantle to be sure that there aren’t any objects dangling too close to the flames.

Screen your fireplace.

Another way to keep popping embers from your fireplace from posing a fire hazard is to use a fireplace screen. Keep mesh curtains on your fireplace and close them when a fire is burning. If your fireplace doesn’t have a built-in screen, invest in a removable screen or spark arrestor to keep sparks, ashes and logs safely in the fireplace.

Don’t burn anything other than the intended fuel.

Wood-burning fireplaces were designed to safely burn seasoned firewood. Gas fireplaces are made to safely handle gas fires. Pellet stoves safely accommodate pellets. Never burn anything other than the intended fuel in your fireplace. Wrapping paper, cardboard boxes and scraps of woods can cause flare ups that can’t be safely contained by your firebox and chimney.

Practice proper ash disposal.

After your fire has visibly extinguished, the ashes can still pose a danger. Embers hidden within the ashes can burn for days after your fire was put out. When clearing out your fireplace, be sure to use a metal shovel to scoop ashes into a metal bucket with a tight-fitting lid. Only remove the ashes to a garbage bag or other receptacle once you are sure that they have cooled entirely.

Consult the experts.

If you have concerns about fire hazards and your fireplace, make sure you consult the experts. At The Chimney Care Co., we view it as part of our responsibility to educate our customers on the safe operation of their fireplaces. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns about your fireplace.

The dangers of carbon monoxide

During the cold winter months, your primary concern likely is keeping your home and family warm. But the same appliances that keep your home cozy can pose a danger to you and your family: carbon monoxide. More than 200 people die in the United States each year from carbon monoxide poisoning. An additional 4,000 people are hospitalized each year, and 20,000 visit the emergency rooms suffering the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.

To keep your family safe, it’s important to be aware of the symptoms and causes of carbon monoxide poisoning, what to do if you suspect that the levels of carbon monoxide are dangerous within your home and how you can prevent dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.

Causes of carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of combustion. That means it is produced by any burning appliance in your home, including furnaces, fireplaces, heating stoves, clothes dryers and space heaters. When those appliances aren’t vented properly — due to improper installation, damage to the ventilation system or dirty or clogged vents — carbon monoxide can build up to dangerous levels in your home. This buildup can be exacerbated by our focus on energy efficiency. Newer homes are built to be more air tight to conserve energy. Owners of older homes often “weatherproof” to prevent drafts. While that efficiency prevents warm air from escaping our homes, it also means that carbon monoxide put off by a faulty appliance can’t escape the home.

Signs of carbon monoxide poisoning

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning can be subtle. Often described as flulike, those symptoms include mild headaches, dizziness and fatigue. As carbon monoxide levels increase in the blood, however, those symptoms can become more severe. At more advanced stages, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause confusion, disorientation, nausea, weakness, blurred vision and loss of consciousness. If anyone in your home begins to suffer these symptoms, your home should be evacuated, and that person should be taken to the hospital immediately. If left untreated, carbon monoxide poisoning can cause brain damage, organ failure or death.

Preventing carbon monoxide poisoning

The best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning is through the regular maintenance and inspection of fuel-burning appliances. It’s recommended that your chimney, clothing dryer, heating stove, fireplace and furnace should be cleaned and inspected by a professional each year. When your appliances and vents are serviced, your technician will clear any debris from the vents, and inspect the appliance and duct work for any malfunctions, clogs or damage. Freestanding appliances, such as generators or space heaters, should never be run in unventilated rooms.

Even with annual cleaning and maintenance, it’s important to exercise precautions against carbon monoxide. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that carbon monoxide detectors be installed on each level of a home and outside sleeping areas. The batteries in those detectors should be tested regularly. Everyone within the home should know what to do if those detectors go off: Evacuate the home and call 911.

If you’re concerned about your home’s carbon monoxide risk, The Chimney Care Co. can help. We clean, inspect and repair chimneys, stoves, fireplaces and dryer vents. Schedule an appointment to keep your family safe today!

Proper Wood Stove Ember and Ash Removal

Whenever you burn a solid fuel (wood, coal or pellets) in your stove, fireplace or insert, you will be left with ashes that need to be removed. These ashes must be removed periodically, as they can affect the performance and durability of your unit. The frequency of the ash removal will depend on the product itself and the type of fuel being burned.

ASHES THROUGHOUT HISTORY

Ancient man transported fire from one location to another by wrapping hot coals insulated by ashes in animal skins. Once he arrived at the new home site, rekindling the fire was easy. He removed the coal—which was still hot—and placed it on a small pile of leaves and twigs. He then blew on the hot ember and restarted the fire. It’s important to point out that fires are still started this way today, and often, it’s an accidental fire.

THE DANGERS OF IMPROPER ASH REMOVAL

Improper ash removal from fireplaces and wood burning stoves causes thousands of fires in the U.S. every year. According to the NFPA, almost 10,000 fires are caused yearly due to improperly removing and discarding ashes. Hot coals, hidden in a pile of ashes and thus well insulated, can stay hot for up to four days because the ash acts as an insulator that keeps the coals from burning out. All these coals need to flare up again is more oxygen. It’s for this reason that fire departments often return to a scene to spray more water on smoldering timbers and newly flared coals.

ASH CONTAINER 101

Never empty ashes into a paper or plastic bag, cardboard box, or other similar container. The only suitable means for ash storage is a metal container with a tight-fitting lid, as this helps keep air from blowing through and disturbing the ashes, which can leave hot coals exposed and easily reignited. For optimum safety, wet the wood ashes prior to attaching the metal lid to the pail. As a safety precaution, never store your metal ash container on your deck, in your garage, or in any location that may allow heat to transfer from those hot coals to nearby flammable items. Innumerable wooden decks catch fire every year because of this simple oversight. Instead, place the container on a non-combustible surface such as stone, concrete, brick, or slate.

Wood ash, once completely cooled, can safely be disposed of in your garden because natural firewood ash makes a great soil additive that your plants will enjoy because they are high in potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and phosphorous. Just make sure you have removed any mulching materials such as dried leaves and other dried plants first, so there’s nothing to catch fire in your garden. Spray the dispersed ashes with water as an added safety precaution.

For additional information on this and many other topics, contact the Chimney Care Company today. We offer complete chimney and fireplace services to the Cincinnati, southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky area. You can always count on us for friendly service and quality workmanship.

All About Carbon Monoxide

More and more each day we hear reports in the news about people dying from carbon monoxide poisoning. Of course these tragedies occur less frequently during the summer months but are all too common during the winter, especially when people first fire up their stoves or fireplaces in the fall. This is why Chimney Care Co. recommends performing any needed chimney maintenance in the summer before your chimney sweep’s schedule gets jam-packed.

Your home is an investment, and those of us at Chimney Care Company want to help you protect that investment. Do your part to protect your home and family from the devastation of fire and structural compromise by keeping up with your annual maintenance services.

If you’re not familiar with carbon monoxide beyond the rudimentary schooling you got when you learned about the periodic table in high school, you’ve come to the right place. In fact if you have a chimney, fireplace, and/or stove that you use even periodically, it’s even more important that you fully understand what carbon monoxide is and how to prevent it from venting into your living space. Awareness is the first step toward preventing what could be tremendous and irreversible tragedy.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think of how easily their deaths could have been prevented,” says the relative of a family of four who died from carbon monoxide poisoning as the result of a blocked chimney flue.

About Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide is called the “silent killer” because it is odorless, tasteless, and colorless; breathing it can kill you or cause the sudden onset of flu-like illness. Its familiar symptoms make it difficult to diagnose, and in fact people sometimes die in their sleep from CO2 poisoning without any forewarning.

CO2 poisoning happens rapidly because the human body mistakenly will begin to replace the oxygen in the body with the CO in the air, effectively blocking additional oxygen from getting in. Those who don’t die from CO2 exposure may suffer permanent brain or tissue damage.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning each year, more than 20,000 visit the ER, and more than 4,000 are hospitalized. Americans 65 and older are most likely to die from CO2 poisoning; infants are also more susceptible.

CO2 is created by combustion, which means that owners of fireplaces and stoves—both gas- and wood-burning—should be especially careful to ensure that their heating appliance is connected properly and venting correctly and that their chimney flu is not blocked by nests, debris, or the buildup of creosote.

How to Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

A chimney inspection conducted by a certified sweep should reveal any areas of concern. We also strongly recommend installation of a carbon monoxide detector. And, finally, awareness itself can be incredibly powerful.

If you live in southwestern Ohio or northern Kentucky and want to put your mind to rest about how safe your chimney or heating appliance is, contact Chimney Care Co. to schedule an appointment today.