How to Start a Fire with Less Smoke

One of my favorite things about the cooler months of the year is spending time next to a warm, cozy fire. The crackling wood and radiant heat just soothe my innards like nothing else ever has. Question: What’s more romantic that snuggling up with your significant other in front of a glowing fire? Rhetorical question, Keefer. Nothing is more romantic than that! Question: What’s more relaxing than coming home from a long day at the office, sitting in your favorite chair, and unwinding next to a glowing fire? Come on Keefer, that’s another rhetorical question. Nothing is more relaxing than that! For those of you who have trouble starting a fire in your fireplace without also filling your entire house with wood smoke or those of you who want a few fire starting pointers, this blog’s for you.

Fireplaces that smoke are simply, for whatever reason, not drawing the smoke up the chimney. There are a lot of possible culprits when this happens. There could be a blockage; perhaps a bird has decided to build a nest and make your chimney home. There could be a large tree in your yard that grows over your chimney and impedes the airflow. Perhaps the opening of your fireplace is simply too large for the size of your flue, which can result in smoke taking the path of least resistance and back puffing into your living space. The issue could also be that there is a downdraft caused by air movement off of your roof. If you’re making home improvements and add storm windows on your house to make it more air tight, this could result in your fireplace being unable to get enough combustion air, which would result in the smoke spilling back into your house. Needless to say, the causes of the smoke are more numerous than you may have originally realized.

Before starting a fire in your fireplace, you’ll first want to ensure that your damper is open; a fireplace requires a large amount of air after all. Once this is done, you’ll want to ignite a fire-starter brick, some newspaper, or dry kindling in the center of your fireplace grate. This will ensure that the hot air begins funneling its way up the chimney and not back into your house. Before adding any wood, it is important to remember to never overload your firebox, as this will not allow the requisite amount of combustion air to flow around the wood.

Next, place one log, lengthwise, behind the starter and another one in front of it. When those two pieces of wood catch fire, place a log diagonally across them. This setup will help to encourage combustion air to flow around all three logs, which is critical for an even burn. To maintain proper airflow, regularly remove ashes from your fireplace into a metal container with a cover; many homeowners will keep these containers outdoors, which is a great idea since it removes a potential fire hazard from the home. This is also similar to a top down burn, where the starter kindeling is at the top of the logs, allowing the wood to burn from the top down more efficiently and bringing more fire heat into the room.

I once heard someone compare fireplaces to young children, and this comparison has stuck with me ever since: “Fireplaces are like children. They need to be watched at all times to make sure they’re doing what you want them to do.” I like to think he was pretty accurate with that comparison. Properly arranging the wood in your fireplace and providing it with enough space for air to flow around the logs is critical to allowing you to get the most out of your fire. By following a few simple steps, you, too, can have a roaring fire in your fireplace this heating season.

If you follow these steps and still have issues with smoke in your home when starting a fire, call or contact the experts here at Chimney Care Company in Cincinnati and we can help you with your chimney and fireplace smoke issues.