Chimney Care Company's Blog

Being Fire Safe With A Dryer Vent Cleaning

Laundry is part of life’s weekly grind, but did you know that dryers cause roughly 2,900 home structure fires, 5 deaths, 100 injuries and $35 million in direct property loss in the U.S. each year? What’s more, the majority of dryer fires happen in the fall and winter months, with the peak being in January. The most common cause of dryer fires is failure to do a thorough cleaning. Because a lint trap is not a foolproof method for catching all the fuzzy stuff in your dryer, lint can gradually build up and catch fire in the heating element or exhaust duct. Many people are under the impression that cleaning these vents isn’t all that important. Unfortunately for them, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

RECIPE FOR A HOUSE FIRE

Clogged dryer vents are an accident waiting to happen. A partially obstructed vent filled with lint can cause increased drying times and waste energy while a blocked vent can lead to a fire. There are numerous warning signs that will indicate that you have a dirty dryer vent: your clothes are still damp after a complete drying cycle, there’s excessive heat buildup in your laundry room, and/or your dryer is used frequently. One of the ways—perhaps the best way—to decrease the chances of a dryer fire in your home is to simply clean your lint trap before or after every laundry load of clothes.

LINT BUILDUP IS COSTLY

Aside from the inherent danger of fire, buildup of dirt and lint in the dryer vent can also significantly increase your energy consumption, thereby costing you more money. The increased energy usage is due in large part to your dryer taking more time to dry your clothes because of the blockage; it has to work twice as hard to accomplish the same amount of work. Possible signs that a dirty or clogged dryer vent may be to blame include: your dryer no longer dries the clothes in one cycle, your clothes carry a musty smell after a full drying cycle, your dryer seems to run hotter than normal, a visible amount of lint is noticed around the lint filter, and debris is noticed within the dryer vent opening on the outside of your home.

CLEANING DRYER VENTS IS A MUST!

To avoid this potentially dangerous buildup in your vents, following a predetermined maintenance schedule is important. The majority of dryer vents need to be cleaned at least once a year; some dryer ducts need more frequent attention. Some determining factors include: the number of people who are using the same dryer, the age and condition of the dryer, and the length of your dryer vent. The best way to ensure dryer safety is to clean the lint screen after every use and to have your vent and duct cleaned regularly. In fact, studies prove that effective cleaning maintenance of dryer vents and lint screens can reduce the chances of fire by as much as 90%. Not only does vent cleaning help prevent house fires, it also will make sure your clothes are dry and smell nice after each use.

Lint builds up in your dryer vent each time you run your dryer. Cleaning the lint screen will help you keep the dryer running and working well, but a little lint will still remain within the vent itself. It’s very important to keep up with dryer vent cleaning, as the accumulated lint is a fire hazard that endangers your house and everyone in it. Call Chimney Care Company to schedule an inspection and cleaning of your dryer vents today!

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.

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.

Pellet Stove Cleaning and Maintenance

If you’ve just installed or are planning to install a pellet stove, it’s important to grasp the importance of getting into a regular habit of cleaning it and providing regular appliance upkeep to get the most out of your investment. The manufacturer’s instructions will typically give you fairly straightforward specifics as far as cleaning and upkeep are concerned in regards to your particular model. Nevertheless, we at The Chimney Care Company would like to provide you with a few general tips and areas to keep an eye on.

BURN POT MAINTENANCE

You’ve invested good money in a pellet stove. Keeping it properly cleaned and maintained will ensure the best return on your investment.

This is the stove’s carburetor, meaning it mixes the air and fuel together to enable combustion. As is the case in a car, the correct air to fuel ratio is extremely important to achieving top performance. When operating normally, your stove should produce a bright yellow or white flame. You may also notice a white or gray ashy buildup on the glass during high burn and a darker, fluffy ash on low burn—both are totally normal. If, however, your flame is orange and sooty or there’s a brown caramel-like substance building up, immediate action should be taken to improve the burning efficiency of your unit.

It’s extremely important that you check the burn pot every day and clean it periodically to keep the air inlets free of ash and clinkers (formed from ash that melts and then hardens). The frequency with which you need to clean the burn pot will depend, in large part, on the type and grade of pellets you’re burning. Incorrect adjustment of the air to fuel ratio can greatly increase the likelihood of blockages forming in the burn pot due to the stove’s inability to remove excess ash on its own.

HEAT EXCHANGER MAINTENANCE

Located inside the combustion chamber, the heat exchanger is designed to transfer the heat produced by the burning pellets in the burn pot into clean hot air for distribution into your living space. Fresh air passes through the inside of the chamber and draws the heat out of the stove and into the room. For maximum efficiency, the surface of the heat exchanger should be cleaned regularly. The frequency with which you’ll need to clean it will depend on your particular unit’s design and can range anywhere from daily to monthly. On some models, cleaning is as simple as moving a rod that scrapes the tubes inside the stove, whereas other stoves may require professional service.

VENTING SYSTEM AND OTHER COMPONENT MAINTENANCE

It is recommended that you have your stove’s venting system cleaned by a professional who’s more experienced in the maintenance of such things. If the vent pipe becomes blocked, smoke may leak into your home. Luckily, most pellet burning appliances now have a safety switch that will interrupt their operation and keep exposure to harmful gases to a minimum. The motors and fans in your stove will need occasional cleaning and/or lubricating as well; using the wrong lubricant or the wrong amount of lubricant can, however, damage the unit. Gaskets (fire chamber door, ash pan door, and hopper lid) may also need replacing from time to time to ensure the seals remain tight.

Like traditional and gas fireplaces, it is recommended that you call a certified professional to service and clean your pellet stove on at least an annual basis; they’ll also be able to provide preventive maintenance at this time. Here at Chimney Care Company, your family’s sense of security and safety is important to us. Whatever your fireplace, chimney or other needs, if you’re looking for high quality, professional services from industry experts, you’ve come to the right place. Give us a call today!

Dryer Vent Safety

In case you didn’t know, a major cause of house fires originates from dryer vents.  That is why it is imperative that you have your dryer vents cleaned by professionals.

Put the cleaning of your dryer vents as top priority on your home maintenance checklist.