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Tips on How to Get Your Fireplace Ready to Use

By Acme Homes 11-25-2020

Because Acme operates out of beautiful Washington State, when you buy one of our homes you get to experience all four seasons at their finest. Including Winter. We purposefully build homes that you want to spend time in. And during the colder months, what better way to enjoy your time at home than next to a cozy fireplace. To keep your fireplace in working condition and ready to use, we wanted to share with you some helpful fireplace maintenance tips.

Repair Missing Mortar

It is only natural that pieces of brick or mortar will loosen, crack, or fall out over time. Your fireplace experiences regular extremes in temperature which causes those natural materials to expand and contract and this sometimes leads to missing bits. The solution is simple and easy, though. You can easily acquire some fireplace mortar or refractory caulk from your local home improvement store, and you can use it to fill those empty spaces using a putty knife. While you are at it, do not forget to check your chimney for the same issue.

Clean Your Chimney

Speaking of chimneys, it is an important part of fireplace maintenance to clean your chimney every season. If you have a wood burning fireplace, that is. Wood burning fireplaces create creosote which gets caked onto your chimney walls over time. Left as is, this can accelerate some potential hazards, such as chimney fires. So be sure to clean your chimney before and after each cold season. You can get kits that make it easy to do yourself, or you can call a chimney sweep to do the job for you.

Store Firewood Properly

An essential part of having a toasty fire is having a nice supply of firewood handy. To keep your wood pile in good condition and ready to use, make sure that you store it properly. If stored on a rack inside the house, a lot of common issues can be avoided. But if you have a large supply that needs to be stored outside, make sure that it is in a covered space to allow for it to stay dry. In addition, make sure to inspect any wood you plan to bring inside since wood piles are often a nice refuge for creepy crawlies and other vermin.

There are other things you can do, like decorate your mantel and get a decorative smoke screen, but these tips are the ones that will have you safely enjoying your fireplace all season long.