A fireplace is a great amenity in the home. It provides the home with an extra dose of comfort and life in and out. The fireplace serves as a bonding tool for the family. Members of the family may sit around the burning flames to engage in different activities indoors, discuss and have a heart to heart conversations on various topics, tell stories or even to listen to a member read a favorite book to everyone.
Apart from serving as a bonding tool for the family, the gas log fireplace keeps the home and members of the family warm during cold weather while also supplying the house with sufficient light, especially when electricity is knocked out during winter. Make sure you contact the reputable Gas Log Service Forsyth County, GA provider to ensure your gas log fireplace is always in good condition.
The numerous benefits the fireplace offers the home, and members of the home make it essential that it be kept in the right conditions and maintained by trusted Chimney Sweep Long Island service providers to ensure it keeps performing at its best.
Why the fireplace must be maintained for efficient preformance
Maintaining the fireplace, whether it is a gas fireplace or wood fireplace, is necessary to keep it working in good condition and efficient at radiating heat into the home. According to The New York Times, fireplaces can act as alternatives and help save on heating costs incurred from the living room. Make sure you also consider options like an electric log fire as well.
Making your fireplace efficient is no day’s job, but keeping it clean to make and adding accessories to make it efficient does offer the home numerous benefits. These include;
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Regular maintenance will help you identify problems that exist in your fireplace before it becomes a full-blown problem. These include drafting concerns, crumbling mortar or bricks, which may render the fireplace inefficient in its duty of keeping the home warm. Detecting these problems early helps to keep your fireplace safe for the home and enjoyable too.
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Regular maintenance of chimney sweep indianapolis specialists help you discover if creosote is beginning to build up in your chimney line. A creosote build-up is a dangerous element to have in a home as it catches fire quickly, and this can cause a fire outbreak. Maintaining your fireplace will help you discover this early and, in turn, makes your home safe whenever you make use of the fireplace.
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Maintaining your fireplace and keeping it efficient will save you lots of money on your energy bill. People do not consider their fireplaces as an excellent way to keep the home warm and end up spending so much on energy bills. Maintaining the fireplace and keeping it efficient means you can keep the house warm without having to pay so much for energy consumption. And if you’ve got problems with your chimney, all you have to do is to ask for help from the experts in Chimney Repair Long Island.
- It is more affordable to maintain the fireplace and chimney regularly. You can determine how they are currently doing thanks to routine cleaning, and you can prevent further harm, which is more expensive than routine cleaning. The fact that your home is more fire-resistant will also give you more peace of mind.
- If your fireplace is unclean, it may produce deadly gasses like carbon monoxide, which is extremely dangerous to breathe in. Additionally, unclean fumes have been linked to a number of illnesses, including rashes on the skin, irritation of the eyes, headaches, and more. Every other day, thoroughly clean the fireplace to maintain both the effectiveness of the heat production and the prevention of respiratory illnesses.
- Nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide can all be produced during combustion. These oxides are to blame for the rust and corrosion in the flue. Even though rusting is unavoidable, thorough cleaning is necessary.
- Did you know that mold may grow inside of unclean chimneys and fireplaces? In light of this, frequent cleaning is advised. Mold exposure can exacerbate allergies, and those who are exposed to mold may experience sneezing fits, coughing fits, runny noses, headaches, and other symptoms.
- The correct kind of firewood is economical. It is best to use mature hardwoods like oak and maple. Avoid using softwoods like cedar and pine. In contrast to softwoods, hardwood burns longer and produces adequate heat. It is preferable to cut the logs in half so they can easily dry before being placed in the furnace. No wood is wasted while using dry firewood.
What Are The Various Types Of Fireplaces?
- Wood-Burning Fireplace-This fireplace has been the most popular over the ages. As the name implies, logs are used in this fireplace to start a flame and provide heat for the home. This style of fireplace requires more work to clean because of the ashes, dust, and unburned wood. Additionally, it costs a little bit extra because wood must occasionally be added to keep the fire going. However, a wood fireplace has a different atmosphere due to its aesthetic appeal, the sound of occasionally popping and crackling wood, and the warmth it gives off to the house.
- Gas Fire Place- A flame is created by using natural gas or propane in this sort of fireplace. You are not required to gather firewood. You also don’t have to clean the fireplace as frequently because there are no ashes or unburned wood. These modern fireplaces are safe because you don’t need to oversee them because the flame they release is constant, unlike a wood fireplace where the fire is not constant and there is a danger that the fire will come out of the furnace.
- Electric Fireplace-The electric fireplace can heat the entire space with just one switch turned on. Electric fireplaces do not require any supervision because there is no real flame or open fire, in contrast to traditional fireplaces. A heater like this one replicates the burning of coal or wood.
Tips to improve fireplace efficiency
To make the fireplace efficient, below are some tips you can try out.
1. Install Fireplace Glass Doors
Fireplace glass doors are significant in making your fireplace efficient. They act as a blockade between the fireplace and the living room.
The doors prevent a significant amount of air in the burning fireplace from getting lost in the chimney. Also, glass doors radiate heat to the home to keep the house warm and maintain the warm atmosphere.
Other benefits of adding a glass door to your fireplace include,
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Improved Safety: Fireplace doors prevent sparks from the burning wood from getting out of the fireplace and causing bodily harm to members of the family. Also, wood logs may move from their position during burning and reel off the fireplace, and a fireplace door prevents the burning log from making contact with your living from and causing a fire or damaging property in the home.
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Glass doors improve the energy efficiency of your fireplace.
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Fireplace doors increase the heating provided by your fireplace. Instead of cordoning off the heat produced in the fireplace, the heat generated by the burning fire is dissipated into the room through the fireplace doors.
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The chimney introduces cold air to the fireplace, but installing a fireplace door will keep smoke out and get rid of downdrafts effects caused by the chimney.
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Apart from safety and improving the efficiency of fireplaces, fireplace doors update the look of your fireplace to a stylish and luxurious one. Fireplace glass doors are obtainable in numerous shapes, styles, and colors.
The fireplace can also be made into an intense center of attraction with the addition of a fireplace door. This means it adds aesthetic appeal to the fireplace and living room ultimately.
2. Add Fireplace Inserts
A fireplace insert can make the fireplace more efficient up to ten times more than without one. An insert is primarily a wood-burning stove that is positioned in the fireplace. It is designed specifically for transforming a fireplace into an efficient one and can improve the efficiency of your fireplace by 70%.
The inserts usually have a glass door attached to them, and they employ a chamber for heat exchange that has channels. The channels allow the passage of air and also suck up the heat.
3. Install A Chimney Top-Sealing Damper
Dampers are metal plates that open and close and are usually situated right above the chimney’s throat. Dampers regulate smoke and airflow that go into the home or travel through the chimney.
Dampers allow warm air to escape through the chimney and enable cold air into the home, which can disrupt the warmth and heating efficiency of the fireplace. Conventional dampers need to be replaced within a year or two. Adding a dryer vent is also another safety net as it eliminates excess heat accumulated during the dryer cycle, thus, preventing fire. You can ask for help from Dryer Vent Cleaning Union County, NC experts to handle the maintenance routine of your dryer vent.
It reduces cooling and heating costs of the home and makes your fireplace more efficient in keeping the home warm and saving energy.
4. Add Tube Heat Exchangers
The heat exchanger is made up of empty tubes that fit around the fireplace. The heat exchanger sucks cool air from the floor. The cold air is heated by fire from the fireplace and passed through the tube top into the room. They increase the efficiency of a fireplace significantly.
5. Employ A Professional Chimney Cleaner
Be sure to first show the fireplace to professionals before using it again, especially if it is a traditional or wood-burning fireplace. In order to prevent fires and accidents, chimneys and fireplaces should be inspected once a year to make sure they are still in good shape. It goes without saying that the fireplace should be well cleaned and inspected before use during the winter or other frigid seasons.
How to keep fireplace Clean
You can keep the fireplace clean in the following ways:
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Remove wood ashes when they begin to have a noticeable smell. Use a shovel to collect the ashes, put them in a bag, and dispose of the bag.
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Get rid of soot on the fireplace walls and around the opening. Use a stiff brush along with hand gloves to clean soot off the fireplace.
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Hire professionals to get rid of creosote from the walls of your chimney. Creosote is dangerous and a significant reason for chimney fire accidents. As a result, the chimney should be cleaned periodically by professionals to get rid of it.
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Keep the glass door of the fireplace clean using a vinegar solution. Be cautious before touching the glass to make sure it is not hot. The ash in the fireplace itself, in addition to vinegar, is a cheap method of cleaning the glass door. Yes, you did hear correctly! After the glass has been moistened, grab some ashes, sprinkle them on it, and then rub the ash and other particles off of the glass with an old piece of newspaper. Wash the glass in soap and water. You can also use glass cleaning. Glass cleaners made specifically for fireplaces are sold in stores.
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If there is a heat exchanger installed, make use of the vacuum cleaner to clean up debris that may be hiding around or inside the tubes.
- Clean the screen. Before handling the mesh, make sure it is cool. Take it outdoors gently to prevent the dust and ashes from spreading inside the house. With water, soap, and a brush, thoroughly clean it. Rub it thoroughly until there are no longer any signs of dust or ashes. Rinse it thoroughly and let it air dry outside.
What are the necessary cleaning tools for the fireplace and chimney?
- Chimney Sweep Brushes-To clean the fireplace and chimney, many brushes are utilized. To fit specifically in the difficult-to-reach sections of the chimney and fireplace, some of them are shaped in the following ways: round, square, rectangular, and u. These wire brushes are durable and strong.
- Polypropylene Brush- Soft brushes are also required in addition to wire brushes, particularly for prefabricated fireplaces and chimneys. A non-abrasive cleanser is required because there are sensitive stainless steel sections in this area.
- Cleaning Rods- To access the difficult-to-reach regions of the chimney, particularly those in its high part and those with curves and turns, several types of flexible cleaning rods are required.
- Ash Shovel- It is preferable to pick up the hot or burning coal with a coal shovel that has a wooden handle to make the task easier.
- Ash Vacuum- If you use a vacuum, it will be simpler to remove the ashes and dust from the fireplace. The suction prevents the pollutants from spreading inside the room, which could otherwise lead to sneezing fits, breathing problems, and other irritations.
- Glass Cleaner- There are glass cleaners made specifically for fireplaces that you can buy to get the glass door of your fireplace sparkling clean.
- Scouring Pads- If hardened minerals need to be removed, scouring pads are preferable over soft cloths. To get that brand-new, glittering effect, it is also preferable to use a scouring pad on the stainless steel components of the fireplace and chimney because of its buffing power. And due to the strong weave design, it is more cost-effective, simpler to rinse, and requires less soap to clean the fireplace.