Using a fireplace or lighting a fire in a fireplace is looked upon as an easy task. However, there are very few who know that if the process is carried out in certain ways and if one follows the right steps to use a fireplace, they can certainly enjoy their fireplace better. After all, one can spend quality time with their family and friends around a fireplace, which can be very inviting, especially when it’s cold outside. Make your fire much more enjoyable from the start and read on to know how. Ensure that you have all the devices and equipment to start a good fire, such as poker, tongs. Broom and Shovel, fender, fire screen and ash bucket. Those tools are essential for pushing and positioning logs, sweeping up ashes, lifting logs and coals and prevent sparks from flying.
Make your fire much more enjoyable from the start and read on to know how.
Use a Fireplace
There are certain guidelines to operate a traditional wood-burning fireplace. Make sure to use the right fuel and burn hardwoods such as ash, oak hard maple, and hickory. Avoid soft woods as they don’t burn as well.
• If the fireplace has glass doors, keep its doors open at least half an hour before lighting your fire. This is done so that the fireplace come to the room temperature and by opening the doors, you allow in the warmer air that rises in the chimney.
• Always check the draft before using the fireplace. Light a match near the opening to see the direction of the draft and if it is going up or coming down. One should not light the fire if the draft is coming down.
• Place small sticks or wood pieces in order to prepare the kindling. It is a good idea to place a crumpled newspaper below the grate, but don’t use too much paper. Keep the wood logs horizontally and in a criss-cross pattern, so as to allow the gaps for air flow.
• Stack a few split logs and place kindling around them. It is seen that the smaller pieces of wood take to the flames easily. Never use gasoline or a lighter fluid to start a fire.
• Use a long-handled lighter to ignite the newspaper and a fireplace poker to stir the sticks and the logs. Do not leave the fire neglected and make sure that the larger logs ignite.
• Once the fire starts burning, expect problems such as smoke in the room, which means that there aren’t enough openings for the air to get drawn up the chimney. An immediate solution is to open a window near the fireplace.
• Once you have used the fireplace, extinguish the fire completely before leaving.
Just follow the above guidelines and enjoy a cozy atmosphere friends and family near the fireplace. You just need to take some extra cares for a safe and successful fire. It is a good idea to install a carbon monoxide and smoke detector in your room.
