There are some myths that have been floating around about fireplaces for some time now. Well, we want to help you out with a few, some are more truth than myth, other myths can be fixed with just a few tweaks to your fireplace, and the rest are just that; myths.
- To be green (or to save on my electric bill) I should never use my fireplace.
While it is true that fireplaces can suck a lot of heat out through your chimney, most of the time this can be resolved by using a fireback or installing a fireplace insert. A fireback maximizes the warmth of your fireplace and a fireplace insert decreases the amount of warm air lost by around 60%.
- A fireplace is inefficient when operating.
Fireplaces actually lose more heat when they are not operating, due to leaks around the damper. This can be easily resolved by installing fireplace doors. Fireplace doors will help to add an extra barrier and seal your home from leaking out warm air or cool air (depending on the season).
- It is okay to use unseasoned wood.
Unseasoned wood causes more problems that just taking longer to ignite than seasoned wood. Unseasoned wood can lead to creosote building up in your chimney at a much quicker rate than it normally would have. And a lot of chimney fires are due to creosote build up. A way to prevent this problem is to always use seasoned wood and to have your chimney inspected yearly by a certified chimney sweep.
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