When you utilize your fireplace, you wish to experience it fully. Smoke from the fireplace can be hazardous to your health and the health of your family, as well as your home. It’s critical to quickly identify and resolve the issue.

Several factors can allow fireplace smoke to access your house. Back-puffing could be generated by anything from a faulty damper to wet firewood.

Poor quality firewood is one of the most prevalent causes of smoke back into the home. Most homeowners are unaware of this and believe their back puffing problem is caused by a fireplace or chimney item. A nice burn requires well-seasoned fuel, or you’ll end up paying for firewood or having smoke billowing into your home. Ideal firewood is seasoned for a year. This results in a log that is almost completely dry, but not completely. You may hear sizzling when you burn moist firewood. Damp firewood produces too much smoke for a flue, causing back-puffing. Dry and aged firewood can also produce smoke problems in your home. You want dry wood, but old and brittle wood burns hotter and produces more smoke.

Cold flues or cold air in the chimney also generate fireplace smoke. Because colder air is denser, it forces smoke back into your home. This is usually the situation when you’ve not lit a fire in a long time and it’s been cold. To avoid a chilly flue, you can pre-light the chimney with newspaper, kindling, or the gas starter (if installed). This will warm the flue and allow smoke in. When first lighting your fireplace, open a window or door slightly to help alleviate the negative air pressure. This will cause the heat to rise and the fireplace to draw, thus heating the flue and allowing appropriate venting. This is common in newer, tightly sealed homes.