We all dream of that perfect holiday scene. The kids are playing with their new toys. You and your spouse are snuggling on the couch. And what’s that in the background? The warm glow of a crackling fire. It ties the whole picture together, doesn’t it?
But that perfect fire in your fireplace doesn’t just happen. It requires intentional preparation to achieve cozy winter bliss.
Winterizing your fireplace now will prevent your fires from fizzling out too quickly or worse, putting your home and family in danger.
Fortunately, winterizing a fireplace is not difficult. It only requires a few simple steps on your part. Here’s how to prepare a fireplace for winter the easy way.
1. Schedule an Annual Chimney Inspection
Before you even think about using your fireplace this winter, you need to be sure it’s safe. The best way to do this is with an annual chimney inspection by a certified chimney sweep.
You may wonder why an annual inspection is necessary. After all, you probably used your chimney last winter and it worked fine. The reason it’s necessary is a lot can happen to a chimney over the course of a year.
For example, the rain slowly erodes away at the chimney material and can create cracks and leaks. These types of damage can lead to many problems, including:
- Decreasing the structural integrity of your chimney
- Causing housefires by letting heat escape to nearby construction materials.
- Leaving your home vulnerable to carbon monoxide leaks
- Making your fires less energy efficient
For this reason, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that all chimneys be checked at least once a year. Furthermore, if you’ve just moved into a home or have never used your chimney before, your system should receive an extra thorough inspection.
The people best qualified to perform these inspections are chimney sweeps certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA). These pros can catch problems in their earliest stages when they might not be visible to untrained eyes.
For this reason, it’s better to pay a CSIA-certified chimney sweep to perform your inspection than to do it yourself. You may save more upfront by inspecting your chimney on your own, but you could wind up paying more for costly problems down the line.
2. Invest in Professional Repairs
Your chimney inspection may reveal structural problems that need attention. In this case, you’ll need to get those issues repaired before using your fireplace.
While it may be tempting to fix the damage to your chimney system yourself, we recommend proceeding with caution. Only make the repairs if you’re sure you can do it safely. Keep in mind that making repairs incorrectly could put you at even greater risk of the problems listed above.
For example, let’s say you find cracks in your fireplace flue. The obvious course of action is to seal those cracks. But what’s not obvious is the type of mortar you should use to do so. If you were to fill those cracks with regular mortar, the repairs wouldn’t last long because regular mortar can’t withstand the high temperatures generated by a fireplace. The cracks would only worsen over time, leading to more expensive problems as a result.
For this reason, it’s a good idea to let a professional handle most fireplace and chimney repairs. A certified chimney sweep will know the best practices for winterizing your fireplace without any unexpected complications.
Your chimney should get the repairs it needs as soon as possible to prevent even worse problems!
3. Make Sure Everything’s Working Properly
Aside from having your chimney inspected and repaired, there are also some components of your system you should test when winterizing a fireplace. These include the chimney cap, flue damper and fireplace gasket. We’ll discuss each of these in more detail below.
Check Your Chimney Cap
Every chimney should have a chimney cap. This component is essential because it keeps rain, snow, birds and other animals from infiltrating your fireplace system. Yet not all homes have chimney caps. So, we recommend having one installed if you don’t have one already.
If you have a chimney cap, it’s important to have it checked along with the rest of your chimney for signs of rust or deterioration. Metal chimney caps crack and wear away over time, leaving your fireplace vulnerable to unwanted visitors. Make sure you have protection overhead before you make the fire below!
Test Your Flue Damper
The flue damper is the mechanism you open to allow airflow up your chimney before starting a fire. It’s important to close the damper once your fire is out to prevent the warm air in your home from escaping through your chimney.
Therefore, you need to make sure you can open and close your damper without any problems before making a fire. An easy way to test this is to open the damper and put your hand beneath it. You should feel air flowing in from the chimney. If you don’t, the damper isn’t opening properly and needs to be replaced.
You should also close the damper and put your hand beneath it to make sure you don’t feel any airflow. If you do, your damper isn’t keeping out the outside air like it should and needs fixing/replacing.
See If Your Gasket Is Sealing Properly
The gasket is responsible for establishing a firm seal to keep a fireplace door tightly shut. Over time, the gasket can lose its adhesive properties the more often you open and close the door.
So, check that your fireplace door firmly seals when you close it. If the door won’t stay shut, then it’s time to replace your gasket. Fortunately, this is an easy DIY project, and you can learn more about it here.
4. Thoroughly Clean Your Fireplace System
Many people wonder how often their fireplace chimney and flue should be cleaned. According to the NFPA, the answer is at least once a year.
The reason for this is creosote, debris, dirt, soot and ash buildup in the system with each successive fire you create. And the longer these combustible materials go without being removed from the chimney, the greater the risk of a chimney fire becomes. This buildup can also toxify the air in your home and threaten your family’s health.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to have your chimney cleaned by a professional chimney sweep prior to using it in the winter.
You should also keep an eye on your fireplace as you use it and clean it regularly. Remove and dispose of the ash after every few fires and check the soot buildup to see when it’s time to wipe down the walls of your fireplace. You can do this by taking a metal poker and scratching the soot on the walls. If the amount of soot is greater than 1/8”, then it’s time to scrub it clean. We also recommend regularly cleaning your fireplace blower to keep it from filling your living room full of dust!
A certified chimney sweep will give your fireplace system the thorough cleaning it needs for winter.
5. Clear the Area Around Your Fireplace and Chimney
Preparing the area around your fireplace and chimney for fires is also a good idea. Remove anything flammable from in front of your fireplace to avoid any fire hazards. Be especially careful not to let your stockings and Christmas tree hang too close to the fire!
You should also check your fireplace screen to make sure it’s in good shape to keep sparks from jumping into your living room.
Another best practice is to pay attention to the trees outside near your chimney. Trim away any branches that are hanging too close and could be a fire hazard.
6. Follow Safe Fire Building Best Practices
An additional part of winterizing a fireplace is following all fire safety best practices. These include checking the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and having a fire extinguisher nearby.
When it comes time to start your fire, remember to open the damper first so that you won’t fill your home with smoke. Then make sure you build your fire toward the back of the fireplace on top of the metal grate. We recommend igniting the kindling under a pyramid of firewood pieces and then periodically adding a piece at a time to keep the fire hot and steady.
7. Use Kiln-Dried Firewood for the Best Fires
The final way to set up your fireplace for winter success is by feeding it with the best wood available: kiln-dried firewood. This type of firewood is superior to traditional seasoned wood because it contains less moisture and comes purified from all types of bugs, mold and fungus.
As a result, the firewood is super easy to light and produces the hottest flames. It is particularly good for fireplaces because it produces minimal smoke and creosote. As a result, it won’t dirty up your fireplace and chimney nearly as quickly as seasoned wood. Moreover, since it contains no insects or mold, it’s entirely safe to store inside for easy access when it’s time for a cozy winter fire.
You can learn more about this superior type of firewood by reading our complete guide on the topic.
Here’s to Staying Warm All Winter!
There you have it! By following these seven steps, you will set your family up for a lot of great moments by the fireplace this winter. So, start winterizing your fireplace now because those snowflakes will be here before you know it!
Need help stocking up on kiln-dried firewood for the winter? We can help! At Lumberjacks, we produce premium kiln-dried firewood and deliver it everywhere in the Chicagoland region, including Arlington Heights, Schaumburg and Rockford. Please call (815) 337-1451 to place your order.
