Does Your Living Room Look Like a Pizza Oven?
How would you know if your chimney smoke guard is working properly? A faulty chimney smoke guard is surprisingly obvious. Have you been to a pizza restaurant recently? The best pizza restaurants have wood burning ovens, all with a chimney attached. Sometimes, the inside of the restaurant looks cloudy and smokey, and smells like burning food. It’s not a bad smell, but it is a sign the pizza place’s air flow and chimney are not working well. These smokey fumes are nothing to mess around with, they can be toxic to breathe in. Carbon monoxide, dioxide and other harmful toxins are released during the combustion process. So, how can you protect your home from ending up like a smokey pizza restaurant?
An Important Part of Your Chimney
A chimney smoke guard serves an important purpose in the construction of a chimney. It is to keep the smoke out of your home. It’s a metal-like strip that attaches to the fireplace opening at the top. If you’re noticing any black stains above your firebox in addition to a smokey living room, it is time for a chimney smoke guard install or replacement by a professional. Remember, no smoke should be entering your home at all!
Why is my fireplace smoking?
There are several reasons why your fireplace is smoking:
- It’s time to check and replace your chimney smoke guard.
- The airflow is bad. Airflow is very important to your chimney’s maintenance. If you notice cold air blowing into your home that smells musty or smokey, it’s an airflow problem. There’s a stronger downdraft, pulling in cold air from the outside. A chimney professional can help fix airflow problems. They may install a better smoke guard or other necessary equipment.
- A dirty flue. Blockages in the chimney flue are quite the common problem. This also creates a downdraft of smokey air.
- Bad construction. Sometimes, the fireplace opening is very large compared to the size of the flue. In this case, the chimney can’t remove all the smoke, and it spills out into the room. It’s possible for a professional to reduce the size of the fireplace opening or make the flue bigger.
Dangers of a smoking fireplace
Without a professional chimney sweep to check the health of your chimney and fireplace, you’re running the risk of being poisoned. Carbon dioxide and monoxide are both toxic chemicals that when breathed in, can cause poisoning. Unfortunately, by the time you find out, you’re already poisoned! However, a chimney professional is here to keep your home safe. Though a dangerous problem, a smoky fireplace is usually a fixable one.
I have a smoky fireplace! What should I do? It’s not healthy if you’re noticing smoke coming out of your fireplace firebox. Call a chimney professional as soon as possible for an inspection. We will determine what’s going on inside your chimney and take on the best course of action. It could range from installing a chimney smoke guard to a simple flue sweep. Don’t keep your home looking like a smokey pizza oven…Superior Chimney professionals service the whole Chicagoland area, and are happy to help keep your home safe. Call us at 877-244-6349 for more information!
This post first appeared on https://www.superiorchimney.net
