Santa's Friend Chimney Service Blog

How To Build A Safe Fire This Winter

The scene is beautiful: Family and friends gathered in front of a beautiful fire, toasting to old memories, and creating new ones. However, things can turn ugly quickly. Especially, if you don’t know how to safely build and maintain a fire. There are several ways to make sure that your beautiful fireplace scene stays just that way.

Maintain Your Fireplace

The first thing to do to make sure that you have a safe, stable fire is to be proactive! Have your chimney and fireplace inspected and cleaned on an annual basis. When you’re looking for a chimney sweep service, it is important to hire someone who is Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified. This ensures that your chimney inspection is held to the highest standard of quality in the industry. When you hire the qualified technicians at Santa’s Friend Chimney Service, you’ll be getting just that. The staff at Santa’s Friend has over 26 years of experience. In addition, they use the latest techniques and technology, ensuring that things are fixed promptly and cleaned thoroughly.

How to Light Your Fire

There’s more to lighting a safe fire than just throwing some wood down and lighting a match. According to the Martha Stewart website, start by opening your dampers all the way. Crumpled newspaper makes a great fire starter. So, crumple some up and put it under the grate, then top this with strips of newspaper. Add eight or so pieces of kindling on top. Afterwards, add a few thin, split logs to top the kindling off. If you stack this too tightly, air won’t be able to circulate. If this happens, you will have trouble starting the fire. It’s best to keep these layers loose. Light the tinder, then, when the fire is burning steadily, add a couple of small logs and one large log. If you add too much too soon, you risk smothering your fire. Worse yet, you might get a larger blaze that is difficult to control.

After It’s Lit

After you have the fire burning, there are other things to consider to make sure that things stay safe. Make sure that there is nothing flammable near the fireplace, including books, toys, furniture, or curtains – any of these can easily catch a spark that cause a fire that can put your home and loved ones in danger.

Healthychildren.org tells us to be sure that the fire is completely out before going to bed or going out for the evening. Absolutely never leave little children alone in a room with a burning fire. Also, don’t leave matches or fire starters out where children can get a hold of them.

It is also very important to make sure that your smoke detector batteries are charged. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, you should have a smoke detector installed on each floor of the house. This includes the basement, as well as in every bedroom, and outside every sleeping area. Check your smoke detector batteries once a month, and change the batteries at least twice a year.

Call Santa’s Friend Chimney Service

If you have questions or concerns on fireplace safety, call Santa’s Friend Chimney Service at 601-854-7563. Their qualified professionals have the answers to help keep your home safe and worry-free.

Don’t Let Santa Go Down A Dirty Chimney!

Listen … Can you hear it? Can you hear the jingling of sleigh bells and the tap, tap, tap of tiny reindeer feet? Everybody is looking forward to seeing that jolly old man pull up in his shining sleigh. His sleek looking reindeer ringing their sparkling sleigh bells. Plus, Mrs. Claus has her hubby looking his holiday best in his bright red suit. One thing is sure. You don’t want your chimney to be the one to leave nasty soot stains on Santa’s pretty outfit!

Why Does My Chimney Need Cleaning?

You spend time cleaning, baking ,and making sure that everything is just right. This is especially true for your family and friends. Everything needs to be just right before they arrive. This is so that you can have a relaxing time, reminiscing and making new memories. In all the fuss and hurry, you might be tempted to forego cleaning something that no one will ever really see – the inside of your chimney. But skipping this can be a costly mistake!

One reason it is so important to have your chimney cleaned? Fire burning is a dirty business! According to the GuideOne Insurance website: When the water vapor, unburned wood particles, tar fog, and other minerals that are released while a fire is burning make their way up your chimney, it causes a build-up of gunk that is called creosote. The Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) website states that, if this creosote build-up equals or exceeds ¼ inch, it needs to be removed by a CSIA certified professional. Cleaning this creosote makes your fire burning more efficient. In addition, it will decrease the risk of a chimney fire, since creosote is highly flammable.

Another good reason to have your chimney cleaned? Make sure it’s clear of any blockages. After all, Santa needs plenty of room to get down your chimney! In the summer and fall, your chimney can accumulate dead leaves and twigs. Also, even bird, squirrel, or other animal nests are not uncommon finds. These blockages can force the air that is supposed to be escaping through your chimney back down into your house. Also, chimney fires can start from sparks catching on any blockages that are left in your chimney.

A Job for the Experts

You may be tempted to do this job yourself. However, this is a job that you should leave for the professionals. To really do the job right, you need special equipment and protective gear. This is to protect you and to keep your house from getting too dirty.

When looking for expert cleaning technicians, make sure that your chimney sweeps are CSIA certified. Santa’s Friend Chimney sweep professionals are CSIA certified and certified by several other chimney safety organizations. This ensures that you will be getting top rated technicians trained in the latest chimney inspecting and cleaning techniques.

Don’t let old Kris Kringle down by making him slide down a dirty chimney. Give Santa’s Friend Chimney Service a call today and know that your chimney will be ready for all your fireplace needs!