It’s been a long day, and all you want to do is relax in front of your fireplace, maybe even with a blanket and a good book. You take the time to lay out your wood and get the fire burning just right. And just when you’re all settled in, you notice a stench from the smoke of your fireplace. There’s nothing like the this awful smell to ruin your nice evening. There are several reasons your fireplace might be smoking, but fortunately, this is an easy fix.
Why Is My Fireplace Smoking?
There are several reasons your fireplace might be smoking. One reason is a downdraft. When the wind blows from a certain direction, it can actually cause a downdraft, blowing wind down your chimney. This would reverse the flow of smoke coming out of your chimney and push it back into your house. This happens most often, if you don’t have a chimney cap especially.
Another cause is your flue may be cold. As warm air rises up the chimney, this leads the smoke out of your house. If your flue is too cold, this will cause the smoke to cool and sink back into your house rather than rising out.
A third possibility is your house might actually be sealed too tightly. You may be thinking: isn’t the ultimate goal to have a nice, tight house that stays nice and warm? This is mostly true, but at other times this is counterproductive such as when running a fireplace. You need the air to vent out of your house or negative pressure can occur. If your house is tightly sealed, it will cause the fireplace to push the smoke back down your chimney and into your living room, causing an uncomfortable and potentially unhealthy situation. You can solve this problem by simply opening a window.
Solution to a Smoky Fireplace
An easy solution to a smoke-filled room is to install a smoke guard. At Owens Chimney Systems, we can offer a variety of smoke guards, and we can install them in no time! A smoke guard is simply a piece that goes at the top of the fireplace opening to reduce the size of the fireplace opening. This help control back drafts that may be occurring, which in turn control the flow of heat being produced.
Because there are many sizes in fireplace openings, we offer different sizes to fit any openings. A smoke guard is such an inexpensive way to control your smoky fireplace. Of course, there may be other reasons that your fireplace is smoky, such as an excessive creosote build up, and we can take care of that, too! Give us a call today if you’re experiencing fireplace problems, we would love to help you get to the bottom of it!