How To Help Keep Smoke From Coming Out Of Your Fireplace?

For many people, a fireplace is the centerpiece of their living rooms. It provides warmth and ambiance to any room. But there are some things you need to know before winter arrives that will help keep smoke from coming out of your chimney when it’s cold outside.

Have you ever found yourself sitting in a room, only to have smoke come pouring out of your fireplace? If so, don’t worry! This is a common occurrence that many people have experienced. Here are some tips on how to keep this from happening in the future:

  1. Clean your chimney regularly. You can get this done professionally or do it yourself (we recommend hiring someone).
  2. Lower the temperature on your fire and make sure there’s not too much wood before you start burning it.
  3. Add more air vents around the area where you plan on having fires.
  4. Make sure the damper is closed when not using it and open up all windows if need be during use of the fireplace.

Don’t let the smoke come pouring out of your fireplace this winter! Follow these tips and you should be able to enjoy a fire without any issues.

What Should I Do If Smoke Keeps Coming Out Of My Fireplace?

The main cause of smoke coming out is that the firebox has not been cleaned for a long time. This includes the glass doors, chimney flue, and damper area. After cleaning these areas your fireplace could be less likely to emit smoke into your home when you start using it again.

So if this step does not work then another thing would be to make sure that there isn’t any wood or other debris on top of or around the logs in the pit as well as ashes blocking up underneath them which will restrict airflow and prevent combustion from taking place properly.

If this doesn’t stop some more drastic actions might need to happen such as having someone come inspect what’s going on with your particular system and even clean it all by hand if necessary.

Use A Fireplace Grate

Use a fireplace grate to keep the wood in place. This will help contain fires and prevent smoke from coming out of your chimney. You can also use screens or metal fire barriers that sit on top of the hearth to achieve this effect as well!

  • Fireplace Grate: A grate for your fireplace that will help contain the fire and prevent smoke from coming out of the chimney. You can also use screens or metal barriers that sit on top of the hearth to achieve this effect as well!
  • Screens, Fireplaces Screens, Or Metal Barriers: Screening devices used in fireplaces that fit inside a traditional fireplace but are designed with enough strength to hold back even very hot ashes. They prevent embers from escaping up your chimney by diverting them into an ash pan at floor level where they cool down before being removed later when you have time to deal with them appropriately. It is easy to see why these offer such outstanding value for money! This provides a barrier between the fire and your fireplace. These barriers are great in combination with a grate to keep everything in place and prevent smoke from coming out of the chimney!

Build Fires Towards The Back Of The Fireplace

Build fires towards the back of your fireplace. This will ensure that smoke doesn’t come out into the room you are sitting in or going up through any flue-connected appliances above it, such as a chimney fan. It is important to consider where you build your fire and how tall it stands so there aren’t issues with smoke coming out from all angles when finished being used for heat or ambiance.

Build Fires Using The Top-Down Method

  • Build the fire in your fireplace with kindling and small pieces of wood. Use paper or other flammable material at the base of the fire to help get it started if needed.
  • Once you have a good blaze, begin adding larger pieces of wood slowly, making sure that they are resting on top of each other instead of leaning against one another. If necessary, use crumpled newspaper or smaller sticks to form an initial structure for the large logs to rest upon while starting them burning from underneath. This will allow heat to build up under their surface before igniting their inner surfaces. As these logs start smoldering along their sides, additional smoke should be directed towards where people are within your living room rather than up the chimney. This is especially important to remember if your fireplace has glass doors that can be closed off when you are starting fires, trapping in smoke and fumes until they have burned away.
  • If possible, avoid placing logs on top of one another while building a fire unless you want an initial blast of heat directed towards yourself before it dissipates into the room at large. Instead, build small piles or lean individual pieces against each other for quicker heating without concentrated blasts of hot air hitting people within the living space once upon ignition as with stacked logs.
  • When you are done with your fire, use a fireplace shovel to gather up the ashes and dump them into a metal container outside. Use protective gloves or other means of protecting hands from being burned while removing sooty material that could harm sensitive skin.
  • Once there is no more smoke coming out of your chimney, close off the flue until it has cooled enough for you to go inside without getting harmed by hot air or fumes emanating through cracks within doors leading into areas where fires have been started.
See also
Do Gas Fireplaces have a Flue for the Smoke to get out?

Burn Dry & Low Moisture Content Firewood

  • Firewood should be stored in a dry place, protected from rain and snow.
  • It is recommended to use only logs that are dried for at least six months for fireplaces. This will prevent smoke problems, as well as reducing the risk of fire hazards by more than 80%. Also, never burn green wood or hardwoods like oak or hickory because they produce too much moisture which can cause some serious damage quickly if left unchecked.
  • Never burn painted, stained, or treated woods in your fireplace.
  • When you purchase wood from a store, make sure it is well seasoned and dry before burning. If the bark is still on the logs when they are delivered to your home, do not accept them! Even if you can’t see moisture inside of a log with its bark removed this does not mean that it’s properly dried out for use as fuel.
  • A safe rule would be to wait at least six months after cutting down a tree before using any part of it for firewood because even though branches may look dead on the outside their cells could still contain water molecules that heat up quickly while being burned to cause smoke problems such as those mentioned earlier.
  • Fireplace logs that are properly dried and seasoned will burn hotter and cleaner than green or unseasoned wood. This can help reduce creosote buildup in your chimney, which is a leading cause of fires.
  • This could also improve the overall efficiency of your fireplace because it would not need to work as hard to create heat for you inside your home. However, if buying firewood from someone else be sure they know how to tell if their firewood was cut recently enough so check with them what date they had it cut down before committing any further! For those who don’t have this luxury, we recommend purchasing split wood instead since it’s easier for people like us who aren’t experts on these things yet still want a warm cozy fire this season!
  • Many people like to use fire starters with their wood. This is not recommended because they often contain chemicals that can be very hazardous when exposed to high temperatures, especially in confined spaces such as inside your chimney. It’s always better and safer just stick with using natural materials which are free of these toxic substances instead so try some dryer lint or even cotton balls soaked in petroleum jelly for example if you’d rather stay away from the artificial stuff entirely.

Open The Damper Fully Before Each Fire

Before lighting a fire, keep the damper fully open. This will help to prevent smoke from coming out of your fireplace! If you are planning on having an evening with friends or family around the living room hearth, make sure that everyone knows about this helpful tip before building up the flames in preparation for some hot cocoa and snacks by candlelight.

After shutting down the blaze, it is important to remember not to close off the flue immediately. Doing so can cause undesirable consequences like harmful carbon monoxide buildup throughout your home. Instead, wait at least 15 minutes after extinguishing all active fires before closing off any dampers located near ceiling level (dampers should be closed once temperatures drop back below 50 degrees).

You should also avoid allowing the fire to burn for a very long time. Many people have been injured or even killed because they left their fires going too long and became unable to escape from smoke inhalation as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning! As such, it is vital that you keep an eye on your fireplace at all times while lit in order to ensure that no one has any accidents due to neglecting safety precautions.

In addition, those who are thinking about taking up wood-burning as a hobby should make sure they know what kind of ventilation system works best with their home’s current layout before making major changes. This will help them avoid wasting money by trying out different models which may not be compatible or do not fit well into the structure where they are installed.

Preheat The Chimney To Start The Draft

If you want to keep smoke from coming out of your fireplace, then it is best that you do a few things like:

  • Preheat the chimney before starting a fire and run an ongoing cleanse.
  • Ensure logs are dry if not – they can smolder instead of burn.
  • Open the damper of your chimney.
  • Never burn garbage in the fireplace, paper, or other debris that can easily go up in smoke. Although it may seem like your fire is not putting off any smoke; however, this doesn’t mean there isn’t still some coming out through cracks on the outside of your home!

For more information about how to stop fires from smoking, you should consult with a company experienced in fireplace renovations and cleaning services. After all, these are things they deal with often enough that they know exactly what needs to be done for one’s particular situation. If you want help eliminating unwanted drafts then visit their site today!

Build Smaller, Hotter Fires

  • Keep your fireplace damper closed as much as possible. This is to keep the smoke from escaping up into your chimney. When you are trying to build a fire, make sure that it stays small and hot before opening the damper at all.
  • Never use lighter fluid. Using this chemical can cause a lot of smoke to come out from the fireplace and into your home air, which is not good for you or anyone that wants fresh-smelling air in their house!
  • Cut larger logs down into smaller pieces using an ax before trying to burn them. This will help produce less smoke so it doesn’t have as far to go when going up the chimney with a draft underneath it.
See also
Best Firebricks (Buyer’s Guide)

Have Your Chimney Swept For A Healthier Home

Have your chimney swept once a year, and before you start using it again in the spring. If there are any cracks or gaps between bricks that may cause an issue down the line so they can be fixed before starting up your fireplace for good.

If you are unsure of whether or not your chimney is in good condition, it is best to have someone inspect it with a sweep.

That being said, if you do notice that there are any cracks in the mortar between bricks around your fireplace, be sure to contact us right away for repairs! If these go unnoticed and aren’t repaired they will only get bigger over time which can lead to further damage within the interior of your home.

Open Any External Air Vents

Opening external air vents is a great way to cut down on the smoke coming out of your fireplace. If you have an outdoor stove, ensure that it has its own dedicated chimney stack. When you’re not using your fireplace, keep the damper closed. If there is a chimney cap over the top of your stack, make sure it’s in place to prevent smoke from coming into or out of your home.

If you want to get a chimney cap for your stack, it can be purchased from most hardware and fireplace stores. If the weather is cold and there’s nothing flammable nearby, crack open a window when it comes time to start up the fire in order to help keep smoke out of your home. Also remember that after starting any type of stove or fireplace fan, leave it on until all the flames have died down. This will further prevent more smoke from coming into or going out of your home through the chimney system.

This blog post was written by an experienced professional with years in their field who understands how practical tips like this can make life easier in homes across America today! Let me know if you found these helpful and would like to see more helpful blog posts in the future!

Don’t Start Fires In Too Warm Or Windy Weather

This is common sense, but it bears mentioning because we forget these rules when we get caught up in the excitement of having a fire and forgetting to take care of them. However, very hot or windy conditions can make fires burn much hotter than usual – which leads to more smoke coming out your chimney and potentially into your home if you aren’t careful!

The best way to avoid this problem is by not starting a fire at all during times like that; however, if you must start one (and maybe plan on shutting off the damper), then be sure to keep an eye out for smoking issues while you’re tending your flames.

It’s also very important that you keep the damper closed as much as possible. If your fireplace is not vented, then exterior doors and windows should be shut tight to prevent smoke from coming into your home. You will need to use a screen or some other type of barrier on the opening of your fireplace so hot embers don’t fly out while they’re still red-hot.

This can cause damage to whatever it hits: trees, homes, cars … even people! So just remember: close the chimney and dampers when there is a fire burning inside; check them regularly for heat discoloration (the metal turns orange), which means it needs to be adjusted anyway; and clean them frequently too because creosote buildup can cause a chimney fire.

Just remember that the right type of wood is also important for not smoking out your home – so be sure to use dry, clean, well-seasoned hardwoods instead of green or wet woods that will create more smoke and creosote than you’d like.

Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) has discovered that the main cause of smoke coming out of your fireplace is due to improper installation or gaps in which you should try and fix. Also, if you are using old materials for building a fireplace it might not be very efficient at trapping heat inside thus causing more gas than usual to escape through the flue pipe. It

is also important to make sure that the fireplace opening is not blocked by any kind of debris, plants, or even toys left inside which might cause smoke to escape.

Some ways to stop your house from burning down are using fire-resistant materials when building, making sure the chimney is clean, never leaving cooking unattended on top of stovetops while open flames are being used next to combustible material such as curtains or furniture. You should also make sure that you always have proper ventilation throughout all rooms especially kitchens where gas appliances are located near windows.

It is very important for children staying indoors not to play around with burners because they may turn them on without noticing just to play with fire. Also, never leave your fireplace unattended while it is on and always keep the flue closed when there are no fires being lit inside to prevent fumes from getting into other rooms or even homes in general.

  • Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has discovered that one of the main causes of smoke coming out of your fireplace is due to improper installation which you should try to fix.
  • Also, if you are using old materials for building a fireplace it might not be very efficient at trapping heat inside thus causing more gas than usual to escape through the flue pipe.
  • It is also important to make sure that the fireplace opening isn’t blocked by any kind of debris, plants, or even toys left inside which might cause smoke to escape.
  • Some ways to stop your house from burning down are using fire-resistant materials when building, making sure the chimney is clean, never leaving cooking unattended on top of stovetops while open flames are being used next to combustible material such as curtains or furniture. You should also make sure that you always have proper ventilation throughout all rooms especially kitchens where gas appliances are located near windows.
See also
Are Tabletop Fire Bowls safe? (User’s Guide)

It is very important for children staying indoors not to play around with burners because they may turn them on without noticing just to play with fire. Also, never leave your fireplace unattended while it is on and always keep the flue closed when there aren’t any fires being lit inside to prevent fumes from getting into other rooms or even homes in general.

Safety Tips

  • Keep your fireplace clean to prevent embers from starting a fire.
  • Make sure that no ashes are present in the wood, paper, or kindling you plan on using before lighting it. Ashes will burn at much higher temperatures than what is required for an open flame and might cause damage if left unattended. You can easily scoop out any leftover hot ash with a metal shovel right after your fire dies down so there’s no risk of smoldering fires overnight.
  • Also, be mindful not to dump too many ashes into the container because this could overfill it causing runoff outside of the pit which would lead to littering problems around your home as well as being just plain unsightly! If during use you notice smoke coming up through your chimney stack, it’s possible your fire is smoldering and producing excess smoke which could be hazardous.
  • Make sure to open a window or door near the fireplace while you’re tending to the fire – having too much of an accumulation of carbon monoxide around can lead to some serious health problems! Carbon Monoxide (CO) gas will usually remain close to ground level if there isn’t proper ventilation so opening up any nearby windows should help get rid of CO buildup in no time at all.

FAQs

How do I prevent smoke from coming out of my fireplace?

A common complaint is that a fire will spit or emit large amounts of smoke, especially when it starts to die down. There are several reasons for this: either you have too much wood in the grate and not enough airflow, or your chimney needs cleaning (the buildup inside the chimney can restrict airflow); or perhaps your damper has stopped working properly.

What should I do if a fire starts emitting smoke?

You can control the amount of smoke coming out by adjusting your woodpile or opening and shutting your damper. You may need to cut down on the size of the logs you are burning, build up the area where they burn with smaller pieces of wood (called kindling), make sure there is plenty of airflow around them, and perhaps clean out your chimney from time-to-time. If this does not work then it's possible that something has gone wrong inside your fireplace – it might be worth calling someone in for a second opinion!

How often should my firewood racks be cleaned?

Ideally, you want to check every few months that everything looks okay and that your racks can still function properly. You don't want a block of ice forming in there, or wood rotting and falling apart!

What if my fireplace is too big for me?

If you are finding yourself having more difficulty controlling the fire than normal this could be because your fireplace has been built larger than the standard size. Large open fires may need cleaning every week or two before they stop producing excessive amounts of smoke; smaller flues might only require maintenance once per month instead.

How do I clean out my chimney?

There are several ways to go about this. You could hire a professional, or you might prefer to do it yourself with the appropriate equipment (e.g., brushes and rods). Check out your local hardware store for more advice!

How does cleaning my flue help?

Cleaning your flue will ensure that there are no blockages or buildups inside, which can cause smoke problems when they start to accumulate over time. It's possible that some of these issues may be caused by creosote deposits – if so then clean-outs should give an instant improvement in how well the fireplace works and reduces any excess smoke coming from it.

Conclusion

The best way to reduce the smoke coming out of your fireplace is by doing a few simple things. One, close up any cracks or crevices where the smoke might be able to escape from on top of and around your chimney. Two, ensure that you have enough room under your flue cap for airflow when it’s open all the way.

Three, inspect and clean your chimney regularly in order to prevent excess buildup inside which can lead to blockages preventing proper airflow through it causing increased smoke production while using fireplaces over time with continued use without cleaning them according to manufacturers guidelines every year or so depending upon local weather conditions affecting heating appliance usage habits. This will help keep more heat going into living spaces rather than being lost up in a chimney.