This past winter with energy costs out of control more people may have been stoking the wood stove or wishing they could. So in preparation for this coming winter here is a 7 part series with information you need to know when buying firewood.
Burn hardwoods or a mixture of hardwoods and softwoods. That should help cut creosote buildup.
Burn only seasoned wood. Unseasoned, or green, wood promotes smoke buildup.
Make sure that your chimney has an adequate spark arrester. This will help prevent sparks from getting out into the open air where they could land on your roof.
Burning pine cones can leave a sap-like glaze on the inside of your chimney increasing the potential for chimney fires.
Try not to burn newspaper — as tempting as it is. Ashes from newspapers are prime suspects in many house fires. The most dangerous is wrapping paper as it burn much hotter than newspaper and the ashes are much more difficult to control.
You should keep a fire extinguisher within arms reach of the fireplace for safety sake.
The next installment, the first part in this series, will address selecting the right kind of wood.
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