If you have a fireplace in your home, you should always maintain your chimney to prevent residential chimney fires from breaking out. Indeed, around the country every year, thousands of chimney fires are caused by debris or blockages in chimneys or fireplaces which have not been maintained correctly or safely. Therefore, you should carry out some simple maintenance tips throughout the year to make sure your chimney is kept to the highest standard of safety to prevent fires from breaking out.

Hire a certified chimney sweep

One of the simplest things that you can do to make sure your chimney is maintained throughout the year is to contact your local firm of chimney sweeps who can carry out specialist chimney work in Hampshire. Indeed, you should make sure your chimney is inspected by a professional company, whilst also making sure your fireplace is maintained and cleaned correctly. Furthermore, another simple tip that you can do to prevent chimney fires is to use the correct type of wood while also making sure the wood is fully dried out before you use it in the fireplace.

Use the correct wood

To ensure that you will have no problems with your chimney, the Milwaukee Chimney Service experts recommend that you use the correct type of wood, which has been well seasoned and dried. Indeed, after cutting the wood, you should ideally use it within one year, while all of the wood that you plan to use in your fireplace should be stored in a dry and elevated place. In addition, you should also avoid using any wood which been treated with flammable fluids while other treated woods should also be avoided. In addition, if your fire does not stay hot, then more particulate emissions such as soot can be created. Therefore, you should always try to use dry wood in your fire to keep the fire at a high temperature and prevent excess soot from going up your chimney. If you struggle to find suitable wood where you are, you could explore online and discover more about the options that are available to buy on the internet for delivery to your door ready to be used straight away.

Clean your chimney as well as your fireplace

Another simple trick that you can do to make sure you do not have a chimney fire in your home is to keep the top of the chimney clean and clear as well as your hearth and fireplace. Indeed, these areas of your fireplace could potentially have material that could cause a fire in your chimney if it becomes blocked. In addition, you need to ensure that the area around the top of your chimney is free from obstructions such as large trees or branches. That could pose a threat as it could create a way for reptiles to crawl into your house through the chimney. Such scenarios may require the assistance of a professional arborist and tree surgeon to remove the unnecessary branches from the top of your chimney. Furthermore, you could also use a chimney top to prevent small animals, debris, or nesting birds from falling into the chimney.

Remove the ashes from your fireplace

Finally, if you have a fireplace in your home, then you should always remove the ashes from the fireplace after the fire has burned out. Indeed, you can recycle this ash in your garden or on a compost heap. However, leaving the ashes in the fireplace could result in this debris being sucked up the chimney which could then cause a blockage or potential problems in the future which could lead to a chimney fire breaking out.

Make sure you prevent a chimney fire from breaking out in your house by calling a professional company of chimney cleaners today.