How to Avoid Chimney Fires

A chimney is a stack of bricks and mortar so common sense dictates that it shouldn't ever catch fire. However there are more than 25,000 chimney fires in the USA each year. These fires happen because a fire produces soot which clings to the brickwork and builds up in layers. These sooty layers of carbon can ignite and cause a major house fire. The results can of course be tragic.

The simplest way to avoid a house fire is to clean your chimney. A sweep with a proper chimney brush at least once a year is absolutely necessary.

There are other ways to help minimise carbon build up too. The first is to ensure you only burn hardwoods rather than softwoods. These have too much oily tar in them which easily sticks to the bricks and is less easily removable by brushing.

Secondly avoid wet wood. This lowers the temperature of your fire. The hotter the fire, the more likely that sooty particulates will be whooshed straight up the chimney and out into the air without being able to settle on the chimney interior. Because a hot fireplace and flue is good for avoiding chimney fires, contractors these days will often inset a new insulated flue when installing a woodstove to keep the flue hot and thereby discourage carbon build up.

Finally you should never burn plastics or any man made materials other than those expressly designed for use in a fireplace. If you keep these tips in mind you can be assured of a safe fireplace for many years to come.

Find out more about wood burning stoves and all about heating your home the natural way.

Fireplace, Wood Stove and Chimney Safety

Here in the Pacific Northwest where many people burn wood for heat there are many scary and unsafe chimneys and wood burning appliances. I would like to believe that just about anyone could guess that a chimney and wood stove or fireplace will, eventually, require cleaning, maintenance and service. That advice applies to masonry and the assorted metal chimneys.

I want to believe that people can figure this out, but that obviously is not the situation. Recently I was witness to a neglected masonry chimney. The black, oozing creosote was an inch thick and caked inside from the top clear down to the homemade, and inefficient, wood stove below. The system was cranking nothing but waste products up the chimney. Creosote is flammable, so it is important to clean and maintain a chimney.

It seems that most people with wood stoves, fireplaces and pellet stoves do not pay enough attention to them. Lots of people make the situation worse by burning green wood that is not seasoned. The average consumer might take these basic systems for granted but they are dangerous to life, limb and property if they are neglected. As a home inspector, who does not work on chimneys or wood burning appliances but sees many of them, I know that it is important to have such devices cleaned and serviced by a specialist on a regular basis. In fact the National Fire Protection Association has stated that a Level 2 chimney inspection should be part of every sale or transfer of property. The scope of this inspection is intrusive, well beyond any inspection done by a home inspector, and is performed by a trained and licensed chimney professional.

Steven L. Smith, owner of King of the House Home Inspections, is a licensed structural pest inspector and a certified home inspector in Bellingham WA. Smith is the program coordinator for the college level home inspection training program at Bellingham Technical College. To contact Steven Smith, please call 360-676-6908 or his Email address is steve@kingofthehouse.com

How To Make Money As A Chimney Sweep

While the demand for chimney sweeps has dropped over the last century, there is still a significant market for the service. Anyone who has a wood stove, or fireplace that gets used for actual warmth generation has a regulatory requirement to get the carbon and creosote cleared from their chimney at least once every other year, as it's a fire hazard otherwise.

What this means to you is that there's a definite demand, and that the demand must be met, giving you a shot at a second income, or even a job to replace the one you've got. Chimney sweeps perform a specialized task; you'll need to apprentice under a current chimney sweep, which can take some time to find one willing to teach you. Once you've done that, you can take on clients of your own and do the work – typical fees for a chimney sweep are about £60 or £120 or so for a basic service that has to be done once a year. On the job, sweeping a chimney takes about two hours, tops, and can be much less than that.

Now, to run your own business, you need a bit of business savvy, and some common sense. The business savvy comes from advertising. You'll need to let people know you're offering the service; this can be done as simply as going door to door in the late summer and early fall, which is when most folks have their chimneys swept. However, it's probably more efficient to take out an advertisement in the local telephone directory; the odds that someone has a chimney and doesn't have a telephone are pretty slim in this day and age. Similarly, running advertisements in the local newspaper, or in the local weekly alternative paper is probably worth doing.

The common sense, sadly, is less common than the business savvy. You need to be prompt, professional and tidy. While chimney-sweeping is a dirty job, there's no need to go tracking soot across someone's floor or rug. You're making a professional appointment – be timely; show up when you're supposed to. If you are unavoidably delayed, do have the courtesy to call ahead and let your client know.

All that said, there are some other factors to consider. First, you'll need to buy some specialized equipment; it's not terribly expensive, generally a few hundred pounds, but it is a capital investment in the business. Still, with a bit of pluck and some hard work, you'll soon be sweeping in the money on a part time job where you don't have to answer to someone else. That in itself is often a significant benefit!

Have you ever thought of tapping into the ultimate goldmine of the internet? Get your hands on the FREE 7 day professional marketing bootcamp to learn everything you need to get started - Click the following link to learn more: FreeMarketingBootcamp.com

Don't Hurry Down The Chimney With A Vacuum In Tow

If your lady love is waiting for her Santa Baby to hurry down the chimney, you had best not disappoint! Unfortunately, if you show up with the wrong gift in hand, you might find the temperatures at the bottom are colder than expected. Or worse, she might light the fire to "break your fall!"

Guys being guys are not always blessed with the best gift giving skills in the world. Sure, some of us are real Casanovas. This type of guy can make even Santa look like a clod, wrapping up just the right ring or necklace; bringing flowers at the perfect times and so on. The rest of us sit on the sidelines in wonderment.

Many of us, carrying that unusually strong practical gene that must come from caveman days or something, often think we have found the "perfect gift," because she can use it! Think again, fellas. Practicality and presents do not go together.

I am not a gift giving natural, but I have learned a thing or two along the way. There are some things to watch out for on the present buying front. This advice goes out to all of you guys who are not Casanovas by nature. My personal list of the Top 5 worst gifts to buy a lady (honed with hard hitting, first hand experience) includes:

Vacuums and cleaning appliances.

If it means "work" for her or even you, do NOT buy it. Even if you really, really need it, get it the day after the holidays. Do not hurry down the chimney with a vacuum in tow. You might just find out how flexible those hoses really are!

Kitchen items.

Unless she is a five-star chef who has personally asked you for a $500 hand mixer, do not buy things for the kitchen. Here and again it means "work" and this could mean a very blue Christmas for you!

Flannel anything.

Even if it is really cold and the nightshirt looks really warm and comfy, do not do it! She will think you think she is frumpy, dumpy or old. If clothing is on your list, think sexy, youthful or fun. Better yet, get her a gift certificate and pick out something else to wrap up!

Romantic gifts!

They are a wonderful idea, but if they only serve your purposes, think again. Consider items she would enjoy. Think romantic music CDs, a cord of firewood and a bottle of champagne, sensual massage oils. Do not think a striper costume and wrap it up with her name on it! (Maybe for her birthday, but not the holidays!)

Anything impersonal and/or generic.

If you would give it to a client or a perfect stranger, DO NOT BUY IT for her! While a chocolate and teddy bear gift basket is ideal for her, a fruit basket with a card filled out by a stranger will earn you a night on the couch. The same goes for anything that can be picked up at a convenience store.

Finding the perfect gift for a lady requires a little planning and preparation. If all else fails, ask her friends for advice, but whatever you do, do not buy any of the Top 5 things to avoid as the "big" or "only" gift during the holidays.

Randy Gardner is Romeo-Your Romance Resource and is the exclusive writer for Got To Have It Romantic Gift Creations. Visit Ask Romeo Blog to read more of Romeo’s articles about dating, romance, relationships and romantic and holiday gifts.

To find that perfect unique romantic gift for that special someone, go to Got To Have It Romantic Gift Creations Christmas Gifts

The Reasons Why Gas Fireplace Logs Heat Your Chimney Better Than Your Room

Frustrated with the lack of heat you get from your natural gas fireplace log set? Carl Herkes explains why gas fireplace logs are inefficient.

Natural gas is on the rise. It is predicted to double in cost this year. Are you afraid to use your gas fireplace because you know those gas logs don't throw enough heat? Are you frustrated because the gas logs are downright ugly when they aren't burning? And now you won't use them because you can't stand to waste the natural gas? Let's face it. Traditional gas fireplace logs are inefficient. Let me explain why.

First, much of the gas burns behind the logs. You don't see most of the flame and you don't feel the radiant heat from it. In order to see a good deal of flame, you must turn the gas much higher than just an idle. In doing so, you are burning more gas than you should. This also presents an additional problem. By-products, mainly in the form of soot are produced. Not enough oxygen can combine with the natural gas to completely burn it up. Remember the days when cars were not equipped with catalytic converters? Remember driving down the road and smelling the exhaust of the cars around you? That is the smell of gasoline not being completely burned. The catalytic converter solved that problem. It gets very hot and helps to burn any leftover gasoline before it exits your exhaust system. Fireplaces are like cars without catalytic converters. Soot and other by-products are produced when natural gas is not completely burned.

Secondly, gas fireplace logs have some fill underneath them that is supposed to look like ash from a wood burning fireplace. That fill substance is usually crushed lava rock. Lava rock neither retains nor radiates heat. No doubt, you have seen countless styles of heaters on the market. Whether electric, natural gas, kerosene or propane, they all share a common feature (with the exception of a few radiator-style heaters). The heaters all have reflective surfaces around the heating element to better radiate heat into your room. Those heaters do not have a lava rock lining around the heating element. Manufacturers know that a reflective surface is the best surface for throwing radiant heat.

Thirdly, the gas logs themselves do not help to drive radiant heat into the room. The logs do retain heat, but the surface of them (made to look like bark on a tree) is certainly not reflective. The surface of the logs is usually very rough and starts getting covered with soot the first time they are used. The soot further inhibits the logs from radiating heat.

In summary, gas fireplace logs are sold because some people would like to see a fire that mimics what a real wood fire looks like. Often, manufacturers don't take into account that consumers are only getting half the benefit of having a fire if it's only visual, but lacks the heat advantage.