Dry firewood is the answer for many dirty flues and it keeps your chimney and firewood burning efficient and clean by eliminating water vapor. When water vapor mixes with smoke it can leave a very sticky residue on your flue or chimney liner. As the smoke and water vapor cools near the top of your chimney it condenses further causing your cap to catch much of the additional residue, making it even harder to draft.
There are many ways to tell if wood is dry, but the best way is by burning it. You can start a “hot fire” with paper, small sticks and bigger logs you know are dry. Learn about a ”top down fire” through the Chimney Safety Institute of America. Once your hot fire is established, try a log of your new firewood and listen for any water vapor escaping. If you hear hissing, see water coming out of the ends or your fire suddenly gets very smokey that tells you your wood is too wet.
If you do find yourself with wetter wood than you hoped for, don’t worry it’s not the end of your chimney. Leave your wet firewood for the next burning season in a dry place and try to find another vendor that has dry wood still available. If you can’t find more wood, try to find the small bundles of dry wood available at many local stores. You can use those logs to get your “hot fire” established and then cycle between a wet log and a dry log to keep your fire as hot as you can to push that water vapor up and out. In the past, we have laid logs a safe distance from the fire to help dry them out over time, but getting a firewood routine is best for making sure you're ready each winter.
Remember - Do not burn treated or painted wood as the chemicals released can release dangerous amounts of arsenic and other toxic compounds into your home.
In our wet WNC climate firewood may need up to a year to season, but setting up a cycle of gathering new firewood and burning from the year before is easy once it is set up. Our annual routine of gathering and splitting fallen firewood a year before we plan to burn it sets us up for dry wood each season.
If you are buying firewood from a local vendor, making sure to get on their list early can help ensure they are giving you the driest wood. You can also set up a routine with your vendor and get double the amount you plan to burn in the current season and then the next year you buy enough for the following year. Then you are burning the older and drier wood only.
If you are having smoke come down your chimney or you know you are burning wet wood, have your chimney inspected and cleaned. Creosote can build up quickly and cleaning out the flue in your chimney is an important safety measure to avoid a chimney fire. When folks hear an airplane going off in their chimney they realize it’s importance too late.
Call us today with any questions or visit the CSIA for What You Need To Know About Burning Wood, for a lot more information about burning and storing firewood.
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