PEAK TO PEAK - Few things can make our mountain homes feel as cozy as the warmth generated by a woodburning stove. Having an open fire of any kind inside your house, however, can come with its share of dangers.  All it takes is an instant of not paying attention or ignoring your responsibility to maintain a safe home.

One of the most important things you can do to protect yourself and keep chimney fires from getting out of control is to properly maintain your wood stove and fireplace, including cleaning and proper wood usage. 

A wood stove is for burning healthy wood. Avoid using driftwood, trash, artificial logs, and materials with zinc, sulfur, lead, or plastic. Burning these in your wood stove can severely damage the catalytic combustor, which operates at extremely high temperatures to burn the gasses and particulates from the burning wood. 

Bio-bricks are one of the cleanest sources you can burn in your wood stove. They are considered environmentally conscious, easy-to-use, and economical solutions to winter heating. Most bio-bricks, on average, are designed to burn for up to four hours, from lighting to the time they disappear in your wood stove.

When you burn clean sources, you facilitate a healthy catalytic combustor that increases efficiency and leads to fewer emissions and longer burn times. Wood stoves should be inspected and cleaned by a professional before starting your first fire of the season and after the last use. 

While heating your home, make sure to burn a slow fire. Adding too much wood can weaken the stove over time, and it leads you to spend more money on fuel than necessary.

Too much creosote can be dangerous and start unwanted fires. You can test your wood stove to determine if it needs an urgent cleaning by tapping on the flue when it is cold. If you hear debris falling, your stove could use a good cleaning. Adding creosote sweeping logs or creosote fighting powder products to your fire will help combat creosote build-up. 

Using these products and physically sweeping your fireplace and woodburning stove’s flue at least once a year will help tremendously. Another tip is not to leave your wood stove unattended while burning. 

It’s tempting to save money on electricity or propane by using your wood stove as a primary heat source and leaving it burning while you’re away from the house. But at the chance of losing your home? 

Keeping your wood stove up to par will help keep you safe and help the wood stove’s longevity.

Here’s one more fun tip for those with glass doors: If you can catch the wood in the charcoal stage, pull it out and allow it to cool. Take the cold piece of charcoal, dampen it, and rub it on the blackened inside of the glass door. The black residue should begin to disappear. Finally, wipe the glass with a paper towel and enjoy the glow of your fire. 

Your fireplace is much like a wood stove. Throughout the burning season, regularly check for and remove creosote buildup. Clean the firebox after each use. After your coals cool, put them inside a metal bucket with a lid to ensure they cool completely. Place that away from your house.

With so many options to keep your wood stove and fireplace in tip-top shape, there’s no excuse for doing it unsafely. You can also purchase a basic chimney brush at your local hardware store, which you can use between chimney services. Inspect the chimney and flue regularly, and you will worry much less.