With the holidays here I think we'll all be enjoying the fireplace and whether your fireplace is a gas one like we have here, or maybe a wood burning fireplace. Let's focus on the wood burning fireplace. It needs a little attention by a professional. And what I mean by that is, I wouldn't build a fire in a wood burning fireplace unless the chimney has been cleaned and inspected. And inspected is the key word, in the last two years. I know on the market you see different chimney sweep logs, and they do a good job of cleaning the chimney, but what they don't inspect the chimney. You don't know if that liner has been cracked or not. So, if you haven't have it cleaned and inspected in the last two years, I really wouldn't use it. Now if you are going to use it, stay away from any kind of boxes in there or gift wrap or greens from the tree, because what that does is it creates a very hot, rapid fire. Hot, rapid fires can catch creosote that's actually lining the chimney, and actually create a chimney fire. Now if you have a wood burning stove, a couple things there, if the gasket itself is worn, and they really should be replaced every two to three years. I would recommend going to the hardware store and getting a gasket. There's a couple different sizes, mainly just the thickness of the gasket itself. And if you have glass doors on the fireplace, those have to be cleaned periodically. There's some wonderful glass door cleaners on the market, they're usually lye, so goggles, rubber gloves and a cotton cloth.
