Cure a Stinky Fireplace Problem
Posted: Thursday, January 07, 2010
by Susan Penney
FireplaceMall.com
Is there an unpleasant smell in your fireplace when the fire burns out? That unfortunate sour smell is most often caused either by moisture from rain and snow soaking into the chimney flue liner or by deposits of soot in the chimney. To eliminate the Stinky Fireplace Syndrome, get your chimney professionally cleaned by a chimney sweep and install a chimney cap that is designed to keep out all moisture.
flue at the chimney top not only stops cold air from coming down the chimney, bringing that foul odor with it, but it also significantly reduces your heating costs. The Lyemance dampers can be purchased with chimney caps that fit over them. When the damper is open, as it must be when you are burning a fire, the roof of the chimney cap discourages rain and snow from finding its way down your chimney flue. Many homes are built very tightly to hold down energy costs. If opening a window about an inch makes the fireplace smell go away, consider installing a small vent from the outdoors to the room where the fireplace is.
There are flue deodorants for smelly fireplaces on the market that may help with fireplace odors, but most need to be applied frequently.
Old, deteriorating flue tiles in your chimney can let moisture, and therefore bad odors, into your chimney. Even worse, cracks in the flue tiles can allow sparks to escape outside the flue, causing a chimney fire in your home! A chimney sweep can install a flue liner, a stainless steel tube that carries the smoke up the chimney, inside a chimney in poor condition. The flue liners are easy to keep clean and odor free. So if a deteriorating flue is the cause of your stinky fireplace, a flue liner, although not cheap, not only prevents fireplace odors but also is a safety must.
So the two best options for completely eliminating offensive fireplace smells are to attach the problem at its source: Either prevent the moist soot that causes the stink by installing a Lyemance top sealing damper with chimney cap or repair the cracked flue that is holding in those awful smells with a stainless steel liner.
Susan Penney appreciates simple ways to make our homes renewing spaces for our families. She invites you to visit FireplaceMall for fireplace accessories and chimney caps to serve your fireplace and chimney needs.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Great information ... thanksThank you, Jonathan, for your kind words!
Susan, there is absolutely nothing worse than a fireplace that smells of damp smoke! Pretty soon, everything in the house stinks! Thanks for the info.Oh, yes, it sure can quickly spread its unpleasant aroma! I hope you are lucky enough to have this knowledge from second-hand experience rather than first-hand experience at your own home ;-)Thank you for your comments!
timely advice, especially this time of year. thanks for sharing this. RichMy pleasure, Rich. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.any time. I love a good fireplace...not a stanky (sourthernism) one!I have to admit "stanky" is a new adjective for me (smile)
We don't have a problem here is OZ, is so hot this summer and the winters are so warm, no one bothers to use them anymore. Global warming I think!
Nice post. I did enjoy reading your post. You certainly have a knack for writing. Thanks for sharing.Mark Neil
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