A smoky or smelly fireplace is the last thing someone would ask for after a long tiring day. However, these problems are not absolutely inevitable. Though proper maintenance of the fireplace does make sure that such problems are kept at bay, many a time these problems crop up even after we put all our efforts to curb them. Most of these problems are not so serious, and you can attend them on your own with immense ease.
How to Fix Smoky Fireplace?
Smoky fireplace has to be repaired at the earliest as the smoke let out within the room can cause some harmful effects on the health of the individuals staying there. You may experience a smoky fireplace when you light the fire, towards the ending or constantly throughout.
Smoky Beginning: Smoky beginnings can be either caused due to closed fireplace damper or due to cold flue. In case of fireplace damper, you will have to ensure that you open it properly so that the smoke is let out, but at the same time you also have to ensure that the damper is closed when the fire is out, or else it will lead to excessive loss of heat from the room.
The flue, i.e. the conduit to carry off smoke will be cold when you light the fire after a long break. As a result of this the fire will not burn properly, and you are bound to experience a smoky fireplace. The column of cold air in the flue has to be countered with a column of warm air. This can be either done by burning a newspaper near the damper or just keeping the damper open to facilitate reverse flow of air.
Smoky Ending: Smoky endings are most often witnessed during windy or rainy nights, wherein the cold atmosphere takes heat energy from the chimney structure and cools the flue rapidly, even while the fire is burning. The air will sink in the flue as it gets cold, and along with air even the smoke will sink and enter the house. The easiest method to tackle this problem is to install glass doors at the fireplace, which can be closed to stop the smoke from entering the house when the fire burns low.
Other than this, smoky endings can also be caused as a result of structural faults in the fireplace or chimney. This may include building chimneys on the outer side of the house, building over sized flue or building inappropriately tall chimney. Such fireplace problems caused by structural faults in the chimney require professional expertise to resolve them.
Constantly Smoking: If the fireplace is smoking constantly, it may be due to partial or complete blockage of the flue, smoke chamber being too small or depressurized house. If the smoke chamber is too small the smoke will curl up against it and reenter the house, similarly if the house is depressurized, lack of air will hamper the fire and cause the fireplace to smoke. The problem of smoke entering the house in this manner can be solved by installing fireplace doors or smoke guard. The fireplace doors will not just curb the entry of smoke, but will also ensure that the heat is not lost.
How to Fix Smelly Fireplace?
Basically the bad odor is a sign of some underlying problem with the fireplace. It may range from a smoky fireplace to buildup of soot on the chimney walls. In either case, as soon as you note any kind of smell coming from the fireplace you should diagnose the problem and fix it. In case, the problem is pertaining to excess smoke from the fireplace, you can fix it by using the several methods mentioned above. On the other hand, if the problem is caused as a result of the accumulation of soot on the walls of the chimney, you will have to clean this soot. In order to clean fireplace soot, you can either use a vacuum cleaner or a stiff-bristled brush. If these don't work you can resort to cleansing agents such as washing soda or tri-sodium phosphate to clean the soot.
Prevention, they say, is a lot better than cure. You can keep all these fireplace problems at bay by putting in a little more effort, such as regular cleaning and use of chimney cap, in maintenance of the fireplace.
