How Often to Remove Ash From Your Fireplace
If you have a fireplace or woodstove, you no doubt love the warmth and coziness it brings, but the ash it produces, not so much. The fact is that if you are burning wood, you're going to have to deal with the ash left behind.
The good news is that you do not need to remove ash as often as you might think and that in fact, a little left behind is actually a good thing. The information from this website is just for common knowledge. For more in-depth questions please consult with an Asheville Chimney Repair company.
How Ash Helps to Make Your Fire More Efficient
When maintaining a wood fire, the primary goal is to prevent the wood from smouldering. A one-inch layer of ash at the bottom of your fireplace or woodstove can actually assist with the combustion process, helping wood to burn with bright and active flames and your fire to burn with higher heat intensity. Ash is a great insulator of heat and it can trap hot coals for many hours even after the fire is out.
How to Deal with Wood Ash
We recommend removing a small amount of ash at frequent intervals. During the coldest part of the fire season, it's a good idea to remove a small amount of ash every morning before you set and start a new fire. This will make raking kindling and coals more convenient during the day. The best thing to do, wherever possible is to leave live coals in the woodstove or fireplace as this will assist the kindling process as you load more wood throughout the day. When rekindling from live coals, it is best to rake the coals towards the air vent and put new logs or bricks behind these coals. always put the driest and smallest pieces of wood on the coals as these will act as an efficient ignition source for the rest of the firewood. The smaller pieces of wood should start flaming almost instantly and will light the larger pieces of wood as they burn.
To find out more about efficient heating throughout the year, speak to an Asheville Chimney Repair company. We would be delighted to tell you about our many chimney maintenance and repair services.