While it might be a little late this year, Spring is finally upon us! The buds on the trees are just starting to appear and, before we know it, many of us will be packing up the car for that inaugural trip up North to the cottage.
In these few weeks before the May long weekend, plans for opening the cottage are getting underway. As with every year, that first weekend of work up North can be a chilly one and most of us will be looking forward to getting a fire going. Before that can happen however, it is important to make sure that your woodstove is in safe, working order and that you and your family are familiar with woodstove safety.
For your reference, we here at Cade have put together a list of some helpful information with respect to your woodstove so that you can be sure that you and your family have a safe and warm summer!
- Have your chimney cleaned at least once a year. Depending on how frequently you use your woodstove (for example, are you using it just on chilly nights at your seasonal cottage or is it being used year-round), it might be a good idea to consider having your chimney cleaned twice a year.
- If you’ve just purchased your cottage property and do not know when the woodstove was last cleaned, be sure to have a professional come and inspect the chimney before you begin to use it.
- Before starting up that inaugural fire, inspect the woodstove’s chimney stack for damage. Harsh winters such as this past one can affect the stability of the chimney which can lead to an unsafe woodstove. Take the time to closely inspect the support straps in order to confirm that the chimney is straight and obstacle-free. Replace any damaged materials and check the cap and screen to ensure that no critters decided to make your chimney their winter home.
- Keep a fully charged Class A fire extinguisher on hand and be sure to test all of the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the cottage.
- Go over fire safety rules with your family. Make sure everyone knows where the fire extinguisher is and what to do in case of an uncontrolled fire.
- Use properly dried hardwoods such as maple, beech, ash, hickory, or oak as the fuel for your woodstove’s fire.
- Do not use gasoline, charcoal starter fluid, or other flammable liquids to start your fire.
- Don’t let ashes build up in your woodstove. A large buildup of ashes can eventually block the air intake from the draft registers and reduce the efficiency of your woodstove.
- For the extra ashes, have a metal container nearby and let them cool completely before disposing of them.
- Store wood and other flammable objects safely away from your wood-burning appliance in order to reduce the risk of fire.
Even if you take all of the above precautions, over time, burning wood leads to the buildup of Creosote. Creosote can take the form of a sticky liquid, a flaky, black deposit, or a hard tar-like substance. It is a highly combustible and unsafe material which, if left untended, can lead to a chimney fire. The only line of defense against this byproduct is regular woodstove maintenance and cleaning.
By ensuring that you have your wood burning stove inspected by a WETT certified professional, you will gain piece of mind knowing that your woodstove is in optimal working order, is in good structural condition, and that it is burning in a way that complies with WETT standards and therefore does not compromise your and your family’s health and safety.
To all of you heading up North in the coming weeks, we here at Cade want to wish you a productive and pain free opening weekend.
Here’s to evenings around a safe and warm crackling fire!
