Tips to Prepare Your Fireplace For Summer

As the kids start to wrap up their school year, you start thinking of summer vacations. The gardens need tending and the patio needs cleaning. All the tasks that need doing as the onset of summer approaches.

While you are busy with everything going on around you, don’t forget about your fireplace. Now is the time to include cleaning and preparing your fireplace for the summer months ahead.

Your fireplace may be the focal point in your home. It needs attention to continue to look that way. Let’s talk about the care and maintenance of your fireplace. Whether you have a wood-burning fireplace, gas fireplace, or a pellet stove. They all need some regular maintenance.

Pellet Stove

Over the years, pellet stoves have become very popular. They allow you to have the warmth of a wood-burning fire without the mess. The cleanup and maintenance are minimal, there are still a few things you must do to prepare for the summer.

• You won’t find a lot of ash, but you will need to clean out your stove. Be sure to clean out the burn pots and grates, as well as near the door opening.
• Empty out the hopper of any leftover pellets. Leaving them in the hopper can grow mold.
• Wipe the inside of the stove, up and around the walls to clean out dust and debris.
• Clean off the auger and feeder parts. These are the mechanisms that move the pellets to the burn pots. It is best to clean these off before leaving your stove til fall.
• Most pellet stoves need electricity to run. If you are not planning on running your stove through the summer you may want to unplug it.

Wood-burning Fireplace

One of the most common fire burners is from wood-burning fireplaces. The coziness and warmth that you get when you sit in front of a wood-burning fireplace can’t be beat. As with a pellet stove, there are some necessary clean up before summer. Let’s take a look.

• Ash removal. Be sure you drape the area around the fireplace with a cloth or tarp. Use a metal bucket and shovel to take the ash out. Be careful if the embers are warm. It is best to use gloves, masks, and goggles for your protection. Dispose of the ash after you have let it sit, away from any building for at least 24 hours.
• Use the ash in your garden, your plants will love it.
• Get an ash vacuum to finish the process for a cleaner job.
• Now is a good time to schedule your chimney sweep. The availability will be better if you call early in the spring or summer. Don’t wait until the fall.
• Add a chimney cap. This will protect your chimney from unwanted critters nesting in your chimney.

Gas Fireplace

The easiest to use and maintain. With a click of a switch and you have a flame to enjoy. Gas inserts have come a long way. The ceramic insert is almost life-like.

• Unplug
• Extinguish the pilot
• Give it a good cleaning
• Call for an annual service visit

Follow these tips along with your appointment with a chimney sweep and you will be able to enjoy your fires for years to come.

Since 1976, Hudson Valley Chimney Service has delivered the best chimney sweep services in the Hudson Valley area.

Annual home chimney cleaning and chimney inspection is what 1000’s of area residents depend on us for, but chimney repairs and masonry work are also part of being a fully qualified chimney sweep too.

Chimney caps, chimney crowns, chimney linings and waterproofing all are part of our chimney sweep expertise.

Hudson Valley Chimney – 845-471-1071