Fireplaces

Never burn these items in a fireplace

Just a reminder that a fireplace is not an incinerator. It is fireplace season in many areas right now. Time to remember those cozy evenings spent curled up in front of the fireplace.

If you hav a wood-burning fireplace, you can’t just pop in anything made of wood or other matter. In fact, there are a lot of woods and other items that should never be burnt in a fireplace. Here’s a list of what not to burn.

• Wet, damp, or unseasoned wood. Firewood needs to be properly seasoned. All or little moisture needs to be removed. The seasoning process takes at least a year. Even if it’s properly seaesoned, it can’t go in the fireplace when it’s wet or damp.
• Treated, painted, or manufactured wood. When you burn a piece of wood, you are also burning everything on it including chemicals used to treat or paint the wood.
• Christmass trees (and other resinous wood). The sticky stuff on live Christmas trees contains resin. The sap can increase creosote in your chimney. You may need to clean the chimney more often.
• Painted, colored, or coated paper products. Never burn these items.
• Plastics.