Why does fireplace smoke come in house

This usually slips past homeowners and they think that their back puffing problem is from something relating directly to a fireplace or chimney part. Ideal firewood is usually seasoned for around 12 months. Damp firewood produces more smoke than a flue can handle and will cause back-puffing. If you experience fireplace smoke in the house, try stocking up on a new batch of firewood and go from there.

A cold flue or cold air in the chimney is also a common cause for fireplace smoke in the home. When the air inside your flue is too cold, it forces smoke back down into your home because colder air is more dense. In order to combat against a cold flue, you can prime the chimney before you light a full fire by burning some newspaper, kindling, or lighting the gas starter if equipped before the actual logs.

Doing this will warm up the flue and make way for smoke. Additionally, slightly cracking a window or door for the first few minutes of lighting your fireplace will help release the negative air pressure within the home. This will force the heat to rise and the fireplace to draw which in return the flue to heat up and the fireplace to vent properly.

This occurrence is frequent in newer, tightly seal homes. If you consistently have this problem when burning fires, you should seek out a local chimney professional to help diagnose the real problem behind your fireplace back-puffing. Depending on how often you use your fireplace, you might begin to experience fireplace smoke in your home. We then place the newspaper under the chimney inside the top of our fireplace and leave it to burn for a short while. You can find out more ways to help warm a chimney in another one of our articles here.

A smaller but hotter burning fire can provide a much cleaner burn with less smoke compared to a larger struggling fire. Building a large fire in your open fireplace can overwhelm the fire as it tries to burn through all of the initial bits of wood.

Building a smaller fire can help the fire to spread to the logs more quickly. A hotter burning fire can provide a cleaner burn, and so getting temperatures up within the fireplace as quickly as possible can help to reduce the amount of smoke being produced throughout the fire.

A smaller fire can get going more quickly, and even though the fire is small at the beginning, we can always add more logs to make the fire bigger once higher temperatures have been reached. As the fire progresses the higher temperatures make it easier for logs to catch alight without producing smoke.

Chimneys should be cleaned at least once per year in line with recommendations. A dirty or blocked chimney can cause a fire to produce more smoke than usual due to a reduction in draw on the fireplace.

Air supply to a fireplace can be more problematic in newer homes that are built to higher standards and more airtight. We have an external air vent in our living that we open before each fire to help maximize air supply to the fires.

To help prevent your fires from smoking, try not to start fires during very windy weather or when temperatures outside your home are higher than inside. Windy weather can cause a backdraft, which is where air is forced back down your chimney and can affect how well the usual draft works. For the draft to be started and for there to be movement of air up the chimney the temperature of the air within the chimney needs to be higher than that of the outside air temperature.

The temperature difference between the inside and outside of your home helps warmer to air to rise up your chimney and in turn suck more air into the fireplace to replace it.

It also puts your chimney at greater risk of a chimney fire. Hire a chimney sweep to inspect and clean your chimney at least once a year before you start using your fireplace regularly. Wet firewood cannot burn well or generate enough heat for the chimney to draw properly. If you hear hissing sounds or the fire smolders, your firewood likely has high water content. To test firewood before burning, hit two small pieces together. If you hear a dull thud, the wood is probably wet.

But if you hear a crisp, sharp sound, the wood is dry enough to burn. Always keep your firewood under cover from the elements, and burn seasoned wood that has completely dried. A faulty fireplace design could impede on the drafting capabilities of your fireplace. Factors such as flue volume, fireplace opening size, damper size, chimney height, and smoke shelf construction can all play a role in the function of your fireplace. Smoke from burning wood is not good for your health.

Fireplace smoke in the house also can permeate carpeting, furniture and other fabrics causing odors that are hard to remove. ServiceMaster Restore can handle smoke damage removal in house carpets, upholstered items and more.

Once fireplace smoke odors have entered your living space, it's hard to get rid of that distinctive smell. You can open windows and run fans, but once the smoke particles which are very fine seep into fibers and fabrics, it takes professional cleaning to remove the odors completely.

Trust the professionals at ServiceMaster Restore to handle any smoke odor removal from carpeting and upholstered furniture. We'll customize a remediation plan that will return your home to its normal state, leaving it refreshed and smoke-free. Our Frequently Asked Questions section is a great place to find answers immediately, or you can find your location and contact your team of experts directly.

Open Accessibility Menu. Why Does My Fireplace Smoke? The job of a chimney or flue is to facilitate an updraft that pulls the hot gasses and smoke from the fire up and away from the living space.