Another winter has passed, and the weather outside is warming up again. Nature is awakening from its long dream and is ready to make all the people and animals happy. Spring is here with us, and with the change of season comes not only new birth and fresh flowers but the need to clean. Of course, we were too lazy to clean during the winter months. Just opening a window in your home could impact you with a cold breeze that nobody likes to experience.
Clearing out the old and setting up the new is a major signifier of the seasonal change. It can be said that it always resembles something new. It’s like breathing new fresh air into all our lives. Surely, this is the time of the year we are eager for new projects, adventures, and challenges. There’s no person who doesn’t like this time of the year.
The cold of winter brought with it the need for constant use of your wood heater, whether it was on throughout or only when there were people in the room. Regardless of the frequency of its use, debris deposits of soot and ash have accumulated during that time. Cleaning these out and giving the heater a proper and thorough inspection afterward is imperative.
Many people are not aware of the fact that so much debris can accumulate in these that they can inflict really heavy damage to human health. Many would be surprised to learn how much of these can accumulate in a such small place. Therefore, cleaning them is something you should do.
However, that doesn’t mean that you should do it every day. Instead, we would like to say that cleaning it every spring is more than enough. But you need to make sure that you don’t miss this spring cleaning of the wood heater. It is not just a matter of being fastidious; it’s a question of safety and the inherent risks involved with failing to perform these checks once you would like to use the heater again.
A major example is the prospect of fire in the home due to ignited residue within the flue. Surely, this is not something you would like to experience. So, you should do all you can to prevent it. In fact, you can prevent it easily. Just by cleaning your wood heater once a year.
A clean and well-maintained wood heater is also a thing that runs well. Since it runs well, it provides you with all sorts of benefits you are looking to receive from one of these, right? Your heater is essentially a transformer of electrical energy to heat energy.
When it works as it should because it is well cared for, it will be a more efficient fuel burner. Have in mind that the frequent your cleaning is, the longer its lifespan really is. So, you should choose to do it every spring. While there’s nothing wrong with doing it more frequently, but we believe that this is more than enough.
Otherwise, you are looking at wasting your money on repairs that can get hefty, which nobody wants to do if it is not necessary. Therefore, you should take good care of it. Not only that, there will be less energy that goes to waste.
It comes right back to you as not only do you derive maximum benefits from the warmth that your heater can distribute, but your pockets are also saved as the heater costs less to run. As you can see, not only that you will be able to maximize its lifespan, you will also be able to make the most out of its performance, which is definitely in your interest.
As we’ve mentioned, as is the case with any other typical machine, servicing your wood heater prolongs the period it can be used. Its useable life stretches with the more care that is given towards keeping it in optimum operating condition.
Conversely, a heater that is not maintained correctly will be prone to periods of ineffectiveness and, at other times, inability to work. In worst-case scenarios, a neglected heater becomes a hazard and a potential source of accidents and damage. But, if you are careful while handling it, you will be able to avoid these unpleasantries completely.
While you are enjoying the blissful warmth of the heater, soot is forming. You may enjoy the smell of a wood fire crackling away on those cold winter nights, but the aftermath is not as pleasant. It can be as unpleasant as you think it may be.
The smell of soot is likely to turn acrid the longer it sits, making it so that you keep wrinkling your nose whenever you step into the room. Not only that, it can be pretty hard for you to eliminate this smell from the house for a good number of days, which is definitely not something you would want.
The smells may even get worse as the outside becomes hotter and more humid. It is advisable to clean out the soot as soon as possible after ceasing the use of the heater. Other than the smell, soot presents the danger of eating away at your structure if left without cleaning.
This is because soot becomes acidic and thus corrosive when left to mix with moisture. Not to mention that the damage to your chimney should be expensive to repair and cost you not just money but also time. Not only that, chances are that it will take a lot of time before you can say that the job is done and that you can use it as regularly as you used it before the situation you’ve experienced.
Cleaning the soot out as soon as you can lengthen the time between necessary repairs. To keep track of what work has or hasn’t been done, it is advisable to set up a schedule. Sure, this is not something that will take too much of your time. But it can provide you with numerous benefits that can you can use for a long time.
Therefore, you should always take care of things that can cause this many negative effects, right? Seek out a professional who is well versed in matters to do with wood-burning heaters and chimneys so that you may certify that all your concerns are well-considered and looked after. Your family’s safety will be assured.
