A wooden fireplace is one of the most popular units loved by many people. While its cheap to run as all you need is firewood, it tends to be unsafe; thus you need to be cautious when using it. To help you out, here are tips given by fireplace repair professionals on some of the safety tips that you need to put in place to be safe when working with the unit:

Inspect the chimney every year

While you might think that chimney inspection is unnecessary, it’s crucial as it helps the contractor to identify the problems while they are in their initial stages and fix them. The inspection also gives you peace of mind as you know that there is nothing wrong with your unit.

You shouldn’t inspect the unit on your own especially if you have never done it before. The best way of going about it is hiring a chimney expert to guide you through.  When the contractor identifies a problem, you should fix it immediately to prevent it from escalating.

Undertake chimney cleaning

In addition to regularly inspecting the unit you also need to periodically clean it. Here you need to hire a chimney sweeping professional at least once a year to clean both the insides and outsides of the fireplace. To have an easy time keeping the unit clean you should work with an experienced contractor.

The last thing you want is having the chimney improperly cleaned and develop issues after a short time.

Install the vital parts

Many homeowners make the mistake of ignoring fixing the vital areas of the unit which make the fireplace very dangerous. One of the vital parts of the unit that you should have in place is a chimney cap. This is a unit that ensures that birds and animals don’t get into your house thus blocking the chimney.

When you install it, you are sure that raccoons, squirrels, and other animals and birds won’t get inside your unit putting you and your family in danger.

Another unit you should consider installing in place is a fireplace grate. The unit protects the floor of the fireplace from direct heat thus saving you money that you would have spent replacing the unit.

Conclusion

These are some of the tips that you need to put into place for you to be safe with your fireplace. To have an easy time, work with a reputable chimney company.