Canadian homes need to have a fireplace not as a mark of luxury but as a necessity, due to the extreme chilly weather conditions. Any individual who owns a fireplace, undoubtedly adds an element of style and sophistication, due to the amazing designs of these fireplaces.
However just as with great power comes greater responsibilities, you must always be alert about the fact, that whenever wood of any kind is burnt for any particular purpose, a lot of smoke is produced, and ashes are left behind. In a large house, a lot of burning takes place daily, and it’s obvious that a lot of ashes would be left behind. Thus, you need to dispose of the ashes as soon as you can.
How do you tackle the ash from your wood stove or fireplace?
Do you do it on your own or like thousands of our clients, you choose to hire professionals for the purpose?
We, at The Original
Why Ash Needs to be Removed?
Generally, appliances and setups that involve burning of wood, are often not able to burn the wood completely and often certain residues are left behind, like tiny pieces of ember or charcoal. Therefore, it is vital that they are disposed of entirely and properly to avoid any kind of risks.
The most effective measure would be to store the ashes somewhere outside of far from the home and away from any other kind of combustibles such as decks. The ashes are as safe as far they from your household, because No matter how much effort is applied to extinguish the ashes, there is always even a slim chance of certain portions still burning. So, just keep them away and relax!
If you believe that these tiny pieces of ember might not cause any kind of harm, think again!
The tiny pieces of ember which might be leftover in the heap of ash can continue to burn for days because the ashes all around those particles provide extra insulation for the particles to continue to keep burning. A little bit of oxygen and those tiny particles can lead to a smouldering fire, so you must be extremely careful where you put these ashes. The best place would probably be a metal container with a lid, so that all the oxygen is cut off.
There are several ways in which wood ashes can be essentially disposed of. We have seen people use residual ashes for traction on driveway ice, as well as spreading the ash on your garden, which in turn helps to control garden pests and reduce the acidity in the soil – of course this is a great idea!
However, many people still choose to bury them. Waste disposal sites generally have the availability of special areas which are exclusively used for dumping ashes. It should always be ensured that the ashes are disposed of in a clean, safe and environment friendly manner.
Some Ways of Removing Ash from A Fireplace
However, it is strongly recommended that even the fireplace is not used it should be cleaned. As far as fireplaces are concerned, the chimney is what needs the most cleaning because of all the smoke that is continuously emitted by the wood and fuel. This results in the formation of creosote- which is a blackish sticky substance that form quickly upon the walls of the chimney.
As far as the ash coming from the fireplaces is concerned, by default there is the presence of a lid, which can be closed whenever the fireplace is not lit. Some fireplaces come with a transparent lid which can be closed even while the fire is burning. There are two other major ways in which you can very conveniently dispose the residual ash, formed due to burning of wood in a stove or a fireplace.
Use an Ash Trap:
Ash trap is basically a feature that is available in many modern fireplaces and stoves. Where you just need to slide or open a trap door the lower metal lid and give it a tiny push or jerk and the whole ash will flow down to a drawerspace below the fireplace. This can be later cleaned by transferring the residual ash to a covered garbage bucket.
Using this modern method of disposing ash will invariably allow you to keep your environment dust free, because the process practically does not allow any bit of ash to get released in the air and cause any kind of discomfort to the residents of the house. This process is even the more convenient one, as it does not require as much physical effort as well. The process of using ash trap to safely dispose of ash does not even disturb the coal in any manner.
Getting Rid of Ashes, The Old School Way
Using a shovel and a bucket is a very old way of disposing ash, which has been and still is being used as a method by many households. Traditionally it is a very unsafe and untidy way of disposing ash. It can cause a lot of discomfort and inconvenience if you don’t do it in a proper manner.
There are three main points that you can keep in mind, which will ease the process of shoveling ash for you.
Firstly, you should never wait for the fireplace or stove to get cold before you try to shovel the ash because you need to depend upon the chimney draft to stream the dust back inside the stove. The best time to shovel dust is first thing in the morning so that there is a certain amount of heat that is available to produce some draft.
Secondly, you must always strive to use a shovel that is small as it will be more convenient to handle and use.
Thirdly, the bucket used to collect the ash should have a tight fitting lid to starve any embers of air. Scoop your ashes from the front and carefully set them in the bucket with the lid in your other hand so that you can contain any dust. Continue this process, always leaving about ½” of ash in the fireplace as this will help your next fire burn properly. It needs to be kept outside the house, far away from the combustible resources.
We, at The Original Flame, offer post installation services for our customers which includes this task of cleaning and dust/debris removals. Our professionals visit the client premises and do everything which needs to be done to ensure that the fireplace is working like new.
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