Did you know that wood smoke is air pollution and wasted energy?
It’s firewood that doesn’t burn completely that could have been used for heating.
When a stove doesn’t burn wood efficiently, wood smoke is produced as well as tiny particles
and other gasses which can pollute the air inside the home as well as in the neighborhood
outside.
With heating oil prices getting higher and higher, families that live in areas where
there are trees are turning to wood stoves to heat the home.
Many families that don’t have access to cheap wood are burning trash.
The health effects of breathing wood smoke are serious.
Small particles and pollutants that are in wood smoke are unhealthy for you and your
family.
They are so small that the body’s natural defense mechanisms can’t keep them from
entering deep into the lungs where they can damage lung tissue.
Elders, children, pregnant women and people with heart problems or lung conditions, like
asthma, are most at risk from breathing wood smoke and fine particles.
What is the best way to burn clean?
The answer is - dry, small and hot.
By dry, we mean the wood. Make sure it is very dry.
After splitting, fire wood should dry for at least six to 12 months in a covered area
with good air circulation.
Only burn clean, dry wood in your wood stove - no painted or treated wood, saltwater driftwood,
garbage, plastics, rubber, paint, or oil, no charcoal briquettes, and no glossy or colored
paper.
Burning garbage can damage your stove and will cause serious health problems for you,
your family and neighbors.
Burning garbage produces toxic smoke that is dangerous inside and outside the home.
Clean burning fires don’t make smoke.
Except for brief periods during start up and refueling, you should not see smoke coming
from your chimney.
If your stove is producing a lot of smoke, something is wrong.
A wood stove burning a small, hot fire should only produce a thin wisp of white steam.
If you see smoke, open your dampers to let in more air.
Any smoke means the wood isn’t being fully burned which wastes fuel, produces air pollution
and can result in the build-up of creosote, a highly flammable crusty substance creating
a serious fire hazard.
An even better way to get the most energy out of your wood and reduce air pollution
is to use an EPA-certified wood stove.
These advanced technology stoves produce less smoke, less tar, and provide a safer burn
both in terms of fire safety and air quality.
Because certified wood stoves burn most of the smoke right in the fire box, they use
up to a third less wood and can cut air pollution by up to 90%.
You can tell if your stove is certified by looking on the back for a certification sticker
from the U.S. EPA.
If there is no sticker, you have an old, inefficient, potentially high polluting stove.