Bracing for the Cold

Cold temperatures are forecasted to welcome December in, and many of you are counting on your fireplace to keep you warm, but fireplace specialist Eric Massey says, don`t assume your fireplace is ready when you are. "A lot of people are just now going to start a fire, you want to visibly inspect it and make sure there is no build up in there and if it looks bad, if it looks like it would be corroded or build up then you might want to hold off, and have your chimney cleaned before you start your fire," suggests Eric Massey, Fireplace Specialties. Another tip, build a small fire to start, Massey admits lighting a fire with a dirty chimney always carries a risk. "If youre burning wood, build up in the chimney there is always a chance of a chimney fire." Mark Deverts isn`t busy holiday shopping this week; he is making sure your house is safe. Deverts inspects heating units. "A lot of people say if it`s not broke don`t fix it, it`s like a car if you don`t tune it up occasionally it`s not going to last as long," said Mark Deverts, Accutemp Technician. From vacuuming around the unit, to changing the filter Deverts admits when it comes to safety testing for carbon monoxide is very important. "You want to blue color in the flame, if it has an orange color, or if it flickers, we know we have a problem. If you have air penetrating through there, you`ll have carbon monoxide in your house, which is not good." Whether you throw a log into your fireplace or set your heater for the night remember it`s important to have your heating equipment checked before you use it.