Gas Log Fireplaces: Things You Should Know Before Buying One

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The increasing popularity of gas logs led manufacturers to come up with several appliances that use this technology. One of these is the gas log fireplace, which you can mount to the wall of your home. But did you know that the residue from burning gas logs is not always ventilated outside? Before having a gas log fireplace installed, learn the difference between vent-free and vented units and their advantages or disadvantages.

Vented gas logs can replace wood logs in a traditional chimney. There are those that use natural or propane gas, and they burn with the damper open. Keep in mind though that this is not a solution for a chimney problem. If you’ve got a dirty or damaged chimney, using a gas log could still cause a chimney fire. Before burning gas logs on a traditional fireplace, make sure that your chimney gets professionally checked for any cracks and that any creosote buildup gets cleaned.

As for ventilation, direct venting is your best option. This system uses a two-layer pipe placed through the wall behind the fireplace unit, or above it. One pipe gets air from the outside to make the gas combustible, the other takes waste to the outside and effectively reduces the risk of carbon monoxide buildup inside the house.

Vent-free gas logs, on the other hand, come with their own Oxygen Depletion Sensor, which turns the gas off before the carbon monoxide levels in the room get dangerously high. They are designed to create a very hot flame that decreases the level of soot and carbon monoxide produced by other types of gas logs. Since vent-free gas logs create lots of heat, it’s very important to keep combustible materials far from the fireplace. While in use, make sure the fireplace doors are left open and leave a window slightly open to let fresh air into the room.

Whether or not you get a vented or vent-free gas log fireplace, make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions before burning any fuel. Observe basic fireplace safety at all times to prevent any fireplace accidents.

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Fireplace Safety Guidelines

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It’s important to observe fireplace safety throughout the year, but even more so now that a lot of us use candles, space heaters, and have many flammable objects in our living rooms. Avoid accidents and enjoy many more holidays with your family by following some of these fireplace safety guidelines.

Make sure your fireplace undergoes a YEARLY maintenance. This includes an inspection by a chimney specialist, which can help detect any cracks in the bricks and mortar of your fireplace and chimney. Any problems must be repaired before you use your fireplace. Also ask a chimney sweet professional to inspect your chimney and look for obstructions like birds nests and to look for creosote buildup. Creosote is caused when there isn’t enough air to burn the wood efficiently, and buildup can pose as a serious fire hazard.

Before you start a fire, keep all combustible and flammable materials like paper, logs, kindling, and carpet at least 3 feet away from the fireplace. Make sure the grate and iron is arranged so the logs can’t roll off by accident.

Use just enough gas or wood to keep your fire at the desired temperature. While roaring fires may be romantic, these can start chimney fires because they increase the amount of creosote deposit and soot in the flue.

Never use gasoline or flammable liquid to rekindle a fire. Remember that flammable vapor can explode and flammable liquid can travel the length of a room.

Always keep the damper open while the fire is burning to prevent the accumulation of explosive and poisonous gas. This also promotes efficient burning of fuel.

Before throwing out the ashes, make sure that they have thoroughly cooled down. Keep the ash in a metal container with a lid to prevent a fire and store it in a sturdy place. Ash makes excellent fertilizer for gardens so it’s a good idea to keep them around for the spring. Make sure that the fire is out completely before everybody goes to bed upstairs.

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Tips for Saving Energy Over the Holidays

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What with the decorations placed all over the interiors and exteriors of your home, your electricity bill’s sure to skyrocket during the holiday season. It doesn’t always have to be that way, though. Here are a couple of tips that you can follow to save energy and money this December.

Use LED Christmas lights, since these use 90% less electricity than regular Christmas lights and cost only $10 per strand. Fiber-optic decorations and Christmas trees are also great for energy efficiency since they only use one light bulb to light up the entire decoration.

Place a limit on the number of hours your lights are turned on. Wait til it’s completely dark before you switch on your Christmas lights, then turn them off before going to bed. Six hours or less of Christmas light-time is a reasonable amount to to aim for. If you have trouble forgetting to turn the lights off, set an alarm clock to remind you to do so.

Give out presents that don’t require batteries. Research shows that 40% of batteries are purchased over the holiday season. If you do plan on giving gifts that need batteries, consider purchasing rechargable batteries and a charger; the newest models are more energy-efficient than if you keep buying disposable ones.

Cook all your dishes at once. Make the most out of your oven and the energy it uses by baking all your Christmas pastries at the same time. It takes the same amount of energy to heat up a full oven as an empty one so you might as well take advantage of the energy you’re using up. Save the oven for cooking big dishes though, and use the microwave or toaster oven for minor holiday cooking jobs.

Finally, if you’re going somewhere for the holidays, make sure you unplug all your electronics like the TV, DVD player, computer, or radio. These use up electricity even when they aren’t switched on.

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Christmas Tree Safety

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Having an artificial Christmas tree at home is better than getting a fresh tree, safety-wise. The danger of fire is dramatically reduced with an artificial tree, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any safety issues. If you decide to get a fresh tree for Christmas anyway, here are a couple of things to remember about caring for a freshly-cut Christmas tree.

Fires caused by fresh trees usually occur because the trees are dead and dry, so it’s important to keep your tree alive and moist. Start by choosing one that hasn’t been turned into firewood. Young, growing trees are the best ones to get. You check if they’re healthy by pulling on the pine needles; if they come off easily, that’s not a very good sign. The trunk should also be sticky and the limbs must be flexible.

Once you take the tree home, cut off two inches below the trunk. This creates a fresh cut for the tree to soak in water. If you don’t do this, the tree won’t be able to take in water as efficiently.

The best way to fireproof your Christmas tree is to keep it hydrated. They also dry out with heat, so it’s important to keep your tree cool and far from heat sources like the fire place or heater vents.

Do not dispose of the tree by burning because a burning tree is difficult to control and may burn faster than you expect. Get rid of the tree by the time the new year comes around because the longer it stays in the house, the more the tree dries up and becomes a fire hazard.

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Candle Safety Tips

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Nothing spreads the warmth and fuzziness of the holiday season the way candles do. But be careful–candles are potentially deadly. The average number of household candle fires occurs during December, with Christmas day bringing the most number of candle fires in a year. About 40% of candle fires occur in bedrooms and account for approximately 30% of fire-related deaths.

So what can you do to prevent this from happening?

The best candle safety tip I can give is to not burn candles at all. You can buy very realistic flameless, battery-operated candles made out of real wax. Some of them are scented and come in holiday motifs, such as this set of winter scene candles from flamelesscandles.net. These make the perfect addition to any holiday display without having to worry about fire-related accidents taking place.

But if you must insist on using real candles, make sure you don’t leave them unattended and that you snuff them out before leaving a room or going to sleep. Keep them away from things that can easily catch fire, like curtains or magazines. Place your candles in sturdy candle holders large enough to collect the dripping wax. Keep candle wicks trimmed to a quarter of an inch, and extinguish pillar candles once they’re two inches away from the holder.

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Christmas Table Decorating Ideas

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Decorating your dining table for Christmas can be as elegant or as simple as you want, but you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make it uplifting and eye-catching. If you’re a little strapped for cash, work on a budget then decide on your theme. The traditional red-and-green always works, or you can go along with your home’s color scheme and use your table decorations to complement it.

A wreath on the center of the table makes for a nice holiday centerpiece. You can decorate it with objects that you’d like to use as a theme, or put ribbons and bows if you have no theme in mind. Place candles inside the wreath, but make sure that the wax doesn’t come into contact with anything that could start a fire.

Continue to carry out the theme using table napkins. Get two napkins of different colors for each table setting; place one on top of the other or roll them together. Tie them with a colorful wired ribbon and arrange them artfully on the center of each plate.

You could also get dishes according to your table’s theme. For example, if your theme is poinsettias, purchase plates, cups, and saucers with poinsettia patterns. If you have printed plates, make sure that your table cloth and napkins come in plain colors so your dining table doesn’t get overwhelmed by too many patterns.

Repeating the color scheme or pattern is essential to giving your dining table a unified look. Happy decorating!