Having a fireplace in your home can be a very pleasant and cozy way to warm your home, but it can also be a bit of a hazard if you do not maintain the fireplace and chimney correctly. Listed below are three steps you can take that will make your fireplace safer for you and your family.

Clean The Chimney Regularly

One of the most important things you can do to make your fireplace and chimney safer is to have the chimney cleaned regularly. In most cases, you can simply have a chimney cleaner come to your house and do a thorough cleaning that will remove all of the creosote and other resins that have built up in the chimney and that can cause a fire hazard.

If you would rather clean up the chimney yourself, there are a number of logs out there that will create a chemical compound when they are burned that will actually weaken and remove the creosote and resin from your chimney. While these logs are effective, they are not quite as effective as an actual chimney or fireplace service.

Only Use Seasoned Wood

Another important step to take in order to make your fireplaces safe as possible is to only use seasoned wood in the fireplace. The problem with using green wood, or freshly cut wood, is that green wood will end up spewing out a lot more smoke than regular wood, which leads to more residue building up in your fireplace and chimney. 

This not only result in you having to clean your fireplace and chimney more often, but it also leads to an increased risk of fire. The type of wood that you will want to use in your fireplace is typically seasoned by being cut and left out in the sun for right around six months.

Have The Chimney And Fireplace Inspected

Finally, you will want to make sure that you have a professional inspect both your chimney and fireplace regularly in order to make sure that the mortar and bricks that make up the chimney are not crumbling and that there aren't any cracks or gaps in the chimney itself. The reason this is so important is that if there are any gaps and cracks in the chimney or fireplace, harmful gasses and chemicals can end up flowing back into the house when the fire is going. One of the most common gasses that can end up flowing back into your home is carbon monoxide, which is a major hazard for you and your family.

Contact a fireplace or chimney service in order to discuss what you can do to keep your fireplace as safe as possible for your home. Cleaning the chimney regularly, only using seasoned wood in the fireplace, and having both the fireplace and chimney inspected are all effective and easy ways to make sure that your fireplace is as safe as possible to use.