The holiday season is rapidly approaching and if you are like many other people in the world, you will want to decorate the space around your fireplace with some holiday cheer. However, you will want to make sure that you decorate properly, so that you do not turn the happiest time of the year into a disastrous time of the year.
Here are 7 safety tips that you should use when placing holiday decorations near the fireplace:
- You will want to keep any decorations or gifts that you want to place around the hearth, at least three feet away from the fire or any burning candles.
- To keep any burning embers from flying into the room and hitting any decorations or people, you will want to keep the screen or glass doors closed when a fire is burning.
- Wrapping paper has a lot of different additives which makes it highly flammable. The paper can burn at extremely high temperatures and that is not good for your fireplace.
- You can hang stockings on the mantel, but it is a good idea to remove them when a fire is burning, especially when they are hanging less than three feet from the fire.
- Any decorations on the top of the mantel are safe, unless they are hanging over the edges of the mantel. Keep any garland, ribbons and anything else securely in place, so that it doesn’t fall off when a fire is burning.
- Candles are beautiful, but if you burn real candles that you place amongst your decorations on the mantel, you may have a problem. If you need to burn these candles, make sure the candles are in a jar, so that the flame does not touch the decorations. It would be even better to use electric candles.
- At the end of the holiday season, you may be tempted to burn your tree inside the fireplace, but this is not a good idea. The wood will not be dry and it could easily start a chimney fire that can spread to the rest of the house.
Don’t worry, because you can decorate around your fireplace and hearth as long as you follow these safety tips. Just think about whether or not something looks safe before you do it and if you are unsure, change your plan or call us here at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service at 610-626-2439.
We have two Chimney Sweeps who are more than willing to help you make sure your chimney and fireplace are in great shape for the coming holiday season. The chimney sweeps here at Lou Curley’s Chimney Service are well-trained and highly certified. Call us at 610-626-2439 to schedule an appointment with a CSIA Certified Chimney Sweep in Drexel Hill or the surrounding areas. We will help ensure that your chimney is ready to face the quickly-approaching winter season without issue.