TYLER, Texas —
Lynda Byrum has lived in her home for 12 years. She has a fireplace that has not be used in two years.
"I found out all my allergy problems were coming from burning the wood from outside," Byrum said. "It's just like bringing all that pollen into your house."
Once she figured out the problem, the first thing she needed to do was clean her fireplace.
"I'm tired of having to stay under blankets to stay warm, so this is the perfect thing,” Byrum said.
She called a local chimney cleaning company to make sure her fireplace was in tip-top shape.
"Well you need to get it clean so you can get the creosote out of there," chimney cleaner Marcus Swinney said.
Creosote is what you do not want to see in your chimney.
According to the Chimney and Wildlife Specialists of Texas, creosote is a byproduct of wood combustion that consists mainly of tar. It can be black or brown and may be flaky, hardened or sticky. Most importantly, it is highly flammable.
"If your house is starting to smell like a fire when you don't have a fire going on, that's a good indication that your chimney is dirty," Swinney said.
There are more than 25,000 chimney fires each year many of which could have been avoided.
A major factor in keeping your home safe when lighting fires is the type of wood used.
Swinney recommends going to a local hardware store for pre-packaged wood. The wood is mostly wax which is safer to use.
"If you burn some really smokey wood, it's wet or just really smokey wood, it builds up really bad in your chimney," Swinney explained.
While your chimney is getting swept out, check for cracks inside.
"You want to fill those cracks in to keep the flames in the fire box instead of going through that crack to no telling what," Swinney said. "Safety is everything. That baby she sleeps here. It's safe if I clean the chimney."