My fireplace makes the house smokey at first b4 it heats up. How do I avoid this.?

Question

Because it is so cold outside, when I light the fireplace the cold air is rushing down the chimney and into the house making it very smoky. Once the air is heated, 10 min or so, the flow reverses and heads back up the chimney. How do I light a fire without getting the smoke in my house?


yes its clean and the flu (sp?) is open.

Answer 1

Sprinkle wet coffee grounds in the fireplace...

Answer 2

Start the draft before you light the fire. Burn some crumpled newspaper in the firebox, it will start the air moving in the flue. Tall chimneys often allow smoke in the house before they establish draft. Cold air is heavy and wants to enter the house instead of leave through the top of the chimney.

This is very common.

Answer 3

you need to prime the chimney first. what you need to do is take some newspaper, wrapped semi tightly together, light the end of it and stick it as far up the chimney as you can get it and hold it there till either you see the smoke going up it or until you cant hold it anymore. if it doesn't work the first time keep trying until you see the smoke rise. that will mean that the chimney is primed and then you can light the main fire without any problems.

Answer 4

my fire place is in the basement and does the same thing. heres what i do..... build the set up with paper and kindling on top of a small pair of logs, so that it is all ready to go. then i take a box fan and put it right up against the fireplace door and blow the cold air up the chimney for a minute or so,then I put a quick squirt of charcoal lighter fluid on the kindling/wood and light immediatly to get immediate flame.
Ever since i started doing this i never had to deal with a smokey house again. Works for me,hope it may help you

Answer 5

You cannot get the cold heat up and out unless you get heat up the flue. Before I had a gas lighting strip, I opened the damper, then held wadded paper up as close to it as possible and lit it. After burning several pages of newspaper, the heat from it had risen and forced the cold air out. I now have a gas pipe and just close the glass doors for a minute or two after lighting it. The heat from the gas flame goes up, drives out the cold, and it begins to draw room air to the outside.

Answer 6

I "prime" the flow by lighting a piece of loosely rolled up newspaper and holding it so the flame is right at the flu. This helps to get the air flowing up and draws the air up. Some times it takes a couple of pieces of newspaper to prime it while you're waiting for the fire to catch.

Answer 7

I used to crumple old newspaper sheets (3-4), place them on top of the arranged fire wood in the hearth, and light them immediately before lighting the wood. They burn really hot and push that cold air up and out.

Answer 8

my grandad used to set the fire up then get two pieces of newspaper. he would light the kindling and cover the big gap with the newpaper leaving the bottom below the grate clear this would force the air to go up the chimney and the air flow would get the fire going quicker too.
edit: you have to prepare to let go quick if it starts to burn.

Answer 9

House might be tight . Draft problem. Open a window for a few minutes. Just a crack may be all you need.

Answer 10

That is not normal, you should strike a match and see if the flame/smoke goes up the chimney, or funnels back into the house. I would have someone out and assess your chimney and get it cleaned if necessary.