Fireplace is leaving smoke inside. any suggestions?

Question

My wife and I just bought a 40 year old house with a fireplace. The fireplace was just swept professionally before we moved in. I lit a fire the other day. For the first hour, it was great. Afterward when I added another log, smoke started billowing out and into my living room. The flue was open as was the damper. I also heated the inside of the chimney before I lit the fire. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why the smoke is coming into the house?

Answer 1

40 yr old house means your flue is high enough or this would have happened for 40 years.
having a chimney sweep means they possible left flue cap off which will allow down draft through your chimney so just check that from the roof.
not enough air is a possibility especially if remodeling has been done. windows may have been replaced with ones that seal better air gaps around doors may have been repaired et-cetra which would cause your house to be air-tight. others have noted this condition will restrict air(smoke) flow up the flue.

crack a window or even BETTER OPTION is if the fireplace has an ash-door outside at base of fireplace you can crack it open this allows air to flow directly in to the firebox form outside right up the back of the fire. that way you do not have already heated air being pulled out of your house and it insures fresh air for the fire. the convection naturally pulls air and smoke through the damper and up the flue and you don't feel cold air coming in your window.

Answer 2

I'm from Florida and have never actually owned/used a fireplace. That said, what I hear (since most of my neighbors were from NY and Canada), is that that is caused by having a dirty chimney. Tar and other impurities have built up on the inner walls of the chimney due to repeated past use. The easiest way to clean it, that I know of, is to buy one of those "chimney-cleaning logs" that you see on infomercials sometimes. It is some sort of chemical composite made to look like a log, and burning it releases a non-toxic (I hope) cloud that moves up the chimney and cleans it. I'm sure you can buy it in some kind of store if you live in a colder area - maybe a Wal-Mart? Also, do not light the chimney while that's happening. I don't know how much of a fire hazard it is, but it's definitely releasing CO (Carbon Monoxide), an odorless and poisonous gas, into the house. If you don't have one already, consider a CO monitor (kinda like a smoke detector) for the house, especially if you have kids. I've heard way too many sad stories about ppl dying of CO poisoning... I imagine you can buy one near the "chimney-cleaning log"? Wish I could be more helpful. Good luck!

Answer 3

I answered this same question for another post.
It sounds like you're not getting the correct updraft. This can be caused by the opening being too high.

I had a fireplace pro give this advice that worked for me. Smoke rolled out from the top.

Take a sheet of aluminum foil long enough to fit across the width of the fireplace. Fold it so it's 6"-8" in width. Tape and seal along the top of the fireplace and each end. This will shorten the height of the opening.

If this works, there are brass plates that can be used for this, anchored into the brick and sealed along the top. It's quite decorative as well.

Good luck.

Answer 4

The house could be too "tight". The chimney needs air to operate properly. Try opening a window close to the fireplace a bit. Also, if you have a ceiling fan running, it will sometimes pull the smoke back into the room.

Answer 5

Try cracking one of the windows in the area close to the fireplace, on some of the older houses, the house can actually suck the smoke back down the chimney, if there isnt a vent somewhere, if possible, open a south facing window

Answer 6

Your house might be too air tight. If the fire can't get enough air it will downdraft trying to get air and of course the smoke comes out into the room. I have to make sure my furnace doesn't kick on when the fireplace is burning because sometimes the fire will be pulling cold air into the house through the heater vent because it can't get air ay other place. An outside air soure for your fireplace might help. I open the outside ash dump to let air into the bottom of the fireplace. That helps.

Answer 7

It could be a draft or you are burning too much wood at once. Sometimes our chimney can only take a log or two. If you really don't like the smoke, get a glass door to cover the opening so you can enjoy watching the fire without the smoke.

Answer 8

Is there a cap with side vents to keep the wind from blowing down the chimney? Did you double check to make sure that the flue didn't accidentally get closed? Other than that, I can't imagine what could have happened. Good luck.

Answer 9

Wind direction is a possibility, chimney height also or more probable by the age of your house you need to line the chimney. Several ways to do this but contact chimney specialist and not your local builder

Answer 10

if you just had it swept there are a couple of possibilities , the height of the chimney or tall trees near the chimney top creating a downdraft... if you have an ashpit and a cleanout door , sometimes it helps to open both of these to give outside air to the fire...