How To Stay Warm and be Kind to your Lungs
You need to stay warm, but sometimes that causes problems for your lungs. Here’s what to do.
Watch this short video, or read the transcript below – the choice is yours!
I love the look of a real fire in a home – it just adds so much warmth and atmosphere to a room. I live in a hot climate now and so we don’t have fires, and sometimes – I rather miss them!
My Green Tip of the Week is from Clean Air Partners. It’s all about wood fires at home – here are 3 ways to stay warm AND be kind your lungs too.
Fires are great, but they can create smoke and pollution, and that’s bad for our lungs and for the environment.
But if you use an EPA-approved wood-burning stove or fireplace insert then you’ll produce much less smoke and minimal ash. PLUS, you’ll need less firewood!
How can you tell if it’s EPA approved? The label (see right) will be on the back.
EPA-certified stoves produce only 2 to 7 grams of smoke per hour, as compared to older un-certified stoves that release much more smoke.
So, here are 3 ways to stay warm and be kind to your lungs too.
Stay Warm Tip One: Use the Right Wood
Burn only dry, well-seasoned wood that has been split properly. Season wood outdoors through the summer for at least 6 months before burning it.
If you buy wood, how will you know if it’s properly seasoned?
Seasoned wood is darker, has cracks in the end grain, and sounds hollow when smacked against another piece of wood.
What about manufactured logs? Remember that logs made from wax and sawdust are made for open hearth fireplaces, so don’t use them in your wood stove or fireplace insert.
But one type of manufactured logs that you CAN use is those made from 100 % compressed sawdust.
Don’t burn wet, rotted, diseased or moldy wood, and don’t burn rubbish or garbage in there either.
And never burn coated, painted, or pressure-treated wood because it releases toxic chemicals when burned.
Stay Warm Tip Two: Start it Right
Start your fire with newspaper and dry kindling – use 100% natural or organic fire starters if you need to, but never start a fire with gasoline, kerosene, or charcoal starter – they’re not eco friendly and they’re pollutants.
Stay Warm Tip Three: Maintenance
Replace or clean your air filter or furnace filter every month during the heating season to keep your fire operating efficiently. An efficient fire is green and eco friendly!
Stay Warm Bonus Tip !
If you live in the USA, go to Clean Air Partners to get an air quality forecast for your area delivered to your inbox.
Enjoy your lovely, “green” fires this Winter!
Please spread the word – sharing buttons below and right – and tell me what you think in the Comments box below – thank you!
Thank you for this. I’m considering a back-up wood burning stove for power outages. This was good information to start.
Thanks Marlene, I’m glad it was helpful – a wood-burning stove as a back-up is a great idea! Thanks to climate change, I suspect we’ll all be facing more power outages, no matter where we live in the world.
I’m also looking to add a wood stove in my house for next winter so I appreciate your tips. I didn’t know there were sawdust logs you could buy so I’ll look for those.
Yes, sawdust logs are a great way of using waste that would otherwise be discarded – a very cool idea! I’m glad this was helpful, and thanks Lois for stopping by!