It's your first fall in your new home, and what better way to celebrate that autumn spirit than with a nice fire in the fireplace? But don't start piling logs on just yet. Before you go lighting that first fall fire, it's important to check your chimney and make sure it's in good working order. How do you check it? How do you know if it's OK? What are you looking for? Our real estate agents share what you need to know.

Visual Inspection

The first step in checking your chimney is fairly simple: Shine a flashlight upward into your chimney, so you can see its condition. Are there any loose bricks in the chimney? Get them repaired before lighting a fire.

Next, do you see any white streaks on the walls of the chimney? Don't operate your fireplace until they're cleaned. Those white streaks are called creosote. It's a pesticide used to preserve wood from things like termites, fungus, and other pests. If your fireplace wood has been treated with creosote, it can build up in your chimney over time the more you use it.

The wood in your fireplace can get up to about 500 degrees. Creosote ignites at 451 degrees. When it does, it quickly starts expanding like foam and growing hotter. It can destroy your chimney in under a minute — followed quickly by the rest of your home, if you can't get the fire contained immediately.

You can get rid of creosote buildup by brushing out your fireplace regularly. You can also get special cleaning logs designed to clear out your chimney when you burn them. If you use a cleaning log, be sure to sweep out the bottom of the fireplace immediately after, as that's where the creosote buildup will end up.

Professional Inspection

Inspecting your fireplace is a good start, but not every issue can be spotted with a flashlight or taken care of yourself. That's why it's also essential to hire a professional to take a look at your chimney periodically and perform regular maintenance. Even with proper care, your chimney needs professional service every so often, just like your plumbing or your HVAC system.

Some professionals say that you should have your chimney inspected after every 70 fires — though if you're not keeping track, most agree that once a year is sufficient. If you're burning wood that's green or wet, you may need maintenance more frequently. As a general rule, though, you should avoid doing this. Use only dry hardwoods in your fireplace, as they burn cleaner and hotter and will keep ashy buildup to a minimum.

The best time to call for a maintenance visit is actually in the spring, once fireplace season ends. If the buildup of soot is allowed to stay in your chimney until the fall, it can continue eating away at it during the ensuing months, until by the time autumn comes around again, the problem has grown worse.

However, if you haven't had your chimney checked recently, or you've just moved in and don't know when the last time it had maintenance was, it's essential that you call for an inspection before you even think about lighting a fire.

If you take care of your chimney, it will take care of you. As long as you keep it properly maintained, it will provide you with cozy fall and winter warmth for many years to come.

Looking at Klamath Falls homes for sale, complete with fireplace? Contact us, and our real estate agents will help you find exactly what you're looking for.