Winter is lurking, so if you’ve got a wood burner in your home, it’s time to make sure you are stocked up on quality firewood to keep you and your whānau warm.
When using a wood burner to heat your home, the most important thing to get right is the fuel you use. You should only burn dry, untreated timber and paper.
Last year we analysed the filters from a collection device from a year-long air quality study in Motueka.
The results highlighted that treated and painted timber is being used for fuel to heat Motueka homes – earlier research shows this is the same for Richmond and is a problem nationwide.
This poses serious risks to human health from inhaling chemicals released when these materials are burned.
As well as the human health impacts, when you burn plastic, treated or painted timber, glossy paper or rubbish in your wood burner, the chemicals released can bed into the fireplace and ruin the seals and bricks.
Burning these items will also clog up your chimney with debris, which puts you at risk of a chimney/flue fire. Burning wet or poor-quality wood has a similar effect on your chimney. This is a serious safety concern and is why it is so important to burn only dry, untreated timber and get your chimney regularly swept.
If you don’t have firewood sorted for this winter yet, get in touch with one of our Good Wood suppliers:
- Bay Firewood – 027 769 6348
- BuyRight Firewood – 021 127 8957
- Quality Firewood – 027 449 0622
- Richmond Wood – 03 544 6473
- Wholesale Firewood – 03 546 9595