Got A Fire Going? Here's 3 Good Reasons To Leave Your Fireplace Doors Open
Take a look at most advertisements for glass fireplace doors and you'll notice they all have one thing in common - the doors are always closed, even when there's a fire burning. Closed fireplace doors are great for illustrative purposes, but you wouldn't want to burn an actual fire behind closed doors. Read on to learn three good reasons why you should always leave your fireplace doors open while using your fireplace.
More Airflow Means Better Combustion
It's no secret that fires need plenty of oxygen to burn cleanly. Leaving your fireplace doors closed is akin to smothering your fire with a thick blanket - it cuts off your fire's biggest source of oxygen, preventing it from burning as efficiently as it should.
Less oxygen means poorer combustion, which in turn causes your fire to produce more smoke and give off less usable heat. Keeping your fireplace doors open gives your fire more oxygen to work with, ensuring that it's able to burn hotter and cleaner.
It'll Reduce Creosote Buildup
Burning wood inside of your fireplace produces creosote, a mix of tars and various other chemical compounds left behind on the inner walls of your chimney. You can expect to see some creosote buildup as you use your fireplace, but keeping your fireplace doors closed can easily increase this buildup.
Excessive creosote buildup is not only difficult and time-consuming to remove, but it could also pose a significant safety hazard. Catastrophic chimney fires are often the result of heavy creosote buildup that's gone unchecked for long periods. Keeping your fireplace doors open ensures that your wood fire burns cleanly enough to avoid excessive creosote buildup.
You'll Save Your Glass Doors
Glass fireplace doors are designed to be tough, but they're not invincible. Temperatures within a typical fireplace can reach 1100 degrees Fahrenheit or more. Tempered glass, on the other hand, can experience thermal shock at around 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Fireplace doors made from ceramic glass have a much higher thermal shock threshold, but sustained heat can also leave them vulnerable.
Leaving your fireplace doors shut exposes your doors to extreme heat, with the resulting heat buildup bringing your glass closer to its thermal shock threshold until it eventually breaks. Finding new glass for your fireplace door can be a major challenge, especially if your doors were custom made or discontinued within the past few years. Keeping your fireplace doors open will keep them safe from harm.