I know this is an older topic but I saw it and wanted to add onto it due to a scary alert that recently happened to us.
I had started a fire in our wood stove and noticed an odd smell and more smoke than usual. I opened the door to readjust the logs and the smoke alarm went off. After shutting the stove door and opening windows, the alarm turned off. I let the fire die down, assuming it was a bad log, maybe unseasoned or damp.
Later that evening, our carbon monoxide alarm sounds off. It had never gone off before and we were unaware of what to do so we opened all windows and Doors and google verified it was the right thing to do. Google also indicated it could be the chimney needed cleaning.
After ten minutes, the Carbon monoxide alarm turned off and reset itself. We still had windows open for an hour and decided to stay the night in a motel to be sure it was safe.
Next morning I called the fire dept assured me it was safe and confirmed it was probably the chimney needed to be swept and cleaned. It had not been cleaned in years.
I called Rob at RC Chimney and he made a special trip that weekend to clean it.
Sorry for all the details but I thought it was important to share that chimneys need to be cleaned once a year if you use them during the winter daily,like we do. We’d be dead if it weren’t for that carbon monoxide alarm. So please please make sure you have one and do regular chimney maintenance.
Thanks for reading! 🤗
