Getting your fire ready for the winter

Get the chimney swept first

Book the sweep before you need the fire, not after the first cold snap. September to December is the busy time, so late summer gives you more choice of dates and a clean flue from the very first fire.

Check for nests and blockages

Birds nest in chimneys in spring, and the nest is often still there in autumn. If you've heard birds, seen twigs in the grate, or the fire smoked last time you lit it, mention it when you book. Nests can only be removed outside the nesting season.

Sort out the fuel

Dry fuel burns hotter and cleaner and leaves less tar in the chimney. If you burn wood, it should be well seasoned and stored somewhere dry and airy. Damp wood hisses, smokes and builds up deposits in the flue fast.

Carbon monoxide alarm

A carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a fire, stove or range is a sensible step. Test it before the season, and replace it when it reaches the end of its life, which is printed on the alarm. Carbon monoxide can't be seen or smelled, so the alarm is the only warning you'll get.

Before the first fire

A quick check before lighting up for the winter:

• Stove door and glass seals intact, and the door closing properly
• The grate and ash pan emptied and in good condition
• Nothing flammable stored too close to the fire
• Room vents unblocked, so the fire gets the air it needs

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