MANITOUWADGE—The Manitouwadge Volunteer Fire Department took time recently to stress the importance of pellet stove safety.
They posted tips to help residents recognize the importance of keeping their pellet stove running efficiently all winter, and to check these to do’s off their list:
- Clean the pellet stove often.
- Pellet stoves need to be cleaned often — usually once a week during heating season, or as directed by your owner’s manual.
- Have it cleaned by a professional at least once a year.
- Follow the rules. For example, the Fire Department states that with a pellet stove, it is especially important to carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions for operation, cleaning, and maintenance.
- Only use the type of pellets that are recommended for your specific model of stove.
- Charge your batteries. If the power goes out while your pellet stove is running, the fan system could stop working and cause smoke to pour into your house.
- Be sure you have a working battery backup system to keep the fans running long enough to finish burning the pellets in the chamber so you can safely turn your heater off and prevent smoke damage.
- Dispose of ashes properly
Users of Pellet Stoves are reminded that hot ashes or embers from a fire can take up to three days to cool properly. Therefore, when you go to clean the ashes out of your wood stove, it is important to make sure you use a metal container with a metal lid as an extra safety precaution.
Store this container at a safe distance from combustible materials as well. Fire officials stress that a plastic or cardboard container can melt and become a fire hazard.
Let the ashes cool properly in the container before dumping them out. Your wood stove can be a risk.
Wood stoves can create a major risk for fire damage in your home. Even if you follow all the wood stove safety tips that they’ve outlined on their Facebook post, they make it clear that all it takes is one forgetful moment! Make sure that your home is protected — and practice proper fire safety.