Before You Hang Your
Stockings by the Chimney
 With Care,
Make Sure Your
Fireplace is
 Santa-Ready
© 2005, PennVentures LLC

When you hang those stockings from the mantel, you're calling even more attention than usual to the natural focal point of your room, the fireplace. Especially during the winter holidays, you want your fireplace and fireplace accessories to look their best. Here's a quick fireplace checklist to help you prepare your hearth for the Christmas season:

Fireplace Tools
How do they look? Are the handles secure and safe? Do they just need cleaning or are they rusting? If the time has come to replace your fireplace tools, you might be quite pleased with the range of styles now available!

Fireplace Screen
Is your fireplace screen still attractive and functional? If you are tired of having to move the screen each time you tend your fire, consider getting a new fireplace screen with access doors. They are available in both three-panel screens and in single-panel screens. Searching for the newest look in fireplace screens? Consider a flat, single panel screen. They fit up against your fireplace and instantly update the look of your hearth. 

Firewood Holder
Is your log holder serving you or are you serving it? If you have to sweep up bits of bark each time you bring in a load of firewood, you might want to consider a style that allows a tidier hearth. Some log holders have space for both kindling and firewood and are great for keeping the hearth neat and tidy.

Fireplace Grate
The iron in fireplace grates is constantly being oxidized by the heat of your fire. That explains why the grate in your fireplace, after a few years of use, may have significant rusting. A grate that's losing its integrity can be unsafe if it fails and drops its burning logs.

Also, check that your fireplace grate is the appropriate size for your fireplace. If you have a medium or larger fireplace, you don't have to settle for a small grate that you have to refill frequently with logs. A grate better sized to your fireplace will serve you more efficiently.

Fireback
"What's a fireback?" you may ask. A fireback is a traditional fireplace accessory that is returning to hearths as fuel costs rise. Made of either cast iron or stainless steel, a fireback leans against the back wall of your fireplace or sits there in braces. Its purpose is to radiate the heat of your fire into your room, thereby giving you more warmth for the same amount of wood or gas. The cast iron firebacks, available with classical or modern motifs, have a decorative as well as functional aspect. If you don't yet have a fireback, this might be the winter to add one to your hearth. 

Who knows, this Christmas maybe Santa or one of his helpers will bring you the new fireplace accessories you need!
 

FireplaceMall Article Library Index   Chimney Cap Articles How to Select Your Chimney Cap: Everything You Need to Know!   Picture Guide to Types of Round Flues: Help Selecting the Appropriate Chimney Cap for Round Flues   Quick and Easy Selection Guide for Chimney Caps for ROUND Flues   How to Install Your Chimney Cap   Checking Your Chimney Caps: How to Assess Their Condition   Chimney Caps with 3/4 Inch Mesh or Chimney Caps with 5/8 Inch Mesh:  What's the Difference?   How Tall Should Chimney Caps Be?   Chimney Pots or Caps to Conceal Chimney Exhausto Fans   Damper Articles Improve Your Home's Energy Efficiency with a Fireplace Damper   Fire Articles How to Make a Good Fire in Your Fireplace   Fatwood: Nature's One-Match Kindling   Fireback Articles Firebacks: Which Type is Better for My Fireplace?   Increase Your Fireplace's Energy Efficiency with a Fireback   Fireplace Accessories Articles Are Silver or Chrome Fireplace Accessories Right for Your Hearth?   A Quick Guide to New and Traditional Fireplace Screen Shapes   Fireplace Candelabra Articles Decorating Secrets for Making the Most of Your Fireplace Candelabra   Candle Tips for Fireplace Candelabra   Fireplace Candelabra Serve Outdoor Needs, Too   Fireplace Problems How to Clean Your Fireplace   Smoky Fireplace? Here's How to Fix It   Stinky Fireplace? Solutions for Fireplace Odors   Firewood Articles How Much Firewood Do I Need?   5 Reasons Early Spring is the Time to Buy or Gather Firewood for Your Fireplace or Woodstove   Learn the Experts' Tricks for Selecting and Storing the Perfect Firewood   Mantel Articles Decorating Your Fireplace Mantel with the "Three Plus One" Trick   Fireplace Mantel Mirrors: Five Mirror Decorating Tricks for over Your Fireplace   Decorating a Fireplace Mantel:  Candlesticks and Fireplace Accessories   Bring the Beach to Your Fireplace Mantel   Outdoor Fireplaces, Fire Pits, and Fire Bowls How to Select Outdoor Fireplaces, Fire Pits, and Fire Bowls   Safety and Use Tips for Outdoor Fireplaces, Fire Pits, and Fire Bowls   Seasonal and Holiday Fireplace Articles Autumn Theme Decorating for Fireplace Mantels   Halloween Hearth: Treat Your Fireplace to These Fireplace and Mantel Halloween Decorating Tricks   Thanksgiving Day Fireplace Tradition   Before You Hang Your Stockings by the Chimney with Care, Be Sure Your Fireplace is Santa-Ready   Christmas Fireplace Safety   Decorating Your Fireplace Mantel for Christmas: Holiday Photos   Decorating Your Fireplace Mantel for Christmas: Fill Up the Glassware with Free or Inexpensive Wintery Items   Decorating Your Fireplace for New Year's Eve and Day   Five New Year's Resolutions for Your Fireplace and Chimney   A Sweetheart of a Fireplace Candelabra: A Special Valentine's Gift   Decorating Your Fireplace for Springtime and Easter

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