We're mmoving into an older home, with a woodstove, and as neither of us have ever lived in a home with one, I was wondering if there was anything we should know, or if anyone had any tips or advice on the subject..

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Thanks
MamaWolf


P.S. We have a 5 y/o and a 6 month old..childproofing ideas???

I've only had a woodstove once in a home, and it happened to be when we had a toddler. We put a fence around it, to assure that the baby wouldn't get close enough to touch the stove.

There are some very good tips Here regarding safety.

A woodstove can definitely save you a fortune on heating bills if you use it correctly.

Thanks bunches, giz..now...any ideas on how to fit 3 bedrooms worth of stuff into a 2 bedroom house? LOL

I've used woodstoves all my life, and I love them. Before you light it for the first time, have the chimney cleaned. (What if it's not dirty? It will be. If it hasn't been used in a while it might have inflammable material like old birds' nests in it!) But it also might have thick layers of creosote which is a fire hazard.

If that's not possible, light a very SMALL fire the first time, and have a fire extinguisher handy. You need the special type that smothers chimney fires using zinc oxide. If you get a chimney fire, you throw the extinguisher directly into the fire and close the door on it. They aren't expensive.

If first burning is a success -- no excess smoke, not chimney problems -- you'll find it a wonderful way to heat a house. Burn well-seasoned wood, and resist the temptation to burn trash in it. Not only does burning trash filth up the chimney fast and bigtime, but it pollutes the air badly.

I had a wood stove for YEARS!



I absolutely LOVE the heat they give off. There's really no comparision. When hydro had a glitch and we lost power, you can always make coffee and cook on the wood stove! Mine had a flat surface.

After so many years of picking up wood, bringing it home, throwing if off of the truck, bucking it, stacking it and then going out to the shed and carrying armfuls into the house. I had enough! The heat was great but I felt like I became a slave to that wood!!!

I got rid of it a couple of years ago, and feel much better now!

P.S. I never had an accident with a child and the stove but a friend did. The child threw a soft toy onto the hot stove and it caught fire. It was quickly put out. But I suppose a child shouldn't be left untended near a stove.

Most household stoves have a lining which prevents the firebox from getting super hot on the outside. So if a child tumbles against a woodstove he should not get a serious burn. But certain stoves called 'camp stoves' need a safety barrier around them, because the exterior gets very hot.