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ApatheticAbsurdist t1_iteusbl wrote

  1. If this is a house you own and haven’t already it probably would be good to get a chimney inspection by a chimney sweep. The carbon and such from the fire will build up on the chimney overtime cutting the airflow and then there’s animals or things that could cause a blockage. If something blocks up the works it can cause smoke to get stuck in the house (if it gets bad it can lead to causing a fire inside the chimney which is not safe and potentially burn your house down… get an inspection)
  2. Is your flue open. There is usually a value called the flu that has a handle of some type to close it when you don’t have a fire going so cold air doesn’t leak into your house. (I assume this is what you mean by the ”vent thing” but if you mean the little vents at the bottom of the fireplace floor, that’s not it)
  3. When starting a fire it helps to get some heat going up the flue. If you’re using news paper to start the fire, I’d make a little torch of it first and light it and hold it up the flue for 10 seconds to heat up the air and start a draft pulling air up through the chimney. Then light the fire with the paper.
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LookingM4FnearUCONN OP t1_itfysex wrote

2nd reply that said vents on the floor. I don’t have that is that the problem?

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ApatheticAbsurdist t1_itgrp2f wrote

No it’s not just wanted to make absolutely sure you got the flue. Some fancy fireplaces will have doors and vents under them to allow for control (let the fire get roaring or slow it down) since you said you’re not used to fire places just wanted to make sure you didn’t think that was the flue. (No offense to you, just covering all bases) the vents on the floor really aren’t needed unless you have solid (glass) doors in front of the fireplace.

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