Owning a home with a fireplace is a really cool benefit. You get to have a great visual centerpiece in your living room, it's perfect for cozy romantic dinners, and it is a fun way to liven up a winter time dinner party. However, there are a few problems that can arise with fireplaces that you will need to deal with occasionally. These problems might only seem bothersome, but they should be dealt with because they can turn into a dangerous situation and pose a potential fire risk. Here's three common issues to learn about.

Your Home Isn't Getting Warm Enough

This first problem is one that you will notice if you use the fireplace for actually heating your home, and not just ambiance. If you throw some logs on the fire and you are not seeing the temperature in your home rising, then there is a problem. The solution is not to keep on adding more and more logs and create a roaring fire. No; what you need to do is have a contractor that deals with fireplaces come out and inspect the chimney. The most likely problem here is a leak somewhere in the chimney pipe. This means that the heat is escaping though a hole and getting into the cold night air instead of traveling up the chimney as designed. This allows the heat to escape too quickly.

A Smokey Smell Fills The Room

If your house smells like smoke after a fire, or during a fire, then you have a problem with creosote. This substance builds up in the chimney and needs to be removed. That's what chimney sweeps are for. They come in and use special brushes and tools to scrape the creosote from the chimney lining. This is not something to put off solving. Creosote can become flammable and catch fire. If you let the creosote build up to a thickness that the flames in your fireplace touch it, then your home might catch fire. The smell of smoke is a big warning sign that the creosote buildup is "warming up," and you need to catch it before it gets so thick that it can make contact with the flames.

Smoke Fills The Room

If smoke is actually filling your house when you start a fire, then you have a damper problem. The damper is used to control the use of amount of airflow. If you want a roaring fire, for instance, you allow more air in. On the other hand, when you're not using the fireplace, you want the damper shut so that you don't have cold air flowing into the house. The problem arises when the damper does not function as designed. If you open it when you have a fire going, and smoke is getting into your house, then the damper is malfunctioning. You need a fireplace contractor to come and adjust the damper so that it doesn't slip out of position.

For more information and assistance with maintaining your fireplace, contact a company like Hartman Heating, Air and Fireplaces.