How do I put out a fire in the fireplace before going to bed?
Stop adding wood about an hour before bed and let the fire burn down to coals, then spread the coals flat with a poker so they cool faster, close the glass doors, and leave the damper open. Never pour water on it indoors — the steam and ash are dangerous and messy. A fireplace should die down, not be doused.
Let it die down, don't drown it
The right way to put a wood fire to bed is to stop feeding it, not to snuff it. About forty-five minutes to an hour before you turn in, quit adding wood and let the flames drop to a bed of coals.
Then take a poker and spread those coals out flat across the floor of the firebox — a spread-out coal bed cools far faster than a smoldering pile. Close the glass doors or pull a tight-fitting spark screen across the opening, and you're done.
Why you never pour water on it
It's tempting to dump a bucket and call it settled, but water indoors is a bad idea. It flashes to steam that can crack firebrick and burn you, it turns fine ash into a cement-like paste that's miserable to clean, and the steam cloud carries ash into the room.
Water is for emergencies only. A properly built fireplace is designed to burn down on its own behind closed doors — that's the whole point of the damper and the screen.
Damper open, embers contained
Leave the damper open overnight. As long as any coals are live, they're giving off carbon monoxide, and an open damper keeps that draft pulling it up the chimney instead of into the house. This is exactly why a working carbon monoxide detector belongs on every level of the home.
In the morning the coals are usually still warm enough to rake together and rebuild on. If you do need the ashes out, they're not truly cold until they've sat a full several days in a metal can outside. Going to bed with embers glowing behind closed doors is normal and safe; going to bed with the fire still flaming or the doors wide open is not. If your fireplace backpuffs smoke into the room when you damp it down, or it never seems to draft right, that's worth an inspection — call (828) 545-0525.
Related questions
- Is it safe to go to sleep with embers still glowing in the fireplace?
- How soon after the fire dies down can I close the damper?
- What's the safe way to dispose of fireplace or wood stove ashes?
- How often should I scoop the ashes out, and should I leave a bed of ash?
- When do I open and close the damper on my wood-burning fireplace?
- How do I light the pilot light on my gas fireplace?
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