Chimney and fireplace symptoms
Smoke is coming into the room when I light the fireplace
Smoke in a Portland living room often means the damper is shut or half open, with a cold or blocked flue next. Let the fire burn down with the damper fully open, then light no other fire until the cause is found.
Updated
What to do right now
Open the damper fully, crack a window and let the fire burn down on its own; never carry burning wood outside or pour water on it. If the chimney roars or throws sparks from the top, treat it as a chimney fire and get everyone out, then call 911. Otherwise keep people and pets out of the haze and leave the fireplace cold until you know why it smoked.
Likely causes, most common first
The reasons smoke turns into the room instead of up the flue, ranked by how often each is the answer.
- Most common
The damper is shut or only partly open
The sign: Smoke from the first match, a handle that stops short, or a flashlight showing the plate angled across the throat.
The fix: Open it fully; a rusted or jammed plate is freed, or swapped for a top-sealing damper when it is past saving. Damper Repair and Replacement, from $149
- Common
A cold flue, or a house pulling air down it
The sign: Smoke starts when the range hood, a bath fan or the dryer runs, or lasts several minutes on a mild evening, then clears.
The fix: We test the draft cold and with the fans running, then show you what is winning and how to give the house its air back. Chimney Inspection, from $129
- Common
Creosote, soot or debris has narrowed the flue
The sign: Smoke on every fire, a flue that looks furry or tarry past the damper, or a cap screen matted black.
The fix: A sweep clears the flue, smoke chamber and smoke shelf, with photos of the liner before and after. Chimney Sweep, from $249
- Common
The wood is wet or green
The sign: Wood that hisses, thick white smoke, and a fire that never gets hot enough to pull the flue along.
The fix: Burn wood split and stacked under cover for six months or more, then have the flue swept of what the wet fires left. Chimney Sweep, from $249
- Less common
The opening is too big for the flue, or the smoke chamber is rough
The sign: Smoke curls over the top of the opening on a steady fire, and the brick above the lintel wears a black band.
The fix: Parging the smoke chamber smooth, a smoke guard across the opening, or a correctly sized liner restores the proportions. Smoke Chamber and Firebox Repair, from $299
- Less common
A nest or an animal is sitting on the smoke shelf
The sign: Smoke with a sour, barnyard smell, twigs or droppings in the firebox, or scratching behind the damper before you lit it.
The fix: A raccoon, or a nest no protected bird is using, comes out; nesting birds wait until the young fly, and a screened cap follows. Chimney Animal Removal, from $249
Two minutes of safe checks
Five checks from the hearth and the yard, in the order that rules causes out fastest.
- Shine a flashlight up past the damper: the plate should stand fully open with the dark flue behind it, not a sliver.
- Notice what else is running: a range hood, bath fans or the dryer all pull makeup air down the easiest hole, the chimney.
- From the yard, look for a cap on the chimney and whether its screen is matted black or full of leaves; a clogged screen chokes a flue.
- Knock two pieces of firewood together: dry wood rings, wet wood thuds and feels cool, and wet wood smokes whatever the flue does.
- Make sure a carbon monoxide alarm is on this floor with a live battery; smoke in the room carries carbon monoxide with it.
Why the first fire of the fall smokes when the January ones do not
The first fall fire smokes because the flue is still cold and a mild evening gives it little draft. An exterior brick flue sits full of cold, heavy air, and the first smoke slides under it into the room.
A chimney draws on the difference between warm flue gas and the outside air. The early 1900s bungalows and foursquares of Sellwood, Sunnyside, Irvington and Laurelhurst carry brick chimneys, many unlined, often sharing a stack with the old furnace flue. An unlined flue warms slowly and cools fast, and one bigger than the fireplace needs never warms through, so these houses often smoke in October and draw in January.
Still, cold, gray days are hardest on a flue and can be Multnomah County yellow or red wood-burning days; on a red day the fire stays out unless you are exempt. A cold east wind out of the Gorge pushes down on the cap, and Troutdale, Fairview and Gresham feel it first.
When to stop lighting fires and call
Book a visit when any of these is true, and keep the fireplace cold until then.
- The damper was open and smoke still came in; what is left takes a flashlight and a camera, not another try.
- A carbon monoxide alarm sounded, or anyone had a headache or felt dizzy after a fire; get everyone into fresh air first.
- The fire roared or threw sparks from the top; if that is happening now, get out and call 911, and afterward the flue gets a Level 2 inspection before another fire.
What fixing a smoking fireplace involves
The visit runs in this order, and we stop at the step that explains the smoke.
The look-over and the damper
We start in the firebox with a flashlight and a mirror: damper travel, smoke shelf, throat, firebrick and the size of the opening. This Level 1 look-over comes with every sweep.
The sweep
If creosote, soot or debris has narrowed the flue, we seal the opening, brush the flue, smoke chamber and smoke shelf under a HEPA vacuum, and photograph the liner before and after.
The draft test and the camera
When the sweep does not explain it, we test the draft with the hood and fans on, then run a Level 2 camera inspection to measure the flue against the opening and find offsets, cracked tiles or a rough smoke chamber.
The repair
The fix follows the finding: a freed or replaced damper, a smoke guard or a parged smoke chamber, a screened cap, or an insulated stainless liner sized to the fireplace when the flue is too big or unlined. You see the photos and a posted price first.
Smoke in the room: common questions
Why does my fireplace smoke up the house only for the first few minutes?
Because the flue is cold, and smoke has to warm it before it will pull. An exterior brick chimney holds a column of cold, heavy air that the first smoke cannot push out. If it lasts past a few minutes or happens every time, the flue is probably too big or unlined; a camera run shows which.
Is the smoke coming into the room from the damper, the wood or the house?
Check in that order. The damper is the answer when smoke comes from the first match and a flashlight shows the plate across the throat. Wet wood hisses and smokes white even with a good draft. The house is the answer when smoke starts the moment a range hood, bath fan or dryer runs.
Can I keep using a fireplace that smoked into the room once it cleared up?
Leave it cold until you know why it smoked. A damper you found shut is a cause you can see and fix. Anything else, a narrowed flue, a nest, an oversized opening or a house pulling air down the chimney, will do it again and brings carbon monoxide in with the smoke.
Why does smoke back up into the room when the kitchen range hood is on?
Because the hood pushes air out of the house, and an open chimney is the easiest way for replacement air to get back in, smoke and all. Tight or newly remodeled houses show it most; bath fans and dryers do the same. The fix is makeup air, sized after a draft test.
Does a fireplace that smokes into the room always need the chimney cleaned?
No. A sweep fixes the smoke only when creosote, debris or a clogged cap screen is narrowing the flue. A shut damper, wet wood, a house under negative pressure and an opening too big for its flue all smoke through a clean chimney. The look-over with every sweep finds the other causes, so the visit is rarely wasted.
Related pages
Areas we cover for this
Calls about smoke in the room come in from Hillsdale, Mt. Tabor, Rose City Park and every other part of the metro we serve.
Ready to book a sweep?
Call with what the fireplace is doing, or text a photo of the opening and one of the chimney top, and we will name the service and its posted price before we come out.