The Farmers' Almanac is forecasting an unpredictable winter season full of surprises in the Northeast, and although our region in particular may be seeing some above-normal temperatures overall, a fair amount of snow days could pop up as well. Regardless, with the season's first frost right around the corner, it's time to be thinking about the best ways to keep warm this winter—and, more importantly, the heating mistakes to avoid. After all, heating mishaps are not only about inconvenience, but safety, too.

"The No. 1 mistake is not having your heater chimney inspected. Almost everyone has a heater that vents into a chimney," Joe Ochal says. "We do chimney inspections regularly in the Philadelphia region, and the amount of carbon monoxide we find is literally unbelievable."

Ochal is owner of Chimney Scientists, a full-service chimney company offering inspections, cleanings, repairs and installations. The company routinely finds poor chimney maintenance that leads to carbon monoxide leaks in the home—leaks that are not necessarily high enough to set off a carbon monoxide detector, but are high enough to cause adverse health reactions like headaches and drowsiness.

"It's going to make you sluggish, irritable, tired. And it's amazing to me that we focus a lot on our health today, buying organic foods and things of that nature, but not getting our chimneys inspected," Ochal says.

Prioritizing maintenance
Maintenance is the name of the game with fireplace chimneys, too, according to Chris Olsen, owner of Newtown Fireplace Shop, a retail fireplace business that also offers inspection and installation services.

"I would say the biggest mistake when heating with gas fireplaces is not keeping up with good annual maintenance," he says. "If they're not serviced regularly, they're going to burn inefficiently, increase energy costs and reduce heat output. A poorly functioning fireplace can put soot out into the home, too."

Things, of course, are a little different for woodburning fireplaces or stoves. While annual maintenance is important to make sure the flu is clean, there are no blockages and everything is up to code, Olsen says the biggest mistake he sees with woodburning sources is customers who are burning the wrong type of wood.

"It sounds silly, but improperly seasoned wood is not going to burn efficiently. You want to be in the proper range of moisture content—around 15% to 20%. Too high, you won't get the heat output. It will create more creosote in the flu and cause blockages in the chimney," Olsen explains. "When the moisture content is too low, it's burning way too hot and you'll be going through a tremendous amount of wood."

Wood fireplaces can also create a buildup of creosote in the chimney—a highly flammable residue that can be left behind as substances such as smoke and gases escape through the chimney. This can especially happen when a fireplace is burning inefficiently.

"Creosote can cause a chimney fire, and that can lead to a house fire," Ochal says.

When to call
The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends a chimney inspection every year. These inspections do not have to be when the weather cools and the heat clicks on. In fact, that's often when homeowners realize there's a problem stemming from blockages, damage or even code issues.

"People think we're these 'Chim Chim Cher-ee' chimney sweeps, but most of our business is emergency calls from carbon monoxide and people's heater chimneys getting blocked," Ochal says, adding that these emergencies can be avoided with simple chimney inspections.

So, when's the best time to call?

"We definitely recommend doing it between Memorial Day and Labor Day in the summer months. It seems counterintuitive but you want to do it before the season starts," Olsen says, explaining his company stays extremely busy from September through March.

Ochal echoes this idea, but the bottom line is to get chimney inspections "whenever you can."

"Just do it. It may be fine if it's not that old," he says, "but you need to get that inspection."

RESOURCES
Chimney Scientists
West Conshohocken, Pa.
(610) 595-5579
ChimneyScientists.com

Newtown Fireplace Shop
Newtown, Pa.
(215) 968-3981
NewtownFireplaceShop.com

Published (and copyrighted) in House & Home, Volume 26, Issue 4 (September/October 2026)
For more info on House & Home magazine, click here.
To subscribe to House & Home magazine, click here.
To advertise in House & Home magazine, call 888-202-5501.