Cuddling up next to the fire with hot chocolate and a furry friend. sounds like a great time But before you do that, make sure that your fireplace is safe for your pet. Why is this important? Because most fireplaces believe it or not or a burn risk for pets, and people. If your pet gets burned, it can go into deep dehydration and other infections that can cause kidney failure.
To take the right precautions, you should hire a professional chimney cleaner in the Detroit area before winter. This could also be a great time to have your chimney inspected for any damages. Make sure that your chimney cap is installed correctly and that there is no damage to it or that there’s no debris.
Get a fireplace screen
Once your fireplace is clear you said you should get a fireplace screen. The screen can help keep the fire contained within the fireplace. You will want to measure the height and width of your fireplace and maybe go out 10 inches wider than the fireplace itself.
Get the proper dog bedding
If you’re looking to put dog bedding, close to the fire, be careful, because not only can that be dangerous, but the heat from the fire can harm the dog. A good rule of thumb is to not place any dog bedding three feet from the fireplace. This also can be the same for any furniture in your living room.
You can buy a fire-resistant dog bed if necessary if you’re looking for a dog bed look at wool beds. Never let your dog or cat in this isn’t unintended by the fireplace.
It’s helpful to train your pets
It may also be helpful if you train your dog or cat to stay away from the fireplace when it is on, you could try it with verbal warnings. One trick is you could squirt them with a water bottle mister that can sometimes work we wouldn’t suggest it with puppies. If that doesn’t work, you can put a stent near the fireplace that your dog does not like. Also, you can spray something on the carpet to make a perimeter around the fireplace.
Keep dangling items off the mantle
For cat owners, we suggest that you don’t put anything that dangles off your mantle or fireplace in general that would intrigue the cat to jump around or play around the fireplace. We also don’t suggest that you play around the fireplace with any kind of animal y as they can be kind of excited and Things can become very dangerous for you when your pets are.
Keep a fire extinguisher near your fireplace
You should also have a fire extinguisher handy for any kind of fireplace mishaps that could happen this season. Keep the fire extinguisher near the fireplace at all times. You want the fire extinguisher with the directions out so that you are the people around the fireplace can use it appropriately if needed, but also keep in mind that you want to keep all dangerous materials that can cause housefires away from the fireplace.
Taking proper care of your fireplace in Michigan
If you need help with your fireplace, you always can reach out to a handyman for the proper care before you run your fireplace this winter