Chimney Services in Washington Township (Morris County), NJ

What the numbers suggest for chimneys in Washington Township

Census estimates show about 53% of Washington Township's occupied homes heating with utility gas, 30% with fuel oil, 7% with propane, 6% with electricity and about 1.3% with wood as the main fuel. Homes that heat mainly with wood depend on a stove or insert every day of the cold months, and because the survey asks only about the primary fuel, a house that burns wood on the side shows up under gas, oil or propane instead. The 30% on oil have a separate flue to keep up, the subject of our oil flue guide.

The 6,421 housing units come mostly from two eras: about 37% from the 1960s and 1970s and another 37% from 1980 to 1999, with 11% built since 2000. About 87% are detached houses.

Treat all of this as a portrait of the township; the condition of your own stove pipe and chimney is a separate question.

Why a working stove needs in-season checks

A stove used for heat burns for hours at a time, often at low air settings overnight, and long, low-air burns are the kind that build deposits. Our guide to creosote explains the chemistry. Stove makers write the schedule into their manuals. Jøtul's manual for its F 400 stove, as one example, asks owners to have the chimney and connector looked at when the season begins and again every two months while it lasts, with cleaning due once creosote and fly ash build past 1/4 inch at any point. Your own stove's manual may set different numbers, and it is the one to follow.

A sweep in the middle of winter is normal for a stove that runs daily. It is not a sign that something went wrong.

What you can do between professional checks

EPA's Burn Wise guidance gives the habits that keep deposits down:

• Burn wood with a moisture content under 20%, tested with a moisture meter, and season it at least six months.
• Build hot fires. EPA warns that letting most appliances smolder is unsafe and wasteful.
• Keep the stove door closed except when loading or stoking.
• Shovel ashes into a lidded metal can and keep it outside, set on something that cannot burn.

Our guide to cleaning a wood stove covers the owner's side of the work: glass, ash, gaskets and baffles. The connector pipe and chimney are where a professional inspection and sweep come in, through our wood stove service.

A roaring sound in the flue, fire or sparks showing above the chimney, or a CO alarm going off all mean the same thing: everyone leaves the house, then calls 911.

Smoke and CO alarm certificates in Washington Township

The township's Office of Fire Prevention in Long Valley issues a Certificate of Smoke Alarm, Carbon Monoxide Alarm and Portable Fire Extinguisher Compliance for resale, rental or a change in occupants or ownership. Its posted requirements call for CO detectors within 10 feet of any bedroom, electrically powered with battery backup in homes built in 1993 or later, and a serviced portable extinguisher within 10 feet of the kitchen. The township asks sellers to schedule the inspection two to three weeks before closing, and certificates are valid for six months. For a home with a wood stove, the CO alarm placement is worth checking whether or not you are selling.

Local questions

Sources

1. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates (tables B25034, B25040, B25024), via Census Reporter
2. Washington Township (Morris County): Fire Prevention
3. Washington Township (Morris County): Requirements for CSACMAPFEC (PDF)
4. U.S. EPA Burn Wise: Best Wood-Burning Practices
5. Jøtul F 400 installation and operation manual (example manufacturer manual)