Dear everyone,
Do any of you love open fireplaces?
I do as I am convinced that the heat they give out
is very beneficial for my R.A pains.
Even with central heating, I feel much better in the evenings
if I light my fire and use coal and logs.
I live in a Victorian house and so the fireplace in question is a
Victorian one.
HOWEVER - my problem comes when having to clean it out and
relay it!
I find that I can manage this on two consecutive days at the most
and then I am aching in my hips and arms.
I don't even consider trying to kneel in front of the fireplace to clean
out the ashes as I used to do before R.A - instead I use a small wooden
stool to perch on.
I have found that I can keep the coal skuttle full by using a carrier bag
which I put coal into to top the coal skuttle up from the metal bin in my
back porch where the coal is stored.
Has anyone else got an open fireplace and has anyone got hints, tips or
equipment which helps?
Quite honestly a self cleaning fireplace would be my ideal!
Some friends of mine had a special ash collector put under theirs that
only needs emptying every five days, but that is all I know about it.
All sugestions welcome!
Best wishes,
Fiona

me i love doing fires .
i don,t have one now
As a homecarer years ago i used to come home black .
As every one had fires .I can also do agas and parkrays .

i used to have an fire as well .

my brother has a big fire place .Heres what i would do but my famly where blacksmiths so not sure weather you could buy .

I would have a long handled pooker and pook every thing though via a chair
i would have a bucket and a long handled shovvel and longhandled brush and get it in to the bucket that way .

with a back boiler i would use a long pooker with a end like an L upside down and scpape the ash out and poke it till you can get it .
maybe long handled brush .
Wipe every thing with a bowl of water .

christine

hello fiona
I have a wood burning stove and absolutely agree about the warmth being so comforting for the joints and lorna the pleasure from watching those flickering flames is quite mesmerising. I keep my vacuum in the same room, hidden behind a chair and permanently plugged in so I don't have to drag it out of a cupboard everyday and through the house. so long as all the coals and wood are completely out, I put everything from ash collector beneath the fire directly into a supermarket carrier bag and then vacuum up the missed bits.
Eve x