fireplace concerns w/new baby

We just had our first child, a boy. And I have heard a few people say, be sure not to use your fireplace! We haven't a fire yet but is this true? I know that babys are of course sensitive little guys but we don't get any visiable smoke in the house. And the odor is low. To burn or not to burn?

Ask them why next time they tell you that. Never heard that before and I am curious.

Were the warnings related to CO, smoke, or other emissions for sure, or could they have been for general safety or drying out the baby's mucous membranes or epidermis? Wood heat is a dry heat. Watch out for nosebleeds.

Congrats on the baby boy!

CO may be the issue...

If the issue is not smoke it may be CO (carbon monoxide). You can get a CO alarm. They are the same size as a smoke detector, but usually cost more. They are common in houses in the west now with natural gas heaters and/or fireplaces in them. When I bought my former house in CA from a family with 3 toddlers, they had a CO detector already installed. A fireplace can also be hazardous if it is on the ground level in the livingroom. Kids can crawl in there and burn themselves or get really really dirty playing in the ashes. Not so much an issue if you have a raised fireplace. Keep the ashes cleaned up.

I call BS. Mom had 6 kids and if not for wood, we would have frozen to death. we were all raised there, no other heat source but wood.

if you're worried about humidity, or lack of, run a humidifier.
-Ralph

begleytree said:

I call BS. Mom had 6 kids and if not for wood, we would have frozen to death. we were all raised there, no other heat source but wood.

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Same here. I didn't even know we had an electric furnace till I was 15 or 16.

"Mom, what's with this heat thing on the thermostat?"

begleytree said:

I call BS. Mom had 6 kids and if not for wood, we would have frozen to death. we were all raised there, no other heat source but wood.

if you're worried about humidity, or lack of, run a humidifier.
-Ralph

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Same with me and my brother and sister. I have a pretty good scar on my left wrist from getting burned on our stove-but that came when I was about 15 or 16 years old (i.e. old enough to know better) and was horseing around.

A CO detector is probably not a bad idea in any house, regardless of heat source (except maybe for electric heating appliances).

I don't buy the humidity worry, either. The house my wife and I lived in previously had a heat pump for heat, and it was just as dry in there as any wood-heated home. Dry indoor air is as much a product of the low outside humidity as anything.

We have co detectors and also a humidifer. The fireplace has a screen that sets back from the fire box. I think the warning was more of an implied danger of unseen emissions affecting breathing. My wife has asthma but not bad and she has never complained. The pet hair and dust are more of an issue. Just wanted to run this by you guys who are much more familiar with fireplaces, stoves, etc. Then others who give "advice" but don't have wood heat but knew someone....
Thanks for the replies!

ya--and they knew someone,that new someone else--twice removed--and now dead---------people----

I would install a CO detector and continue to use the fireplace as normal. I've never heard of any health related concerns for babys. Many people heat solely with wood and have children that have lived through it.

I think the thing w/ the humidifier helps put moisture back into the air. We run a cool air one. It also helps w/ keeping static elc. down.

Congrats on the baby! He needs a chainsaw doesnt he....?

Congrats on the youngin'.
Too dry of air makes for dry skin, may show up as a mild form of excema, we have lotions for the kids in winter, also have a humidifier on the cold air return, and use a little vaseline swabbed just inside the nostril with the tip of a q-tip for bedtime(kids). Been heating with wood since the kids have been born and the drier air is an issue when they do get a cold, but then we put a vaporizer in the bedroom and that really helps with their comfort.

Put up a short fence type child barrier to keep away from the hot spot.

good luck

if it weren't for burning wood around babies, the human race would have died out a long time ago..tell them to mind their own business.

MIspecial said:

We just had our first child, a boy. And I have heard a few people say, be sure not to use your fireplace! We haven't a fire yet but is this true? I know that babys are of course sensitive little guys but we don't get any visiable smoke in the house. And the odor is low. To burn or not to burn?

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Some people would have their kids living in a plastic bubble. They can turn any situation or substance into a health threat.

wdchuck said:

Congrats on the youngin'.
Too dry of air makes for dry skin, may show up as a mild form of excema, we have lotions for the kids in winter, also have a humidifier on the cold air return, and use a little vaseline swabbed just inside the nostril with the tip of a q-tip for bedtime(kids).

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There's a product called "Ayr" saline nasal gel that is a little "thinner" than Vaseline that you might want to give a try. It's available at just about any pharmacy. I used to do the Vaseline nose thing, but found this to be more "tolerable". Just thought I'd share this info.

PA. Woodsman said:

There's a product called "Ayr" saline nasal gel that is a little "thinner" than Vaseline that you might want to give a try. It's available at just about any pharmacy. I used to do the Vaseline nose thing, but found this to be more "tolerable". Just thought I'd share this info.

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Thanks for the heads-up, I'll check it out.

wdchuck said:

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll check it out.

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No problem. I think that you'll like it better-it's not as "thick" as Vaseline. Happy New Year! :jester:

I was talking to someone a wile ago about humidity and winter. I forgot my favorite why to raise it.

Fix a big pot of soup on the stove. Pasta works ok, but does not last as long. The soup can simmer for a long time.

We know what you have been doing!

(When I was a kid, there was a neighbor who had 8 kids, so I knew they "did it" 8 times!)

Anyway I would not be so concerned about a baby. It is when they get to be "mobile" that I would be worried. However you need to watch them like a hawk for every type of danger, so just one more thing to keep an eye on.

Then older (age 5 and up), playing with fire, access to matches, etc.

begleytree said:

I call BS. Mom had 6 kids and if not for wood, we would have frozen to death. we were all raised there, no other heat source but wood.

if you're worried about humidity, or lack of, run a humidifier.
-Ralph

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i agree.

more b/s being pushed around.