14 Things You Should Never Burn In Your Fireplace

#1 – Greenwood

And seasoned wood just means that it’s dried out enough to have 15-25% moisture content.

If you choose to burn greenwood in your fireplace, you’d likely see that wet wood produces a lot more smoke than dry wood.

This is a problem because excessive smoke will lead to an increase in creosote build-up inside your chimney’s flue.

Creosote is the leading cause of chimney fires each year.

Wet wood doesn’t burn as hot as seasoned firewood either. This means that your fire will have to work harder to produce enough heat to stay lit, because it’s trying to also evaporate all of the water that’s still inside the wood.

#2 – Christmas Trees (or any other kind of evergreen)

The problem with burning Christmas trees and many other evergreen trees is that they are full of resin that burns very quickly.

The resin produces embers that pop and can rise up through the chimney onto the roof.

If you are burning your Christmas tree after the holidays, I’d guess that you used your fireplace for the previous few months.

If so, then I’d also bet that you have some creosote built up inside your flue wall.

Since creosote is a highly flammable substance, the embers from burning your Christmas tree could easily ignite a fire inside your chimney’s flue.

#3 – Painted or Treated Lumber

Older treated wood used to be infused with arsenic to prevent damage from moisture and insects.

When you burn this wood, the smoke will have toxins from the arsenic.

I probably don’t have to tell you that breathing in those fumes is dangerous for you and your family.

But what may surprise you is that many of those chemicals will also corrode your fireplace.

Corroded fireplaces can lead to cracks and chips that will allow stray embers to escape the flue and potentially catch your house on fire.

Corroded flue liners will also need to be replaced much sooner than if it’s not corroded.

#4 – Any Type of Paper with Color Print

Burning this can easily release toxins that you’ll inevitably breathe in. This includes wrapping paper, magazines, cereal boxes, and pizza boxes.

Burning these can release noxious, corrosive, or carcinogenic gases when burned.

While you shouldn’t burn paper in general, it’s okay to use a bit of black and white newspaper to get a fire started.

#5 – Plywood, Particleboard, or chipboard

Whatever you choose to call it, don’t burn it!

This type of wood is made by binding small pieces, strands, or particles of wood together with adhesives or fixatives to form a composite.

The wood created is plywood, particleboard, fiberboard, oriented strand board, and a few others.

But the problem with this is that the adhesives are toxic when burned.

#6 – Fire Accelerants or Fire Starters

The problem with this is that accelerants can cause dangerous flare-ups and can heat your chimney to temperatures that are too high and unsafe.

Accelerants are designed for very specific uses and should never be used to fuel an indoor fire. Partly because they often contain methanol- and petroleum-based chemicals.

These are (you guessed it!) toxic when burned!

#7 – Plastics

Not only do they produce harmful byproducts to our environment, like carbon monoxide, but those byproducts are also terrible for your health.

For example, dioxin, which is released when burning plastics like PVC, is not only a carcinogen but it can have other serious impacts on your health.

Dioxin can also cause headaches, fatigue, weakness, and respiratory system damage!

It’s always best to recycle any plastics that you can.

#8 – Dryer Lint

That’s true!

But it should be kept as a fire starter when you’re outside at your firepit or camping.

The synthetic fibers in dryer lint can release dangerous chemical fumes into your home and chimney.

#9 – Cardboard

But the next time you want to get a fire going in your home, don’t use cardboard.

This is because cardboard is frequently treated with chemicals that are harmful to you and your family if you ingest them.

Instead, you should use approved fire starters that you can buy at any store that supplies camping gear.

Or better yet, just use small splinters of wood from your stock of seasoned firewood!

#10 – Driftwood

It’s so pretty how the beautiful lavender-blue flames dance in the night. The flame probably put you in a trance!

Little did you know that driftwood flame is a female praying mantis and you’re her mate.

Those colorful flames are produced by metal salts that the wood absorbed while it was away at sea.

Unfortunately, the fumes from those beautiful flames are toxic.

So toxic that many beach towns have actually banned burning driftwood!

#11 – Charcoal or Coal

Use those in your outdoor grill.

Charcoal and coal burn hotter than firewood. The safe temperature levels in your chimney and fireplace can easily be exceeded if you’re not careful.

This can cause issues with your liner, leading to problems with drafting and chimney fires.

Charcoal and coal also produce a lot more carbon monoxide than wood products. Carbon monoxide in large enough doses can be fatal.

#12 – Cloth or Clothing

Plus, not only does burning clothes smell bad it also produces an excessive amount of smoke and soot that will stick to the inside of your flue.

And since clothes burn so hot, the likelihood of a chimney fire starting is increased even more.

#13 – Allergen Producing Brushwood

What was remarkable about this fire was that some of the wood that I used had poison oak and poison ivy all over.

And I didn’t know it.

In the winter, plants obviously lose their leaves. So it can be very difficult to tell if you’re gathering harmless vines or poisonous ones.

The fumes from the burning plants and wood that contained the oils was breathed in by my siblings too.

We only had minor allergic reactions and a few rounds of steroids, but it was definitely miserable.

It could be worse inside, especially if the venting system in your chimney isn’t great.

#14 – Wood Pallets

And repurposing them is a great idea.

Just don’t burn them.

Many pallets are treating with the chemical pesticide methyl bromide to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer, which is a beetle that wreaks havoc on living ash trees.

Whether you’re inside our outside, you should just avoid burning pallets, especially if they have a stamp “MB” on it.

“MB” will indicate that it’s been treated with chemicals.

I’d recommend veering on the safe side by not burning them at all.