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I love wood burning fireplaces! I truly love the smell of my neighbor's fireplace!
Nothing is better than to walk outside and smell it! Reminds me of a cozy home, neighborly town type feeling.
Just thought I'd post something positive!
I'm positive about the fact that I'll swap neighbors with ya. What my neighbors burn will choke ya to death. Hubby walked out to get something from the patio last night; came in and my entire house smelled like..............not sure--some gawd awful something. It was on his clothes,in my dog's fur, everywhere. We had to turn on fans,light candles and bathe the dogs.
We spent Christmas over at a friends place and they heat with wood (very rural area). However due to a really intense low pressure system we completely stopped burining and ran the electric. The draft simply sucked.
PNW burners also rely a lot on conifers for fuel, which in my opinion do 'smell' bad when burned, especially if not seasoned well. Pitch pine tar and all that crud creates a foul odor when burned.
But oak, ash, hickory and other hardwoods found in our location do not have that problem. When properly seasoned the odors from these hardwoods are very aromatic. As a matter of fact, I 'smoke' meats with white oak, hickory, pecan and other hardwoods. Try that with pine or cedar, lol.
Fireplaces are not only useless in the 21st century, they are actually criminal:
Wood Smoke Break Down:
Wood smoke from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves contain fine particles and gases that can pose a serious health threat to you and your family. The smoke emitted from wood burning contains the following:
Fine Particles: These particles are so small that several thousand of them could fit on the period at the end of a sentence. They reach the deepest recesses of the lungs and accelerate hardening of the arteries, negatively affecting heart function.
Nitrogen Dioxide: This odorless gas that can irritate your eyes, nose and throat and cause shortness of breath. In people with asthma, exposure to low levels of NO2 may cause increased bronchial reactivity and make young children more susceptible to respiratory infections. Long-term exposure to high levels of NO2 can lead to chronic bronchitis.
Carbon Monoxide: This odorless, colorless, poisonous gas interferes with the delivery of oxygen throughout the body and may cause headaches, dizziness and, at higher concentrations, death. Those with cardiac and respiratory disease may be more sensitive to lower levels of this gas.
Toxic Compounds: These include such compounds as formaldehyde, benzene, methyl chloride and methyl ethyl ketone (a wide range of compounds that usually have no color, taste or smell.) Some cause direct and negative health effects by penetrating deep into the lungs.
Carbon Dioxide: This greenhouse gas contributes to global climate change.
The above particles found in wood smoke are too small to be filtered by the nose and upper respiratory system, so they end up deep in your lungs. They can remain there for several months causing structural damage and chemical changes to your body without you even being aware.
Not Just Your Household's Health at Risk
If you don't have a fireplace or wood-burning stove at home, don't feel at ease just yet. You're heath still may be at risk ... from your neighbor's fireplaces and wood-burning stoves.
Because wood smoke contains such tiny particles, the smoke is not stopped by closed doors and windows, and seeps into nearby neighbors' houses. In fact, during winter months, wood smoke does not rise and often hangs close to the ground, entering yards, houses, schools, and hospitals. Subsequently, areas with valley locations and poor air circulation are affected most.
A recent University of Washington study in Seattle and an EPA study in Boise, Idaho neighborhoods found that indoor PM10 levels (particulate matter - one of six major air pollutants for which there is a national air quality standard) from wood smoke in homes without wood stoves reach an astonishing 50% to 70% of outdoor levels when burning wood. Neighbors to wood fires may unwillingly be breathing smoky air, even if they are not wood burners.
A Higher Risk for Lung Cancer
According to Medical News Today, "Burning wood may be associated with lung cancer, even with people who do not smoke." Scientists from Mexico gathered blood samples from 62 patients with lung cancer, 9 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 9 control subjects. Of the patients with lung cancer, 23 were tobacco smokers (37.1 percent), 24 were exposed to wood smoke (38.7 percent), and 15 were not in either category (24.2 percent).
Study results show that 38.7 percent of the patients with lung cancer were nonsmokers who were exposed to continuous wood smoke for over 10 years.
Same for the candle. The smoke & invisible vapors from candles are bad for human life also. It is amazing.. people still dying of lung cancer - even though they never smoked.. or long ago quit. Not really.. not amazing.. just stupid. Why are people brain dead to the realities of cause/effect..? When will our society 'wake up' and force this country into the best that 21st century technology can give us..??
Natural wood is ok. I think my neighbor is burning construction scraps . It smells funny. Construction wood is full of glue and chemicals and is not healthy to breath the smoke. If it gets any worse maybe a call to the fire department will have them check out the smoke to see if it is toxic. Having a fireplace doesnt give you the right to burn anything you want.This same guy tried burning some PVC scraps and plastic in an outdoor barrel. The fire department was out here in 10 minutes making him put it out.
I loved the first smell of wood smoke back in northern CA, but then it became noxious after time. Some of the goofs up there would burn rubber tires or some other toxic material. Wet firewood is also very irritating to have to smell. I think they are banning wood where we lived.
I took a physical for a job years back and was on the job a week when I was told I had to get a more extensive chest x-ray cuz a tiny spot showed on my lungs.
When I went to the hospital fow the detailed x-rays done at various angles I was asked 2 questions--------#1---do you smoke
-------------------------#2---do tou have a wood stove
Luckily, it was determined that tiny spot in my lung was not dangerous but should be monitored ocassionally.
Your answer would be to move to south Florida where there are very few fireplaces. HOWEVER... down there you would have to put up with the Everglades burning over every year, and THAT smoke, what with the Melalucca, actually can be toxic. Fireplace smoke is rarely serious unless you are sitting on the chimney or have an unusual sensitivity as noted in other posts. If you were next to someone with one of the older wood-fired whole house boilers, you might have a case, since those go 24/7 and are notorious for unclean and inefficient burns.
In short, I too think you are over-reacting. I'll admit to having a strong negative gut reaction to your post for a number of reasons, and I'm glad I don't live near you, but if the smoke is bothersome to you and you live in a municipality, there might be some zoning laws that could come into play. HOAs may also have some restrictions, along with restricting everything else that you can do, so you may find life in one of those places rewarding when you eventually buy a house.
Just be aware that you will run into a lot of resistance from people out in the real world with your complaints. If you moved next to me and complained about my smoke "crap" out here in the country, I would tell you to go suck pondwater. My other neighbors would undoubtedly not be as nice.
---"notorious for unclean and inefficent burns "--
Outside boilers are no more unclean and certainly not less efficent than fireplaces. They get a bad rap cuz some people burn everything under the sun in them-------treated construction wood, wood that isn't seasoned/dried
However, why mention just outside boilers ? Already posters have stated they have neighbors who burn that crap in their fireplaces also.
The reason most outside boilers are banned in many city limits ( including northern climates) is because they have no chimney extending higher than the house roof.
That metal smoke pipe from a boiler is much too short to allow them in cities.
Comparing any kind of wood heater ( fireplace,wood stove ,outside boiler) the big difference comes from what you are burning-------dry, seasoned, hardwoods or wet , soft woods, treated construction lumber, plastic. etc
Regarding health issues of wood burning-------wash your inside walls in the spring after burning wood all winter
---------------------------------------------wash your inside walls in the spring after a winter of not burning wood
The difference is what you and your family have been inhaling all winter while you slept.
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