ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 17, 1996 TAG: 9612170049
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's On Your Mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: Our chimney is not properly lined, so creosote sometimes seeps through the rocks to the exterior (which is in the living room for our rustic house) when we are burning wood in the stove. The fumes have a caustic, smoky odor. Is it harmful to breathe creosote fumes?
Also, is there any way, short of tearing down the chimney, to alleviate this problem? My husband talks of pouring Thompson's Water Seal down the inside of the chimney, but I wonder if it would do any good and if the heat would create even more noxious fumes. S.C.W., Blacksburg
A: It's not good to breathe anything except air.
That's the word from the Roanoke fire marshal's office, which didn't have any specific information about the hazards of inhaling creosote fumes from wood.
The water-seal idea is another matter, though.
That product contains petroleum distillates. Consider this from its warning label: "Harmful or fatal if swallowed combustible keep away from heat, sparks or flame. Avoid inhalation and use only with adequate ventilation if you experience dizziness or headaches, leave the area."
The warnings indicate that using the water seal anywhere near the chimney is a dangerous idea. Also, your description of creosote seeping between the rocks into your living room hints that petroleum distillates could migrate too.
As for the creosote, itself, literature provided to professional chimney sweeps directs them to be cautious. They're advised to wear respirators and protective clothing because they are exposed daily to the productive end of chimneys.
R.L. Wilkinson at Top Hat Chimney Service was kind enough to provide information from a trade publication, Successful Chimney Sweeping. It warns that creosote may contain hydrocarbons that are proven to cause cancer.
There are two entirely different kinds of creosote. Both are oily liquids, but one is a product of coal tar and the other comes from wood tar.
Coal-tar creosote is toxic. It's used to preserve utility poles and railroad ties.
Wood-tar creosote, if made from beechwood, can be used on the skin as an antiseptic.
So, does this mean the creosote you smell when your wood stove heats up is safe? The odors you're sniffing may not be dangerous in small amounts. But on the other hand, previous owners of your house may have used coal in their stove and left that kind of creosote inside the chimney.
The safest solution probably is to consult a chimney sweep, the fire marshal's office said.
Steel liners can be inserted into chimneys, and yours may be large enough to accommodate one - provided the chimney is structurally sound.
Fixing an error
Last week I said Madeleine Albright, if confirmed as secretary of state, would be fifth in line for the presidency. I was wrong. The president must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, and Albright was born in Czechoslovakia, so she would be bypassed in a presidential succession. This does not affect her No.1 rank in the Cabinet, however.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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