Hot tip of the moisture meter.

An experienced chimney sweep from Dunedin shared his advice to shun the damp and dirty forests of this winter.

Murray McEwing, operator of Otago chimney cleaning, has been cleaning and maintaining the city since 1996.

For about $ 40, he bought a Miter 10 wood moisture meter and reported that he had measured vendor-purchased wood with a percentage moisture content for the first 20 years or more, which meant he was unavailable. It was not spicy and filled with water.

"It does not burn properly and as the gases rise to the chimney and as the chimney cools more and more as it reaches the plug, these particles condense and accumulate," he said.

Ideally, the wood would have a moisture content of less than 21%, he said.

Wet wood can not only have consequences for a bad fire, but also for the clogging of the chimneys before the end of winter.

"I've seen them accumulate in 2-3 months from the moment I left to clean them.

"They have wood, they are wet, their fire is completely stopped and they call me, I record videos and pictures and I take them with the words" That's it ".

In his opinion, annual cleaning should be sufficient for most fires, but for some "housewives and the elderly" their chimneys and canals need to be cleaned more regularly.

McEwing said he had arrived at a post on Shetland Street, where a fire in the chimney caused sparks in a Macrocarpa hedge. This shows that dirty chimneys and canals could have long-term effects.

"It's a real problem, you can not damage your house ... but the sparks could burn your neighbor's hedge."

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