How To Increase The Life Of Your Wood-Burning Fire Pit

Fire pits are a convenient and affordable way to enjoy the beauty of an open flame in your backyard. They are great for cooking, gathering, warmth, and enhancing your outdoor living space. However, failure to maintain your wood-burning fire pit can cause it to deteriorate quickly. 

Here are five tips that will help you increase the life of your fire pit.

1 – Protect Your Fire Pit When Not In Use

Covering your fire pit when it’s not in use is one of the best things you can do to prolong its lifespan. Covering your fire pit will keep rain or snow from collecting within it and keep out animals and their nests.

2 – Only Burn Dry Firewood

The wood you normally use in your indoor fireplace will work great in your fire pit. Never burn trash, clothing, magazines, newspaper, or other non-wood items, as they can produce toxic fumes and chemicals that can damage your fire pit. Dry logs are the way to go!

3 – Use Natural Fire Starters

Matches and kindling are the best way to create your fire. We urge you never to use gasoline, lighter fluid, charcoal starter, or other flammable liquids in your fire pit. It’s simply not necessary, and doing so can damage the structure of your fire pit and potentially injure people nearby.

4 – Let Fires Extinguish Naturally

There may be times when you need to extinguish your fire quickly, but it’s otherwise best practice to let the fire go out on its own. Throwing water on fire can cause the temperature within the fire pit to drop rapidly. This may cause your fire pit to crack and suffer other forms of structural damage.

5 – Clean Off Soot & Remove Ashes After Use

The more regularly you clean the soot and ash from your fire pit, the less likely you are to find corrosive build-up that these substances can create. After the fire is completely out and the pit is cooled off, shovel the ashes into a fire-resistant container. Soot can be wiped off the fire pit’s surfaces with a damp rag and non-flammable cleaner.

Shop Fire Pits with The Mad Hatter

The Mad Hatter is a family-owned and operated fireplace and outdoor living company in Alpharetta, Georgia. Our expert artisans have experience making custom fire pits to fit the design of your house. Contact us for a free design quote to build your custom fire pit.

You can also shop our collection of fire pits here.