I'm thinking of burning my rug.....

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Wade A.

Feeling the Heat
Nov 4, 2010
360
South
Well, not all at once, but in pieces.

Here's the thing.....wife wanted to replace a small area rug, 6'x9' . It is a made of jute, not dyed, natural color. It is a loose weave and is coming unraveled like old rope. I got to thinking (Yeah, I know.....) that maybe it would make some good tinder and I could keep it out of the landfill, if I cut it up into small sections. Although I've not tried it yet, my prediction is that it will go up pretty well.

(Come to think of it, that coffee table is looking a little shopworn also....)

Stop me now, or the rug is toast! The replacement is hemp. I'd love to be able to say someday, "I swear officer, I was only burning my rug...."
 
Hmmm... natural jute might be ok I guess especially in small quantities.

If it makes you feel any better I just burned an old hickory axe handle that had broken. Made nice kindling...
 
Just because it is natural in color does not mean that no chemicals were added to it. I suspect that it has been treated for fire retardation, just as most rugs are nowadays. There are a lot of chemicals added to fabrics and materials that we don't know about. I wouldn't, but that's just me....
 
Good point firebroad...I need to test me a sample. How are things up your way? Westminster was home for me, four years, a looooong time ago.
 
ploughboy said:
Good point firebroad...I need to test me a sample. How are things up your way? Westminster was home for me, four years, a looooong time ago.

Westminster is looking more like Baltimore every day. Come to think of it, Finksburg is looking pretty suburban, too. Pass the carpet please.
 
Also reminds me of a funny exchange I had with my wife the other day. She was cleaning out some old files, income and financial stuff. She asked me if I would be able to take it somewhere and have it shredded. "I'll do you one better", I said, and walked over to the stove, opened it and chunked it all in. "Oh yeah", she said.
 
Yeah, my years in Westminster ('76 to '80) were pre-Interstate. I was in college at the late WMC. I loved the town, but you couldn't get a bite to eat after 10:00, any night of the week. For a college kid, that was crucial.
 
The finish on a coffee table, i wouldn't like the particles from that on the inside of my pipe where it will cool.Just exactly why is it that they want only wood burnt?Will it plug things or it burns too hot?Different materials i mean!
 
I think it comes down the rule of large numbers Bub. You've got to pander to the lowest denominator, and "just wood" is a pretty simple rule to understand. And, there is some validity in avoiding un-wood stuff, finishes are nasty and would accelerate a blaze out of control, possibly. When you open up the possibility of burning un-wood, everything does start to look like fuel, and maybe it shouldn't be. (Hmm...wonder what the btu's are on those old drapes.....)
 
I was thinking of the sudden heat and maybe if you threw something in that had a chemical such as stain and it didn't light right off,that when it does light(like woood when it gets to smoking and lights when you blow on it) that it could actually have an explosive effect being in an enclosed area.May not sound like much but gas in a leaf pile after having sifted down through the leaves and lit has killed before.Now this is just an example.Not saying it will become a super bomb but can raise hell with a stove's internals.
 
Just like Ploughboy, I discovered that two boxes of obsolete checks (no duplicates) give off a surprising number of BTU's.

P.S, Westminster has lots of places to eat after 10:00 p.m. Quality is lousy, but College kids probably aren't as picky as long as the micro-brew selection is extensive
 
Micro-brew! Our "micros" was a six of NattyBo from the A&P....Blatz if times were hard. Too much.
 
I dont think it would be a good idea to burn a rug in a wood stove.
 
I advice against it. Sometimes it's surprising what different objects will burn like. Lots of chimney fires started by folks burning things in their stove that it was not meant to burn. Even everyday cardboard. Additionally, there can be a lot of crap in a carpet that is going to stink like hell when it burns. Many are treated with anti-burning chemicals as well.

I'm with corey, I wouldn't consider it.

pen
 
firebroad said:
Just like Ploughboy, I discovered that two boxes of obsolete checks (no duplicates) give off a surprising number of BTU's.

P.S, Westminster has lots of places to eat after 10:00 p.m. Quality is lousy, but College kids probably aren't as picky as long as the micro-brew selection is extensive

Im in the age group, graduated though. Theres a few good places. Even E burg has some surprises.

I do agree with the urbanization of this rural place. But thankfully im outside of westminster. Still sad to see, even in my short existance.
 
pen said:
I advice against it. Sometimes it's surprising what different objects will burn like. Lots of chimney fires started by folks burning things in their stove that it was not meant to burn. Even everyday cardboard. Additionally, there can be a lot of crap in a carpet that is going to stink like hell when it burns. Many are treated with anti-burning chemicals as well.

I'm with corey, I wouldn't consider it.

pen
Came home last week and tossed 2 pizza's in the oven for the kids. Looked at the boxes and said, "Why not?" rolled them up and tossed them in the stove on a huge bed of coals. Closed the door and turned down the draft so as not to suck any cardboard up the chimney. All of a sudden all I heard was "Woof - Woof -Woof" I thought for sure it was a chimney fire, secondaries were roaring like the bowels of hell. Ran to look at the chimney outside, all was good, felt the pipe, all was good. Realized that it was just some intense back puffing from the extremely dry cardboard and the fact that I shut the air down too far. It was just sucking for air. opened up the air slightly and every thing was back to normal. All this to say, burn wood and very little else. No do not burn the rug.
 
About 10 years ago a friend gave us this huge hutch, it was way too big for out tiny dining room. After living with that monster for a year I decided to make it into firewood. It was made with probably 300# of particle board. I dragged it out the back door which was luckily in the dining room and beat it to death with an axe. Particle board burns hot, just slow to get started since it is about like hardwood. I don't think I would burn anything like carpet since it is frequently treated with flame retardants.
 
SKIN052 said:
pen said:
I advice against it. Sometimes it's surprising what different objects will burn like. Lots of chimney fires started by folks burning things in their stove that it was not meant to burn. Even everyday cardboard. Additionally, there can be a lot of crap in a carpet that is going to stink like hell when it burns. Many are treated with anti-burning chemicals as well.

I'm with corey, I wouldn't consider it.

pen
Came home last week and tossed 2 pizza's in the oven for the kids. Looked at the boxes and said, "Why not?" rolled them up and tossed them in the stove on a huge bed of coals. Closed the door and turned down the draft so as not to suck any cardboard up the chimney. All of a sudden all I heard was "Woof - Woof -Woof" I thought for sure it was a chimney fire, secondaries were roaring like the bowels of hell. Ran to look at the chimney outside, all was good, felt the pipe, all was good. Realized that it was just some intense back puffing from the extremely dry cardboard and the fact that I shut the air down too far. It was just sucking for air. opened up the air slightly and every thing was back to normal. All this to say, burn wood and very little else. No do not burn the rug.

Same thing happened to me . . . put cardboard on a bed of coals . . . air was down low . . . back puff . . . now I always open up the draft if and when I stick some cardboard on the coals.
 
Well....you know I had to try a sample to see. I threw in a snippet onto a bed of super hot coals. Less than impressive, I have to say. It smoldered, pretty much. Not sure if it was flame retardants or just the nature of jute, but it looked like the burning rope you see when reenactors use matchlock guns.

Hey, there is always the compost pile, right? I once had a coir rug that was pretty much destroyed and I used it to cover a section of my vegetable garden to keep weeds down. It lasted many years. Coconut fiber is some tenacious stuff.
 
ploughboy said:
Well....you know I had to try a sample to see. I threw in a snippet onto a bed of super hot coals. Less than impressive, I have to say. It smoldered, pretty much. Not sure if it was flame retardants or just the nature of jute, but it looked like the burning rope you see when reenactors use matchlock guns.

Hey, there is always the compost pile, right? I once had a coir rug that was pretty much destroyed and I used it to cover a section of my vegetable garden to keep weeds down. It lasted many years. Coconut fiber is some tenacious stuff.

Ya just had to go and put your tongue on the pump handle, didn't you... :roll:
 
You know I did. My motto: Push it to the point of failure....then dial it back a notch. There's where you want to be.
 
I got to thinking about my post about stain on wood etc.I think i went too deep with it. :red:
 
ploughboy said:
Well, not all at once, but in pieces.

Here's the thing.....wife wanted to replace a small area rug, 6'x9' . It is a made of jute, not dyed, natural color. It is a loose weave and is coming unraveled like old rope. I got to thinking (Yeah, I know.....) that maybe it would make some good tinder and I could keep it out of the landfill, if I cut it up into small sections. Although I've not tried it yet, my prediction is that it will go up pretty well.

(Come to think of it, that coffee table is looking a little shopworn also....)

Stop me now, or the rug is toast! The replacement is hemp. I'd love to be able to say someday, "I swear officer, I was only burning my rug...."

Take a picture of it once you're done. :D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.