It ticks me off whenever I tell someone we have a wood stove in house they say "your house must stink"! Why do people think this? My cousin just made that comment to me because she knows someone that has one and his house smells terrible. I asked her what he is burning in it. She said everything and anything. I said that must be why. Me being a newbie I am guessing that. She said he burns garbage, cardboard etc...I read the post where Al said his first season his place had a smell from burning green wood and slow fires. Is that the reason for the smell other than burning garbage?? My house does not smell. When one of our friends came over recently he said "I am surprised it doesn't smell in here"! It drives me crazy...Just lookin for answers for the misconception.
A common misconception about wood stoves...
- Thread starter GAMMA RAY
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Hey gamma
Well, lots of people who think that have simply never been to a house that heats with wood properly. Unless you have a defective stove that stinks or a poor draft that enables smoke roll out when reloading, there should be no smell. Some people even put Potpourri on the stove top in a pot with water to emit pleasant smells (like lighting a candle).
Burning garbage can certainly emit foul smells, rubber, etc as well. Some times you could be leaving a residu inside the stove that smells. It could be a million things!
Tell your cousin to come over some time when your stove is going!
Andrew
Well, lots of people who think that have simply never been to a house that heats with wood properly. Unless you have a defective stove that stinks or a poor draft that enables smoke roll out when reloading, there should be no smell. Some people even put Potpourri on the stove top in a pot with water to emit pleasant smells (like lighting a candle).
Burning garbage can certainly emit foul smells, rubber, etc as well. Some times you could be leaving a residu inside the stove that smells. It could be a million things!
Tell your cousin to come over some time when your stove is going!
Andrew
Loco Gringo
Feeling the Heat
Some people just cant do things right and/or will think what they want. Burning garbage just doesnt make sence either.
Holdover attitude from the days when the circulator in the living room fed an unlined brick chimney that barely got the smoke to the roof. Whereupon it was sucked back into the house through the drafty walls, windows, and doors.
A few reasons for this misconception come to mind.
First, many many people are simply uninformed.
They may not be generally ignorant.
Just uninformed about this topic that burning wood stinks.
Some people have preconceived ideas.
Or maybe they had a bad campfire experience
when they were younger.
But, this could be due to my first reason.
Then, there's the stink factor.
If people who don't burn stink,
but are unaware that they stink,
they assume you stink because you do something
noxious, or just plain different, to them that they don't.
Therefore, summing up and getting down to it,
if you burn wood, and they don't,
and they don't stink,
or maybe they do but just don't know it,
you must stink.
Aye,
Marty
First, many many people are simply uninformed.
They may not be generally ignorant.
Just uninformed about this topic that burning wood stinks.
Some people have preconceived ideas.
Or maybe they had a bad campfire experience
when they were younger.
But, this could be due to my first reason.
Then, there's the stink factor.
If people who don't burn stink,
but are unaware that they stink,
they assume you stink because you do something
noxious, or just plain different, to them that they don't.
Therefore, summing up and getting down to it,
if you burn wood, and they don't,
and they don't stink,
or maybe they do but just don't know it,
you must stink.
Aye,
Marty
You can do that, but if you really stink,
it'll just smell like you're trying to cover up
your stink.
In my book, trying to cover up stink,
that's worse than
a pure honest stink.
Aye,
Marty
it'll just smell like you're trying to cover up
your stink.
In my book, trying to cover up stink,
that's worse than
a pure honest stink.
Aye,
Marty
Then there is the whole definition of 'stink'. If I have a nice piece of oak, hedge, applewood, etc burning away - even if I get a whiff of the smoke - it just seems to make for a 'rustic goodness'. Though some people might consider that a stink. Some woods like pine or elm seem to have an 'acrid' note to me, but I suppose to others, they just smell like free heat which might not be a bad thing.
GAMMA RAY said:
we do the same here Gamma :cheese:
and i thought a woodstove was for wood?? burning garbage in the house? no wonder their house stinks :sick:
loon
GAMMA RAY said:
If you burn wood, are concerned about stink
and like the smell of cinnamon,
why don't you just burn candles?
Aye,
Marty
cozy heat said:
Grandma used to say, "One man's stink is another man's bread and butter."
Aye,
Marty
I have a bird, they say not to burn candles or those wax things, so I stopped years ago but miss the nice smell. I never put anything in the water before until I read it somewhere here in the forum. I am not concerned about stink I know my house doesn't stink, it's just the misconception that non burners have that drives me crazy
"One man's stink is another man's bread and butter."
Aye,
Marty[/quote]
i say that everyday at the sewage plant ;-P
loon
GAMMA RAY said:
Did not know that. Is that a conure in your avatar photo? We have a maroon-bellied conure named "Dickens". We light candles, burn incense, smoke cigars (boy, do they stink up the place), etc. without a clue that they could be bad for the bird. What does it do to them (if that doesn't seem too stupid to ask)?
I don't get the stink thing, even if you burn garbage. The smoke goes up and out the stack if you're doing it right. Only the neighbors should know if you're burning tires in there, and they will let you know in a hurry.
I've been in houses where you could definitely tell they were burning wood. Almost always it was either an open fireplace or an older stove with very poor draft. When draft reverses in the cold flue and the chimney becomes an air intake, it leaves a really ugly smell in the house.
BeGreen said:
That is the worst, because it is the smell of old, stale creosote instead of fresh wood smoke.
The best smell (aside from grilling food) is the faint odor, sometimes both indoors and outdoors, that I get when I burn cherry. I also like the smell of burning pine.
Could be some people are making comments based on something they experienced many years ago. When I was a kid (back inthe 70's) I had a friend who's dad would use a small wood stove in their family room. I do remember the smell when I went in there. This was my first concern before I purchased my first wood stove a few years back. After learning about the newer technologies, I was convinced if burned correctly, it will not smell. There's no smell in this house so I know I'm doing something right.
I've had a couple people comment about what smell they expected, and they were surprised that my place smells like wood. I love that smell, and even the occasional whiff of burning wood when I open a window or a door, but that is very faint. I'm so happy with my purchase/upgrade.
SERIOUSLY
OK. We've had our fun. Now's the time for some wood smoke facts:
1. If you can smell wood smoke, or even a smoke odor, - you are breathing it—and it goes all through your body. You can prove this by taking a urine test the next day . . . just as athletes take tests for drugs like steroids. Read about PM10 and, worse, PM2.5 in wood smoke and how it enters your lungs and, worse, blood stream.
2. Wood smoke is 40 X more toxic than tobacco smoke. Did you know even 'third hand tobacco smoke' has adverse affects in certain human tissues?
Just think of what "faint wood smoke" odor can be doing...
3. Wood smoke is 12 X more likely to cause cancer than the same amount of tobacco smoke.
4. Wood smoke in third world countries accounts for early blindness and decreased life expectancy.
Can you smell it? You don't have to see it and it doesn't need to be a "strong" odor for it to be harmful.
Please, burn hot and clean with dry wood. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Aye,
Marty
OK. We've had our fun. Now's the time for some wood smoke facts:
1. If you can smell wood smoke, or even a smoke odor, - you are breathing it—and it goes all through your body. You can prove this by taking a urine test the next day . . . just as athletes take tests for drugs like steroids. Read about PM10 and, worse, PM2.5 in wood smoke and how it enters your lungs and, worse, blood stream.
2. Wood smoke is 40 X more toxic than tobacco smoke. Did you know even 'third hand tobacco smoke' has adverse affects in certain human tissues?
Just think of what "faint wood smoke" odor can be doing...
3. Wood smoke is 12 X more likely to cause cancer than the same amount of tobacco smoke.
4. Wood smoke in third world countries accounts for early blindness and decreased life expectancy.
Can you smell it? You don't have to see it and it doesn't need to be a "strong" odor for it to be harmful.
Please, burn hot and clean with dry wood. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Aye,
Marty
If I die from 3rd hand anything I was predisposed with one foot in the grave and another on a banana peal.
pen
pen
don't confuse the stink of smoke with the smell of wood. two entirely different animals. what the people are probably complaining about is the stink of wood smoke. as others in this post have pointed out due to chimney/draft issues. the smoke stink lingers and collects on you. example: sit by a bon-fire (wood) for an evening and smell your clothes the next morning...kinda like going out to a bar when they used to allow smoking, right??? you don't smell it when it is hapening but can sure smell it the next morning when it is re-visited.
c'mon! if burning wood is so bad, why even do it?
c'mon! if burning wood is so bad, why even do it?
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