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With the cold winter months just around the corner, now is the perfect time to clean out your fireplace and stock up on firewood. When purchasing wood, it’s important to select the right type of fuel. By investing in top-quality wood, you can enjoy clean burning, fragrant, and long-lasting fires all season long. Below, the team at Tidwell’s Tree Service, the top tree maintenance company in Macon and Milledgeville, GA, share their recommendations for purchasing the right firewood for your home.

3 Things to Know About Selecting Firewood

Fire Intensity & Output

If you plan to heat all or part of your home with a wood-burning stove, you’ll likely want the most efficient fire possible. Burning hardwoods is the best way to produce a long-lasting fire with a lot of heat output — making this type of wood the best choice for warming an entire house. When purchasing firewood, look for dense hardwood species such as apple, oak, pecan, or hickory for the best flames. In contrast, if you want a smaller and less intense flame, choose a softwood variety like pine, cedar, or spruce.

Clean-Burning Flames

Midgeville-GA-Tree-MaintenanceWhen it comes to finding the best firewood, a good rule of thumb is: “the drier, the better.” Even after it’s been cut, wood will retain moisture for several weeks. Damp wood takes more energy to burn and is also prone to producing unpleasant smoke and fumes. For a cleaner-burning fire, check each cord of wood to make sure it has had time to fully dry out. Dried wood will be much lighter, have cracked ends, and sound hollow when struck.

Aroma

Though the scent of a campfire may be enjoyable while outdoors, you may not want this distinctive scent to permeate your whole home. To avoid pungent odors inside your house, look for firewood that gives off a naturally pleasant fragrance when burned. Wood from certain fruit trees, like pear, apple, or cherry are known to emit a lightly sweet aroma when burned, while juniper, fir, or spruce gives off a crisp and agreeable aroma that’s perfect for the holiday season.

To keep your hearth warm all winter long, it’s important to stock up on firewood before the coldest temperatures arrive. For the best selection of top-quality firewood, contact the professionals at Tidwell’s Tree Service. For over 20 years, they've provided top-notch tree cutting and stump grinding services to the residents of Bibb and Baldwin counties. Visit their website to learn more, or call (478) 452-0234 to speak with a master arborist today.

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