Fireplace Tools

Every good fireplace has a series of brooms, little shovels, and hooked rods and doodads hanging from a nearby rack. Yours should, too! But not all fireplaces are created equal; making sure you have the right equipment for your individual chimney setup is important. Check this list of handy fireplace tools and their purposes to make your fireplace upkeep easier.

1. The Rack: The rack itself is pretty standard and you don't have to be a chimney expert to understand what it does. It's a stand, oftentimes decorative, that's placed by the hearth so you have a convenient place to store all your tools in a neatly organized fashion. We offer racks from traditional to contemporary and are sure you'll find one that suits your needs.

2. The Broom: The broom is the workhorse of the whole bunch. Sure, you could use the broom standing in the corner of the garage or the yellow handled one that keeps your kitchen and entryway looking so spic and span, but then what? You'd have a broom filthy with ash that takes some very awkward maneuvering to get those hard to reach places. Fireplace brooms are made specifically for this job and this job alone. They have a shorter handle so you can get right up in those grates and the bristles are typically much tougher than a standard household broom.

3. The Scoop: You can't rely on the broom to clean up everything! When ash starts to accumulate in big piles, it's usually best not to send big clouds of it into the air. This handheld miniature shovel picks up all those charred log remains in a single move from the grate to the ash shoot or trashcan without a cough.

4. The Ash Bin: Some chimneys have an ash shoot and some don't. If you're without, don't transport ash across the house to the trash can! Make cleanup easier with this bin designed specifically for holding ash. These items usually come with a lid to keep ash from entering the air and sometimes include a scoop of their own so you get more bang for your buck!

5. The Poker: While the previous entries are specifically for clean-up, the poker is made for the heat. It's the tool that keeps the fire burning all night long! Without this lengthy handle you'd suffer some pretty nasty burns while adjusting logs with your bare hands. No fireplace should be without a poker. It's the one tool you absolutely can't do without.

6. The Tongs: You feel like you're becoming an old pro with the poker, do you? Time to upgrade to tongs! This versatile tool makes quick work of shifting or stoking the fire. It's the perfect way to turn a slow-burning log or two or remove a partially burned log when using the scoop or broom to clean. This can be a tough tool to use for the uninitiated so make certain to always hold on with two hands.

7. The Log Holder: Anyone with a wood-burning fireplace should keep a nice big stockpile of logs neatly covered outdoors but when a snow is on and the living room is extra cozy nobody wants to run outside to fetch more fuel for the flames! That's why we highly recommend you get one of these attractive log holders designed to look decorative beside your hearth while holding just enough logs to get you through those last few hours before bedtime.