Ah, the smell of smoke. I used to burn in my fireplace. For years, the family would gather 'round, toast marshmallows, make 'smores, talk about our day. Then, my neighbor called me. She was near tears. She told me that the smoke from my many fires was making her life a misery. An hour's worth of online research later, I shut down my fireplace for good. After you read this, I hope you will do the same.
Wood smoke is loaded with toxic chemicals. It is just as bad for you as cigarette smoke. In fact, it is much worse.
Wood smoke contains particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).23. Wood smoke particles are so ultra fine (about 1/45th the width of a human hair) they behave like gases. Seventy percent of wood smoke reenters your home and the homes of your neighbors.