Wood burning stoves add comfort and style to your home. They also add warmth during winter temperatures that can sometimes feel like too much to handle. Hearth Pads are an essential element to add when you are placing a new wood burner in your home. Fireplace accessories and Hearth Pads really do come in handy when it is time to do something good for your environment.

Wood stoves are not like fireplaces that require a whole new addition to your home with flue and mantel and hearth. They are free standing and should never be placed in direct contact with walls and the floor. To do so would just be asking for disaster because the heat generated by wood being burned can ignite flammable surfaces. For this reason it is certainly recommended that when you are placing wood stoves in your dwelling that you also lay down Hearth Pads prior to placement. This will serve as a protective barrier between the stove and your floor.

Hearth Pads can be as simple as purchasing a thick metal pad that is created for just this purpose, or having a ceramic tile floor installed to provide just the right amount of protection needed to keep your property safe. Regardless of where or how you place your wood stove, you will certainly need to purchase fireplace accessories for those times you need to tend to the fire.

Having a poker to move the burning wood and coals around is essential for maintaining a good fire. The cleanup tools are also good for removing spent coals to create room for even more heat generation.

Since some homeowners are new to the practice of burning wood for warmth, here are some simple tips that will keep the environment of your home safe during those long cold winter days.

1. Never burn anything other than real 100% wood in the stove.

1. Never install a wood stove directly onto the floor unless it comes with built-in legs.

1. Never remove the pedestal or legs from wood burning stoves because they are there to protect your home.

It makes no difference which type of wood burning stove that you purchase, or the type of flooring you are going to be placing it on, in order to fully protect your home from the heat that is generated by burning wood, you must have Hearth Pads in place. The amount of protection needed will depend upon whether or not your stove is ‘listed'.

Listed stoves have a built in shield in the bottom that is designed to protect floors. Even a listed stove should have a minimum of a quarter inch of tile or good Hearth Pads just in case, because there is still going to be some heat radiating from the bottom of the stove.

Hearth Pads and fireplace accessories can be located at your local retailers, and you can find a wide selection online as well. Don't leave you're the safety of your home and your family at risk by adding a quality Hearth Pad to the budget you are using to purchase your wood stove.