My neighbours hate my wood burner.

[HollyBerryTree]

We are in a cul de sac of detached bungalows.
My wood burner was fitted last Autumn and at the moment we are using it a lot and we love it.

But the neighbours says it creating dust which lands on their cars.

Is this a possibility?

To the best of my knowledge it's all properly fitted, it came from a reputable local company. If it's dropping dust on my car I wouldn't notice. I've got an old Fiesta that's on its last legs. I work full time. The neighbours work at home and polish their lovely cars a lot.

Can you get filters?
Maybe it's just because it's been super windy?
Does your wood burner make dust?

@quandmeme

If you fly, have big cars or SUVs or vans, garden fires, BBQs etc, your central heating on hot and often, best keep quiet about wood burners...

Most people have some undesirable environmental behaviour. Very few are pure enough to criticise others...

Exactly, most people pick and choose what to be outraged about. They drive cars and fly abroad twice a year. I include myself in that hypocrisy but at least I can see it.

And i agree with pp who also noticed that there had been one of those weather events whereby your windows suddenly get a layer of dust on them. I suddenly noticed that last week.

If it was installed properly, and you are using properly seasoned wood it shouldn't be a problem.
I think it would be hard to say the dust is from your wood burner, it could be anything.
Wash your car, have a fire then check your car to see if you can see any dust that have clearly come from your wood burner.
Tbh dust landing on their car is an odd thing to complain about. they may not like woodburners for any number of reasons that pp have mentioned but if its properly installed and you are burning seasoned logs or smokeless coal then it shouldn't be an issue and they can't really complain even if they dont like it.
Smoke from coming up from chimneys does smell, I can smell it as i walk around our village as most houses have a woodburner or open fire but actually i think its homely and a nice wintery smell but can see why others might not like it, If you have it going every day for a long period of time then I suppose it might cause more if an issue.

@jazzandh

They pollute the surroundings, and inside your home.

These will prove to have been a major health hazard affecting the middle classes in the future.

Thankfully we are too allergic to woodsmoke in my household to have been tempted - but they without a doubt have an impact on the immediate outside enviroment.

Where I live, people have periodic moans about the traveller site burning all kinds of detritus, but don't look to the top of their own chimney stacks

I live in a rural village and have a woodburner.

I can absolutely guarantee that I don't burn "all kinds of detritus" in it. There's no comparison to what comes out of my chimney stack and your "traveller site" burning.

A couple of people have mentioned that their cat comes in smelling of smoke. I think I know why.

One night I was out in the garden and I heard a noise and a saw in a group of cats sat round a campfire roasting marshmallows and smoking cigarettes. I think this may explain it.

... of course I was very, very drunk at the time...

Biomass boilers are suggested as a renewable technology and you can get paid for using them. But what is the difference between them and a wood burning stove? I realise one just produces heat (perhaps with a back boiler) and the other primarily to heat water for radiators but they both just burn stuff.

The brand new ones have to meet strict standards don’t they? Are you burning waste wood? Are you in a smoke free zone? I wouldn’t care about dust on my car but I’m not keen on inhaling it!

They do drop dust everywhere. It could definitely be possible.

I'm in an open plan house at the mo with a v post woodburner, and I've never in my whole life seen such black dust on everything : (

You need to call an expert company and ask if they have any kind of filters and or flue caps to stop this. Fair enough that if your woodburner is causing this then you must try to do something.

I've always been completely confused by this fad for wood burners. The government got rid of (or minimised damage from) coal fires, and then this middle class fad for wood burners came in.

Don't worry, the latest middle class fad is complaining about wood burners.

We burn smokeless coal and occasionally wood (dried for five years). Our cars are parked level with our chimney - zero soot/ dust on them for the last six years.
Inside requires dusting daily. So no op, I don’t think you are to blame for dusty cars.

@Daphnise

Anti social people have wood burners and pollute the atmosphere with smells and dust.

Do you have a trampoline as well?

I'll get myself a trampoline now 😊

You didn’t like that link?

www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2020/march/open-fires-wood-burners-bad-health

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9105473/Asthma-charity-pleads-Britons-NOT-use-wood-burning-stoves.html

I grew up with open fires - does anyone have those any more or is it just wood burners now?
The village only had coal-fuelled central heating (& Agas!) as well. Lots of smoke but there was so much cow shit around you couldn't smell it...

[quote mimi0708]@quandmeme I think most people who have commented so far is not even focusing and lecturing about how bad it is for the environment. I think it's mostly how we are affected (healthwise and smellwise) by woodburning. It's really depressing when you're in your own house and can't even have nice air because of all the wood burning pollution outside. It's suffocating and it's like not being able to breathe properly, I don't even have asthma and I can't stand it, gives me migraine. We are lucky we can afford to get some air purifiers but some people may not.[/quote]
Yes this. It's a real issue here this year, my chest has been so bad since I had Covid and when the burners are going around me I feel really unwell.

I wanted one but read they are really bad for the environment. Don’t know what to believe. Sorry, not the point of your thread.

They’re terrible for the environment. I’m pretty sure they’ll be made illegal soon.

Have they showed you the dust? They are very polluting both inside and out. So really bad for the people in the home. I'm surprised so many people still get them when this is common knowledge.

Not mad on research that is not peer reviewed and surveyed 19 houses or the daily Mail.

Never mind, I contribute this

www.guildofmasterchimneysweeps.co.uk/bbc-the-one-show-makes-staggering-woodburner-claims/

My point is, that I think there are car drivers on this thread and those who fly, cruise, have several children.

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t all try to minimise our impact on the environment but as in my cocaine using friend example who was posting about the health risks, be careful not to sit in a glass house and throw stones...

I’d rather take advice from charities trying to prevent lung damage than chimney sweeps ...

Our neigbours have one and I haven't noticed dust on our car, but the smell is awful and gives me a migraine every time they light it if any of our upstairs windows are even slightly open.

And the daily Mail .

The article says that Asthma U.K. and the British Lung Foundation are asking people not to use wood burners because of the impact they have on health. How does the newspaper that reports it matter?

Here’s a Guardian link saying the same thing

www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/01/avoid-using-wood-burning-stoves-if-possible-warn-health-experts

'Domestic combustion using wood as a fuel accounted for 38 per cent of primary emissions of PM2.5 in 2019'

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants/emissions-of-air-pollutants-in-the-uk-summary

Does this help?

www.which.co.uk/reviews/wood-burning-stoves/article/wood-burning-stoves-what-you-need-to-know/stoves-and-pollution-aIPXC8g7lbu5

A bit more factual for you, it goes in to the depth of research and fuel.

Do you want to respond to my point about cars? Children? Flying?

@dementedpixie

Our neighbour has one. It stinks. My cats come in and you can smell the smoke on their fur

My poor cat comes in stinking too and the chimney for their log burner is at the level of our upstairs Windows, meaning the smell comes in our house, even if the windows are only on vent.