How to get even more comfort from your wood stove this season.

Image credit: Barefoot-and-bone-idol, Sea_stack_retreat, Eco_victorian_house, Fireside_zcooshop, Cotobuki.room

When you think of firing up your woodstove, your first thought likely goes to filling your home or cottage with glorious warm air. While this type of heat feels great on your skin and keeps your pipes from freezing, it can make your life more comfortable in other ways.

Here are 6 ideas to increase your comfort this winter.

1. Dry off those mitts

After coming in from a blustery day, you may have moisture from snow, rain or a dew-covered dog who just ran joyfully through the long grass. The warm air from the stove can quickly make them wearable again within less than an hour. Keep a drying rack made for wood stoves by your stove all winter to quickly and safely dry clothes.

2.Make your mug into a better hand warmer

While boiling your kettle, place your mug on the woodstove to pre-heat it. If this isn’t something you’ve done before, you’ll be surprised how much longer your drink will stay warm. Linger over a book, a puzzle or the view out the window for longer. Part of the comfort of a winter drink is cupping your mug and feeling cozy.

3. Radiate your plate

Likewise, pre-warming your plates before loading them up with steaming stews and roasted delectable radiates heat that allows you to savour your meals. There’s less reason to rush to eat up before food gets cold, which means you can sip your wine and enjoy dinner conversation more fully. This also helps when you are running out of counter space while preparing your meals.

4. Just add water

By always keeping a pot of water on your woodstove, you continually add moisture to the air. In the winter, the cold air that seeps into your home has a lower humidity so it carries less moisture than during other months. When you throw more wood on the fire, you add warmth, but the air remains dry. This can leave your throat feeling parched and more susceptible to nose bleeds or even viruses. You may also feel your skin getting dry and itchy. Rather than using electricity to run a humidifier, you can use the simple power of evaporation to help hydrate your habitat. We like a cast iron humidifier like this one. Its weight will keep it securely in place and it's got a safety handle too.

5. Save on your hot water bill

Now that you have a nice warm pot of water on your stove, you can tip it into the dish pan without drawing from your hot-water tank. (You may not even have one if you are really living rustically). Simply reload the pot with cold water and let it heat up again. This is particularly helpful during any blackouts if you cannot rely on your water pump and need to melt snow just to wash hands, etc.

6. Simmer scents to relax

Steaming potpourri on your wood stove is a genius idea if you want to fill your home with incredible scents but don’t want to bake and unavoidably eat apple pie or vanilla souffle every day. Just add your favourite country scent made for simmering (like these) to a kettle with a few cups of water and your home will smell amazing all day.

Bonus: To extend the life of your fire and burn fuel more efficiently, add a Firemizer to the mix. It spreads out the heat from the wood and makes your fires last even longer. That way, you can really settle in with that coffee or glass of Merlot…once the dishes are done.

As you can see, your stove can have so many uses beyond its core ability to provide heat. There are many ways to enjoy your stove and if you have any we haven’t listed, be sure to comment or tag us with #EcofanLife when you post about it!