She showed me a photo she took from her phone and I could see the bristles were packed with old soot. I switched to wire wheel cleaning every 5 jobs instead of every 10 and now my brushes last twice as long. Anybody else had a client call them out on something obvious?
I used to just ram my brush up and down like a madman for 45 minutes on every job. Then I watched an old timer in Portland demo a controlled spin method on a 6 inch flue. Cut my job time in half and left way less dust behind. Anyone else switch up a basic move that just clicked one day?
Had this job last week where the homeowner had a stainless steel liner that was caked with that hard, shiny creosote. You know the kind that laughs at a regular brush. I tried the poly brush first, nothing. Tried a wire brush but it was leaving tiny scratches. Then I remembered something an old guy told me about using a nylon abrasive pad wrapped around a wire brush head. Worked like a charm. Took maybe 20 minutes extra but the liner looked almost new. Any of you guys ever tried something like that for tough buildup?
I've been sweeping chimneys part time for about two years now, mostly on weekends. Last month I hit my 300th job and it honestly surprised me because I never kept count. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that made you stop and think about how far you've come?
He said just stick with poly bristles for standard flues and save the wire ones for serious creosote, now I'm not swapping brushes three times a job. Anyone else ever get called out for overcomplicating something simple?
I keep seeing folks on here insisting you always brush from the top down to push soot into the firebox. But in 12 years of sweeping around Portland, I have found that going bottom-up actually gets more baked-on creosote off the flue walls, especially in those old clay liners. The bristles catch better on the way up than dragging down over already-loosened gunk. Has anyone else tried both methods and noticed a real difference in cleaning? I'm genuinely curious if I've been doing it backwards this whole time.
Had a nasty Level 3 glaze buildup on a chimney in Toledo last Tuesday. Started with a regular wire brush and it was just bouncing off the stuff, barely making a dent. Swapped to a polypropylene brush with the stiff poly heads and it cut through that glaze in half the time, maybe 30 minutes total. Anyone else notice how much better the poly brushes work on that hard stuff?
I spent 15 years just brushing everything down the chimney until last winter when a customer in Cleveland asked me to try his industrial vac setup, and now I never go back to the old way. Has anyone else switched methods and noticed less mess or is it just me?
So I got tired of my little ash bucket spilling dust everywhere and almost dropped $300 on one of those fancy ash vacuum setups. Then on a whim I grabbed my old 5 gallon shop vac from the garage, stuck a fine dust filter bag in it, and added a cheap inline spark arrestor I found at a farm supply place near Columbus. First cleanout went smooth, second one too, but on the third job I noticed the filter was already caking up way faster than I expected. Turns out the fine ash clogs things up different than regular sawdust and I had to stop twice to knock the filter clean. I figure it still beats the price tag but has anyone else tried this route and found a better filter setup or am I just asking for a fire hazard down the road?
The customer pointed out all these scratch marks on the clay tile liner and asked if it was new damage, and I realized my push-pull method was dragging the metal bristles sideways instead of straight up and down the whole time has anyone else had a customer spot a mistake you never even noticed yourself?
Was cleaning a chimney in an old 1920s house in Cincinnati last Tuesday and realized I'd been trying to force a 10-inch brush into an 8-inch flue for the last 3 years because I never bothered to measure the liner properly. Anyone else ever just assume the flue size based on the fireplace opening and get burned?
I was always a wire brush guy, figured they were simpler and cheaper. But last month I had this job on an old masonry flue in Portland that just would not clear. I spent almost 4 hours fighting a sticky creosote buildup that just kept clogging my brush. Finally called a buddy out of desperation and he brought his rotary brush kit. Got the whole thing done in maybe 20 minutes. The flue was so much cleaner too, no hidden chunks left behind. Now I feel kind of dumb for resisting the change for like 2 years. Has anyone else had a job take way longer because you were using the wrong tool?
Saw that stat in a NFPA report last night. Always thought the danger was deeper down near the firebox. Makes me wonder how many of you guys change up your brushing routine based on that.
I spent $85 on a fancy carbon brush set for heavy creosote (figured it would last forever). First real job, a big residential in Cincinnati with 3 years of buildup, the handle snapped right off after 20 minutes. I had to finish the whole sweep with a basic steel wire brush I keep as a backup. Has anyone else had a tool that looked tough but failed super fast on a real job?
I used to swear by polypro brushes for everything. Thought they were tougher and lasted longer. Then I got a call from an old inn up in Stowe, VT back in February. They had a massive buildup of what looked like glazed creosote. My polypro brush just slid over it like it was nothing. I spent 3 hours hitting that same spot over and over. The homeowner came out and asked if I was okay. Embarrassing. A guy from the next town over who does this full time was grabbing lunch at the same diner and told me cotton rope brushes have way more friction and actually scrape that glaze off. I tried it on the next job and it cut my time by half. Now I keep one in the truck for any chimney that looks like it gets hot fires. Anyone else find one brush type just works better for certain buildup?
Got a call from this old house in Portland. Owner swore she had a chimney. Found it bricked up with a wall built over it. She pointed at the living room wall and said "it's in there somewhere." Had to break out the plaster to even locate the flue. Mice had been living in it for decades. Took four hours to dig out the nests. Anyone else deal with people who forget their chimney was sealed off?
I figured a stiff nylon brush would be gentler on the flue tiles than wire, but it just polished the creosote into a shiny film that I had to scrape off by hand for 3 hours, has anyone else run into that slick coating problem with softer brushes?
Had a customer in Portland whose liner kept glazing over no matter how many times I scraped it. Tried a dry chemical sweep with a 3 inch poly brush and it finally broke through. Anyone else run into liners that just don't want to let go of the sticky stuff?
Bought a set of magnetic sweep covers thinking they'd save time on quick inspections. First job with a real creosote buildup and they slipped off, fell into the fireplace and cracked. Went back to my old manual covers and got the job done in half the time. Anyone else get burned by a gadget that looked good on paper?
Had a client in Denver tell me they read online that creosote only matters for coal burners, but I've pulled a solid half-inch of it out of their flue last Tuesday, so who's the real expert here?
Customer had a heavy creosote buildup from burning green wood all winter. Got maybe 10 feet into the first sweep and the brush just locked up solid. Pulled it out to find a chunk of glaze had jammed the bearings. Had to finish the whole thing with a hand rod and scraper, took 2 extra hours and my arm is still sore. Anyone else run into brush failures on those neglected fireplaces?
I was digging through an old auction lot last weekend and found a chimney sweep's handbook from 1892. Turns out they used weighted chains with wire brushes way back then, almost the same basic idea we use today. Has anyone else run across old manuals or tools that surprised you with how little the trade has actually changed?
Was cleaning a big creosote buildup on a 8-inch flue last Tuesday and the motor on my Gardus Roto-Spin Pro just seized up. Smelled burning plastic and the thing stopped spinning completely. Had to finish the job with a hand brush and rods, took me twice as long. Anyone else had a power brush die on them like that?
Picked up a $25 brush kit online instead of my usual $80 one. The bristles started falling out after 2 chimneys and I spent the whole afternoon picking wire out of a customer's firebox. Has anyone had luck with any budget brushes that actually hold up?