c/chimney-sweeps

The debate over wire brushes vs poly brushes... my flues look completely different now

I used wire brushes for about 8 years straight, always thought they were the only way to really get creosote off. Then last winter I helped a guy in Denver who only uses poly brushes and his flues were way cleaner than mine after similar jobs. I switched over about 6 months ago and now I'm seeing less scratching on terra cotta liners and the soot comes off in bigger chunks. But I still wonder if poly brushes miss that hard baked on glaze that wire can really dig into. Anyone else switch and notice a difference in their chimney condition over a season or two?

That old lady who watched me clean her chimney for 20 minutes in silence.

She didn't say a word until I was done, then handed me a $50 tip and said 'you're the first one who didn't ask me to move my porcelain dolls.' Made me wonder how many sweeps just rush through and ignore people's stuff. Anyone else have customers who seem to test you before they trust you?

TIL about cleaning a chimney with a shop vac and a dryer hose

My neighbor Pat showed me his setup last spring - he uses a shop vac with a dryer hose taped to the intake to suck soot from the top while he brushes from below. Has anyone else tried this method or stuck with the traditional bags?

Found out 80% of chimney fires start because of creosote buildup, not a bad liner

Found a trick for cleaning out creosote buildup at a job in Chicago

I was working on an old house in Evanston last week and the flue was so caked with creosote I couldn't even get my brush through. Ended up using a shop vac with a drywall dust bag and a stiff plastic scraper to loosen it up before brushing. That combination saved me about 90 minutes compared to my usual method. Has anyone else tried something similar for heavy buildup?

Found a way to clean really stubborn glaze off with aluminum foil

So I had this one flue last Thursday that was absolutely caked in that hard glossy glaze from a wood stove that burned way too hot. I tried my regular rotary brush kit and it barely touched it, spent 45 minutes just scratching the surface. A buddy who works on industrial boilers told me to crumple up some heavy duty aluminum foil and run it up and down the chimney a few times before using the brush again. Figured it sounded crazy but I was out of options, so I gave it a shot. That foil scraped off the worst of the glaze in about 10 minutes flat and then my brush finished the rest easy. Has anyone else tried something weird like this that actually worked for tough glaze?

Tried a motorized sweep vs. manual rods on a heavy creosote job last month, and the difference was brutal.

The motor setup cleared that 2-foot buildup in half the time but it vibrated so hard the client said their chandelier was shaking. Has anyone else had issues with those things loosening up old masonry joints?

Just realized old soot buildup hides creosote glaze way better than I thought

Last Tuesday I pulled a brush through a flue in Raleigh that looked clean on the surface but three passes later I was scraping off a shiny layer I should have spotted right away. Has anyone else nearly missed glaze because the soot made everything look the same?

Shoutout to the old brick chimney at the Smithfield Mill

I was doing a walkthrough in that old mill building downtown last Tuesday and noticed their main chimney still has the original clay flue liners from 1920. Has anyone else worked on those old industrial chimneys with the tapered bricks?

Old timer told me to check the cap screws first. I thought he was nuts.

My dad's buddy Bob who's been sweeping since the 80s said 90% of draft issues are just loose cap screws. Ignored him for two weeks and replaced a whole liner kit for nothing before I finally tightened those three screws and bam, problem fixed. Anyone else ever overcomplicate a simple fix?

I finally had a chimney fire scare last Tuesday that shook me up

I was out in the suburbs of Denver finishing up a routine cleaning on a house built in the 70s. The homeowner mentioned they'd been burning unseasoned pine all winter, so I figured I'd find some creosote. But when I ran my brush up, I hit a massive plug of glazed creosote that was probably an inch thick near the top of the flue. I spent an extra 45 minutes with my rotary tool and some chemical cleaner to break it all down before I could even get a proper sweep done. The homeowner watched me the whole time and kept saying "I thought a hot fire would burn that stuff away." Has anyone else dealt with a customer who just doesn't get how dangerous glazed creosote is?

Hot take: The old hand brush vs. a shop vac on the same job

I used to swear by my old hand brush for cleaning soot off the firebox walls. Then I got a job last Tuesday at this old house in Elmville, and the creosote was just caked on thick. I spent a good 20 minutes scrubbing and barely made a dent. Out of frustration I grabbed my small shop vac with a brush attachment, and I'll be honest, it cut that part of the job in half. The suction pulled off most of the loose stuff first, so the brush only had to tackle the real stubborn spots. Has anyone else found that a vac makes more sense for heavy buildup compared to going at it with a brush alone?

Switched from wire brush to poly brush for my final pass on flues and the difference is wild

I used to always finish with a stiff wire brush, figured it was the only way to get the last bits of creosote. About two weeks ago, a customer in Medford told me his last sweep used a poly brush and his chimney looked spotless. I was skeptical (poly brushes feel too soft, right?). Picked one up at the supply house on Route 9. First job with it, I actually saw less dust flying and the flue walls felt smoother after. My arms were less tired too. Has anyone else made this switch or am I just getting soft in my old age?

Went with the rotary whip over the manual brush on a job in Portland

Had a choice between using my rotary whip or going old school with a manual brush and rods on a tight flue in a 1920s house. Picked the rotary because I figured it would save time, but the flex section got snagged on a cresote ledge halfway down. Took me 45 minutes to wiggle it free. Has anyone else had a rotary get stuck like that and found a quick way to pop it loose?

The homeowner who watched me like a hawk then asked why I didn't use a shop vac

I had a job over in Arlington last Tuesday where the homeowner kept hovering while I set up my rods and brushes, then he pipes up asking why I don't just use a shop vac to suck the soot out instead of messing with all that equipment. He said his brother in law does it that way and it works fine, but I was standing there thinking about how much moisture that would trap in the flue lining and how you'd never get the real creosote crust off that way. Has anyone else run into people pushing that vac method and had to explain why it's not the same?

Showerthought: Wire brush vs poly brush for flue cleaning

I used a wire brush for years on my jobs in Portland. Last month I grabbed a poly brush on a whim from a supply house on 82nd. Took half the time to clean a 8 inch flue and no scratches on the liner. Anyone else switch and not go back?

Spent 3 hours wrestling a stubborn liner at a 1940s house in Cleveland

Got called to a house last Tuesday. Old 1940s flue. Thought I'd knock it out in an hour. Instead, the liner kept snagging on some brick ledge halfway down. Pulled it back up. Fed it down again. Snagged again. Another guy could've just cut the liner shorter and called it good. I spent 3 hours repositioning it until it settled right. Has anyone else dealt with flues where the offset seems way off from what the plans show?

Found out creosote buildup can actually catch fire at like 450 degrees...

I was reading through some old trade journals my mentor gave me last night. One article said a typical chimney fire starts way lower than I thought. I always figured it had to be blazing hot but nope, just a normal day burning seasoned oak can hit that temp if the coating is thick enough. Scared me straight about skipping the mid-season scrape. Any of you guys ever seen a flue fire up close?

Tried using a cheaper brush on a tough flue and it actually worked better

I was cleaning a heavy creosote buildup in a 100 year old chimney over in Oakdale last week and my normal wire brush wasn't cutting it. Switched to a poly brush I picked up for $15 and it ripped through that stuff in half the time. Anyone else find certain brushes work better on specific types of buildup?

Overheard a sweeper in Nashville say I'm cleaning my dry vents too often

Guy at the supply house said I'm wasting time doing a full dry vent clean every third job instead of checking with a camera first. Has anyone else cut back on frequency and not run into issues?

That day I tried the reverse wrap on a stubborn flue tile

I was working a job in an old house built in 1928 near downtown St. Louis. The flue tile had a nasty offset that kept catching my brush head every third pull. After fighting it for about 45 minutes I remembered an old guy at a trade show mentioning wrapping the cable the opposite direction around the anchor. Threw a reverse wrap on there and it glided through on the first pass. Saved me from having to rod from the bottom which would have taken another hour. Has anyone else tried this on tricky offset flues?

Switched from round brushes to square ones halfway through a big job and I'm never going back

I was doing a massive flue overhaul on a old Victorian downtown last Thursday and my usual round brush just wasn't cutting it in the corners. Borrowed a square brush from a guy on another crew and it cleaned the soot out way cleaner in one pass. Does anyone else find that square brushes fit certain flues way better than round ones?

Vent: The before and after on this 1890s flue liner was unreal

I cleaned a house last Tuesday where the owner hadn't touched their chimney in 15 years, just burning random scrap wood the whole time. The before was basically a solid wall of creosote about 3 inches thick, looked like a cave of tar. After 4 hours with the rotary kit and some chemical treatment, that flue was smooth as glass - how do people let it get that bad and still think it's fine?

Unpopular opinion: wire brushes are better than plastic for clay flue liners

An old timer at a job in Vermont last month showed me how a wire brush cleans fine powder off clay liners without scratching them, as long as you go slow. He said he's used the same wire brush for 15 years and never had a liner crack or fail. Has anyone else tried switching back from plastic to wire on clay flues?

Power washer blew a seal mid-job yesterday and I was stuck

I was cleaning out a heavy creosote buildup on a big masonry stack over in Oakwood yesterday, about 2 hours in, and my little electric power washer just started leaking like crazy from the pump. It was one of those cheap models I got off Amazon for like $90 last spring, and I knew it wasn't gonna last forever but I figured I'd get more than 6 months out of it lol. Water was spraying everywhere except where I needed it, so I had to pack up early and leave the job unfinished. The homeowner was cool about it, said stuff happens, but I felt bad having to come back today with a borrowed washer to finish up. Anyone else have a key piece of gear crap out on them right in the middle of a job?