Rant: wrote off those cheap creosote log packets until a nasty job in Buffalo changed my mind
Spent 4 hours last Tuesday chipping glaze off a clay flue liner that was so bad the brush jammed twice, and the homeowner's $12 grocery store packet had actually softened a ton of it overnight, so now I'm eating crow and keeping a box on the truck, but does anyone know if those things are fine for older unlined brick or am I asking for trouble?
Don't use the packets on bare unlined brick. The stuff soaks into the mortar and you can't get it back out, plus it softens the brick itself. For unlined flues stick with plain old scraping and a wire brush, or call in a sweep who knows old chimneys before you touch it.