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?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_reed6211d ago

Read a fire marshal's post saying vacs just push the danger deeper into the flue.

logan_ellis11d ago

Oh come on, that fire marshal's wrong about vacs. @drew_reed62, if you're smart with the brush and gentle with the suction, you're pulling debris out not jamming it deeper. A stiff push with a bare rod is way more dangerous than a vac.

the_grace11d ago

Yeah I saw that post too but then a chimney sweep I follow said the same thing - that as long as you're careful with the vac it's actually safer than pushing a brush around and stirring up all that creosote dust into the air.