For the first 8 years of sweeping, I just used a standard wire brush and spent an extra 45 minutes per job scraping off heavy glaze. Then last fall I switched to a rotary whip system after a customer complained about soot falling back down. That thing stripped a quarter inch of glaze in 5 minutes flat. Has anyone else made the switch from manual scraping to rotary tools?
Spent 8 hours Saturday and another 5 Sunday breaking through what I thought was a minor blockage, and I still had to come back Monday with a rotary kit - has anyone else had that kind of fight with old masonry?
I was picking up a new set of rods and this old timer started telling me about how he still uses a hand brush for certain flues instead of a rotary kit. He said the rotary was fine for straight runs but you miss the real junk stuck in the corners and he was sweeping before I was born. Has anyone else found that some of the old school methods actually work better than the fancy power tools?
I figured I'd save some cash and grabbed a no-name soot vacuum for about $60 online. First big job last Tuesday in an old house downtown, I'm brushing out a flue and that vacuum just stops working after 20 minutes. Smelled like burning plastic inside the motor. I had to finish the job with a bucket and a dustpan, messing up the homeowner's living room floor with soot trails. Learned my lesson the hard way - you really do need a proper HEPA-rated unit for this work. Has anyone else had a cheap vac fail on them like that?
I was at a job site in Nashville last Tuesday helping a buddy with a tough bird nest blockage. He pulls out his shop vac, swaps the hose to the exhaust port, and shoves it up the bottom of the flue. The air pressure blew all the debris right out the top like a leaf blower. Has anyone else tried this method or is there a reason we shouldn't be doing it?
I've been sweeping chimneys for 12 years and just realized I passed 500 flues cleaned last Tuesday. Has anyone else tracked their numbers and been surprised at the total?
I've been noticing more calls where the chimney is clean but water is getting in, and every time it's because the flashing was loose or cracked. Spent 3 hours on a roof in Portland last week fixing someone else's missed inspection. Has anyone else seen this becoming more common?
I had to do a full stainless steel reline on this old house in Portland last week. The original clay flue was cracked in three spots and had soot buildup probably a inch thick in places. After we pulled the old liner out and ran the new one, the draft changed completely. The homeowner said her fireplace used to smoke up the room every time she lit a fire, and now it pulls clean and steady. I think the main issue was the cracks letting air in and messing up the flow. It took me about 6 hours total with my crew, but the before and after was something else. Has anyone else seen a old clay liner cause that much trouble with smoking? I'm wondering if I should push more homeowners to reline instead of just patching.
I tried saving money on a chimney sweeping kit from a random seller and the bristles literally fused to the creosote at 350 degrees, leaving a mess I had to chip out with a hand tool for 2 hours, has anyone else had cheap gear fail on a real job?
I was using a standard wire brush last week on a customer's liner and my buddy stopped me saying it causes micro-scratches that lead to rust, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has seen this happen or if I should just stick to poly brushes?
I was cleaning a wood stove in an old house near Salem last week and my regular shop vac just spewed fine dust everywhere, making a huge mess. So I grabbed a HEPA-rated soot vacuum filter from the supply house for $120 and it trapped everything, no more scrubbing walls afterward. Has anyone else found that spending the extra cash on proper gear saves you time and frustration on messy jobs?
I bought this fancy new brush kit from a popular online supplier, thinking it would make my sweeps faster. The bristles started shedding on the third job, and by the end of the second week the whole head was wobbly. I'm back to using my old $80 Home Depot brush that's lasted three years. Anyone else get burned by overpriced gear that just doesn't hold up?
Old timer named Frank at the supply house kept telling me to switch to a 6-foot rod for those tight 90-degree flues, but I always stuck with my 4-footer out of habit. Last week in Boston I had a job where I couldn't get past the second bend, so I grabbed one of the long rods from the truck. How many of you actually use the longer rods or do you think it's just hype?
I was swapping parts at the supply house yesterday and heard a old-timer tell a homeowner that wire brushes scratch up clay liners and cause more creosote buildup later. He was pushing those poly brushes instead and I have to admit I never really thought about it before. Has anyone here switched from wire to something softer and noticed a difference in how clean the flue stays?
I bought a $18 creosote log from the hardware store to break up buildup in a customer's chimney that was too tight for my brushes to fully reach. It flaked off a ton of crusty stuff, but some chunks fell and blocked the damper, costing me an extra hour to fish them out with a shop vac. Has anyone else had creosote logs cause more trouble than they saved?
I used to just grab whatever brush head fit the pipe and hope for the best. Then last week I watched a clip from a chimney inspection where a guy's wire brush came loose at the 10 foot mark and got stuck sideways in the terra cotta liner. He had to spend 3 hours trying to fish it out with a magnet and a grabber tool. That image stuck with me. Now I always double check the set screw on my brush handle before I even climb up on the roof. I also started carrying a spare locking pin in my truck after losing one on a job in Alexandria last month. Has anyone else ever had a brush head snap off or get lodged in a flue?
I used to finish a job and just pack up without doing that last look up the flue. One day a homeowner asked me to check a weird smell, and I found a bunch of soot buildup I missed from my rushed cleaning. It hit me that I was leaving unsafe conditions for the folks living there. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized a step you skipped was actually super important?
I ran a cleaning at a house last Tuesday where the homeowner had been using those cheap logs from the Speedy Stop on 3rd Street. The buildup was rock hard and took me two extra hours to scrape off. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of residue from discount creosote logs?
I picked up a set of those poly brush rods last month thinking they'd be lighter and easier on my back. First job out on a 150 year old house in Richmond, the rod flexed and snapped clean in half halfway up the flue. Had to fish pieces out with a magnet on a string for 45 minutes. Anyone else had cheap rods fail on them like that?
I know everyone in this community swears by those expensive HEPA vacuum attachments for cleaning flues. But after trying both on 8 different jobs last month in the older brick chimneys around here, the manual brush was actually faster and didn't kick up nearly as much dust as I expected. My arms were sore for a day, sure, but I saved about $400 on a vac I wouldn't use that often. The HEPA unit just clogged up on heavy creosote after two houses and I had to stop and clean it out. Has anyone else gone old school and found it beats the newer gear for certain jobs?
I dropped like 40 bucks on that spray-on creosote remover powder last fall. Thought it'd save me a proper mechanical cleaning on a rental property flue. Went up there this spring to check and the glaze was still like a inch thick in spots. Just ended up paying my dude 150 bucks anyway to rod it out proper. Anyone else get burned by one of those miracle-in-a-bottle products?
The motor started smoking halfway through a job in Springfield, so I had to finish with my old hand tools and now I'm wondering if I should buy another one or just stick with manual rods from now on, has anyone else had a power brush fail that fast?
I was just using a standard filter before and blowing fine dust everywhere, but this thing catches everything in the catch pan now - has anyone else made the switch to a HEPA setup for the really fine messes?