c/chimney-sweeps

Old brush vs poly brush on heavy creosote - not even close

Been sweeping for 8 years and always used a steel wire brush until a job last winter in Cleveland where the flue was caked with thick glaze. Swapped to a poly brush and it cut the clean time nearly in half plus left way less dust behind. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference on tough jobs?

Used to think a wire brush was fine for cleaning flues until I hit a heavy creosote glaze on a job near Ellensburg

Spent 45 minutes with the brush barely scratching it, then the homeowner handed me a poly whip and I was done in 10 minutes, has anyone else had that kind of stubborn buildup?

I used to skip the final wire brush pass on every job

For years I thought one good brush pass was enough. I figured the vacuum would get anything I missed. Then a customer called me back in December about smoke backing up into their living room. Turns out a thin layer of creosote I left behind caught fire. It wasn't a big blaze but it scared me straight. Now I go over every flue three times with a stiff wire brush before I even touch the vacuum. I also switched to a dual-brush system last spring. Has anyone else had a close call with a dirty flue they thought was clean?

Realized I was brushing my flues the wrong direction for 4 years

Was cleaning a customer's chimney in Denver last month and my brush kept catching on the terra cotta liner. Turns out I was pushing the brush against the grain of the soot buildup instead of going with it. Anybody else make this dumb mistake or just me?

My dad's 40-year-old brush trick worked way better than my fancy new one

He told me to soak my wire brush in diesel fuel overnight before a big job. I figured he was just being old school and ignored him. Well, 3 hours into a 6-flue clean last Tuesday and my dry brush was grabbing nothing, so I finally tried his way and stripped that crusty creosote off in half the time. Has anyone else got a weird family trick that actually holds up?

Found a weird creosote buildup pattern in a 90-year-old house

I was sweeping a chimney in an old Victorian in Portland last month and found this greasy, almost tarry layer near the smoke chamber that I'd never seen before. Turns out the homeowner had been burning wet wood from a cheap supplier for two years straight. Has anyone else run into that kind of sticky residue and found a good way to clean it off without damaging the flue?

That homeowner who watched me work and said 'you missed a spot'

I was on a job last Tuesday off Maple Street in Arlington, and this guy stood there watching me brush for 20 minutes before pointing at a tiny streak and saying 'you missed a spot.' I had already done three passes on that flue. Anyone else deal with homeowners who think they know your job better than you?

Forked over $300 for a carbon monoxide detector with a digital display and it saved my butt last week

My old beeping one went off and I thought it was a false alarm but the new one showed 85 ppm coming from a hairline crack in the flue. Anybody else find the extra cost worth it for a readout instead of just a beep?

That Tuesday in November turned me around on using a shop vac on creosote

I always swore by brushing and scraping everything by hand, figured vacuuming just stirred up dust and made a mess. But then I got called to a house over in Danville where the flue was packed with that shiny third-stage creosote, and I was there for 6 hours with hand tools alone. My shoulder was killing me, I barely made a dent, and the homeowner was pacing around because she had guests coming. The next morning I drove straight to the supply house and dropped $200 on a decent HEPA vac with a cyclone attachment. First job with it cut my time in half on a similar buildup, and the mess was almost zero. Has anyone else had a specific job that made you change your whole approach to cleaning?

Hit a milestone today: cleaned my 100th chimney for the season, found a baby owl nest in one

Was at a old farmhouse outside of Lancaster, pulled the cap off and there was this little owl staring up at me. Had to stop work and call animal control. Took an hour to sort out but man, what a moment. Has anyone else run into wildlife blocking a flue?

Old timer showed me how to read a flue like a map one time

I was doing a sweep on a 1920s house in Arlington and this guy, must have been 80 years old, walked up and just watched me for a minute. He pointed at the creosote buildup and said 'that there tells you the last guy burned wet wood for three winters straight.' He showed me how the crust layers line up with different burn habits. Never thought of it that way before. Has anyone else had a random stranger teach them something that stuck?

Old timer told me to use a shop vac on the cleanout door before sweeping and I thought he was nuts

Met this guy Jerry at a parts house in Nashville last month. He insisted I vacuum out the bottom of the chimney before I even run my brush. I always just swept top down and cleaned up afterwards. Tried it on a particularly nasty creosote job yesterday and man, the air quality in the room was night and day. Less dust floating around while I worked. Has anyone else tried this order of operations?

That time a homeowner asked me to clean his 'invisible' chimney

I showed up at a house in Portland last month to do a sweep, and the guy points at a wall and says 'the flue is right there.' No chimney, no pipe, just a flat wall. Turns out he watched a YouTube video about fake fireplaces and thought he had a hidden one behind drywall. I had to explain his 'chimney' was just a decorative mantle from the 80s. Has anyone else had a customer straight up make up a fireplace?

My brand new rod snapped on a job in Portland this morning

I finally upgraded to a stainless steel rod set after years of using the cheap stuff, and on my third job this morning in Portland the middle section just gave out while I was scrubbing a heavy creosote buildup. The top half flew off and landed in the homeowner's backyard planter, scaring their cat. Has anyone else had a brand new tool fail on them like this, or did I just get a lemon?

Spent an hour cleaning a flue only to find a bird nest blocking the cap

Up on a roof in Buffalo last Tuesday, I ran my brush through what felt clean, but smoke backed up into the living room when I tested it. Had to haul a ladder up to the roofline and pull out a tangled mess of twigs by hand. Anyone else ever miss a blocked cap cause the flue felt clear?

Old timer told me I was scrubbing too hard on stone chimneys

I was at a supply shop in Nashville last week and this guy who's been doing it since the 80s said I was basically sanding down the masonry with stiff wire brushes. He showed me his worn-out nylon brush and talked about how it cleans better without cutting into the flue tiles. Anyone else ever switched to softer brushes after years of using the stiff ones?

Overheard a pro saying he soaks brushes in fabric softener overnight

Was grabbing coffee at the supply shop on 7th street and this old timer was telling a new guy about his brush cleaning routine. He said a capful of liquid fabric softener in a bucket of water does wonders for loosening up hardened creosote and soot. Anyone tried this or got a better method for keeping brushes from getting stiff?

That old master sweep in Pittsburgh told me to stop using plastic bristle rods on clay flues

He swore the plastic would melt and stick to the liner if a hot ember fell, and sure enough last month I pulled a melted mess out of a job in Akron that confirmed everything he said - anyone else had a close call with the wrong rod material?

Found out my dad's old brush setup is still the gold standard for some jobs

I was digging through an old trade magazine from 1989 that my dad left behind, and I stumbled on a stat that really caught me off guard. It said that back then, over 80 percent of residential sweeps used a 9-inch poly brush with steel bristles for creosote buildup, and I swear almost every guy I trained under still swears by that same combo. I always thought we moved past that stuff with all the new rotary tools and vacuum attachments, but the article had a chart showing how that old brush design actually outperformed a lot of the modern ones in heavy flue conditions. I tested it on a job last Tuesday, a real rough stack in an old farmhouse near Wheeling, and it pulled off a solid inch of glazed creosote way faster than my usual rig. Kinda makes me wonder how many other old tricks we've just tossed aside without really testing them. Has anyone else ever compared old and new gear side by side like that?

Debate: Wire brush vs. vacuum attachment for heavy creosote buildup?

I've been going back and forth on this for weeks. Had a job last Tuesday, chimney was caked with stage 3 creosote. Tried my shop vac with the soot attachment first. Took forever, still had chunks stuck. Switched to a wire brush on a drill. Faster but made a mess everywhere. Customer's rug got dust all over it. Which do you guys lean on for the thick stuff? Or is there a better way I'm missing?

The debate over synthetic vs. natural chimney brushes is getting old, but I just saw something crazy

I cleaned a flue last Tuesday in an old house near downtown that hadn't been swept in like 6 years, and the before photo showed a thick black crust. After using a steel wire brush for 20 minutes, the after shot was spotless with no scratches or damage. Is it really worth the risk of metal bristles scratching the liner, or is the extra cost of a poly brush just not justified for that kind of work?

Pro tip: I just cleaned my 500th flue liner and realized I've been using the wrong brush size for years.

I was getting way more creosote dust on my drop cloths until I switched from a 10-inch to an 8-inch brush for those older, slightly oval clay tiles, so what's your go-to brush for a liner that's not perfectly round?

I thought those flexible camera rods were just a gimmick until I saw one find a dead raccoon in a 12 inch flue last Tuesday.

PSA: I switched from a 6 inch brush to an 8 inch for standard flues and it cut my time in half.

I was doing a job in a 1920s house in Boise last week and the owner had a lot of soot buildup. I used my old 6 inch poly brush first and it took me almost 90 minutes to get it clean, working it hard. I went back the next day for a neighbor and tried my newer 8 inch brush on the same size flue tile. It filled the space better and got the walls cleaner in one pass. I was done in 45 minutes flat. Has anyone else found that going a bit bigger on the brush makes that much of a difference?

Spent $800 on a new rotary cleaning system and it was worth every penny

I used to do everything with rods and brushes, and a full clean on a tall chimney could take half a day. Bought this new rotary kit about a year ago, and it cut my time down by more than half on the first job. The motor is powerful and it gets the creosote off the clay liner walls way better than the old elbow grease method. I was worried it was a lot of cash for a tool I wasn't sure about, but it paid for itself in two months just from the extra jobs I could fit in. Anyone else made a big tool switch recently that actually worked out?