terry1•24d agoProlific Poster

Talked to an old sweep about brush bristle wear and it made me check my own gear...

I was at a supplier in Des Moines last week just picking up some rods and this guy in his 60s who's been sweeping since the 80s starts chatting with me. He noticed I was grabbing a new poly brush and asked to see my old one. He pointed out the bristles were worn uneven on one side and said that's why I've been fighting with stubborn creosote deposits lately. I never really looked that close before, I just figured brushes wear out eventually. He showed me his brush and the bristles were all uniform length still after way more jobs than mine. He said he rotates his brushes every 30-40 cleanings and marks them with a paint dot to keep track. I checked my brush when I got home and sure enough it's shot on the left side. Has anyone else noticed uneven bristle wear causing poor cleaning on one side of the flue?

2 comments

2 Comments

nora18424d ago

Good for you for actually listening to that old timer. That paint dot trick is simple but GENIUS and I can't believe I never thought of it myself after 15 years of this work. Uneven wear is a HUGE deal and most guys just toss the brush without ever noticing the pattern, but that pattern tells you exactly what your sweep technique is doing wrong. If you're wearing out one side faster you are probably favoring that side with your pressure or not rotating the brush head during the stroke. I know I used to just push and pull in a straight line like a piston and my brushes were toast on one side in no time flat. Now I give the rods a slight twist every few passes and my last brush lasted almost twice as long before I had to swap it.

jake_chen15d ago

You ever notice how the same kind of thing shows up in totally different parts of life? Like I was just telling @nora184 the other day about how my dad was a mechanic and he used to rotate his tires exactly the same way that old sweep rotates his brushes. He said if you always push the same way you're gonna wear out one side faster and that's true for brushes and tires and probably a lot of other stuff too. I think we all fall into these habits without thinking about it because we're just trying to get the job done quick. But that paint dot trick is the kind of simple system that saves you money and headache down the road. It's wild how a little bit of attention to detail can double the life of your gear.