I was scrubbing a client's liner in St. Louis for an hour with no luck, then tried spraying it down with a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water before brushing. Cuts through the sticky stuff way faster than any chemical I've used. Has anyone else tried this or got a better homemade mix?
I was at a house in Arlington doing a level 2 inspection and the guy just asked me flat out 'do you actually enjoy cleaning chimneys or is this just a job to get through my day'. I told him it pays the bills but his question stuck with me because I realized I've been going through the motions for about 5 years now. Has anyone else had a customer ask something that forced you to think about why you're still doing this work?
So I've been using nylon brushes for like 3 years now on this one house I clean every season (it's a big Victorian in Philly with like 4 flues). This old-timer at a trade show last fall told me nylon scratches the terra cotta liner and causes premature wear, I thought he was just being dramatic. But last month I noticed some fine white dust in the cleanout, now I'm second-guessing myself. I switched back to poly wire for that house and the dust seems less, but maybe it's coincidence? Has anyone actually seen damage from nylon brushes or is this just sweeps passing down old wives' tales?
Was working a job in a old house in Cincinnati last week. The flue was tight and I kept jamming my brush extension into the smoke shelf. The homeowner came out and watched me for a minute, then asked why I wasn't using the pivot joint. I didn't even know it had one. Now I twist it about 30 degrees before I go past the damper and it slides through every time. Anybody else miss something obvious on their gear for way too long?
Was up on a 1920s craftsman bungalow yesterday. The homeowner said they'd been having smoke backup. Found a flue tile that was completely offset by about 3 inches. Someone must have jammed a liner in there crooked 20 years ago. Do you guys see weird old retrofit jobs like that often?
Had a lady in Denver last month tell me her fireplace barely gets used so I didn't need to scrub hard. I pulled my camera up anyway and showed her a 3 inch thick creosote glaze hiding behind the damper. She said 'oh I guess I was wrong' and I had to redo the whole job with a rotary tool. Now I always scope first no matter what the homeowner says. Anyone else had a customer try to talk you out of doing a proper sweep?
I tried one as a joke after a homeowner left it sitting on their hearth, and the difference in buildup between that flue and the one I did the month before without it was honestly pretty noticeable, has anyone else seen real results or was it just a fluke?
Customer called me out on a 6-inch gap at the crown joint that I must have missed during the reline, and now I'm eating the cost of a full redo because my camera battery died that day and I skipped the final photos.
Spent $90 on a set of poly brushes from a brand I saw on Instagram... the wire bristles started shedding into a customer's fireplace on my third sweep. Anyone else had cheap brushes ruin a flue inspection?
Spent 3 hours with a hand brush on a 1930's house last Thursday when a buddy could've knocked it out in 45 minutes with his rotary kit, now I'm wondering if my stubbornness is costing me money or just building character.
Old timer named Ray at a trade show in Charlotte told me I was pushing my soot brush too fast and missing half the buildup. I tried his slower, steady pull method on a creosote-heavy job last Wednesday and pulled out twice as much gunk as before. Anyone else get a simple tip that totally changed how they work?
Last spring I had a Tuesday in Columbus that was just wild. I showed up to a job where the homeowner had stuffed three layers of creosote logs in the firebox before I got there. Then my brush head snapped off halfway through the second flue and I had to fish it out with a magnet on a rope. By the time I finished the third chimney the soot had gotten into my truck vents and I sneezed black stuff for two days. Has anyone else dealt with a customer who tries to 'help' like that before you arrive?
I kept getting black dust everywhere no matter how careful I was. Then an older sweep named Rick at a job site in Portland pointed out my 6 inch brush was way too small for that 10 inch clay flue. He handed me his 9 inch and I got the whole thing clean in one pass with almost no mess. Anybody else realize they were using undersized brushes for way too long?
Honestly I was at a backyard BBQ last weekend in Medford and this guy starts going on about how he'll just clean his own chimney because 'it's just dirt, right?' I nearly choked on my burger. Soot is not dirt. It's carbon buildup, creosote, acidic residue, and all kinds of nasty stuff that can cause chimney fires or even carbon monoxide poisoning if you don't handle it right. I tried explaining that just sweeping it out with a shop vac isn't gonna cut it because the real danger is in the flue lining and the creosote glaze that needs proper scraping. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language. I guess people just don't get what we actually do until something goes wrong. Has anyone else run into folks who think chimney sweeping is just like dusting a shelf?
I see everyone raving about those nylon brushes with the plastic rods now. But I got a job on a flue in a 1920s house in Portland last Tuesday. That old soot buildup was baked on like concrete. My nylon brush just slid over it. I had to run to my truck and grab a traditional steel brush I bought 12 years ago. That thing cut through the creosote in 3 passes. People say steel damages liners but I think that's overblown. Has anyone else had bad luck with these newer brush materials?
Was clearing a heavy creosote buildup on a job in Maplewood and the motor just locked solid after about 10 minutes. Had to finish with a manual rod set and now I'm wondering if it's worth repairing or just getting a new head unit. Anyone else have a roto-brush die on them out of the blue?
Went with the rotary brush for a $450 chimney job last Tuesday and it handled the creosote way better than I expected, anyone else stick with one tool over the other?
I was cleaning a chimney in a 1920s house in Buffalo and the homeowner came out, must be 80 years old. He told me he never sweeps his own chimney, just burns really hot fires once a week to keep the creosote from sticking. I always thought you needed to clean everything out regularly, but he showed me his flue and it was barely dirty after 2 years. Made me wonder if my approach is too aggressive for some setups. Anyone else ever run into someone with a totally different method that actually works?
I always swore by hand tools for everything. Thought rotary brushes were just for rookies who didn't know how to work a rod. But at job 498 I hit a stubborn creosote glaze on a zero-clearance insert that had me sweating for an hour. Grabbed my boss's rotary setup on job 500 and it cleared that flue in 12 minutes flat. Has anyone else had a tool they hated that ended up saving you time?
Got a call from a lady over in Oakdale whose chimney hadn't been swept in maybe 8 years. Thick stuff, almost like tar. Started with my usual HD ash rods and they kept bending and popping apart at the threads. Switched to poly rods and got through the whole thing in about 20 minutes without any flex. Felt like night and day. Has anyone else noticed a big difference with stubborn jobs?
I was up on a 3-story house in Pittsburgh last month, the homeowner kept insisting I use a pressure washer to clean his terra cotta flue tiles, and after fighting it I finally let him show me his method and honestly it was faster and cleaner than my rotary brush, has anyone else actually tried this on a real job?
I've been sweeping chimneys for about 7 years now, and I always used a standard wire brush. Last fall I switched to a poly brush after a customer complained about scratches. After about 10 jobs with the new brush, I noticed the flue tiles came out way cleaner, almost white compared to the dark gray I was used to. The wire brush was just smearing the creosote around instead of actually removing it. Now I go back over old jobs I did last year and the difference is night and day. Has anyone else seen this kind of change after switching brush types?
I dropped $1,400 on a stainless steel liner for a job last month and could have done it with clay tiles for half that if I'd planned better. Anyone else feel like prices on these things jumped way too fast?
I bought this fancy rotary brush attachment for my shop vac off a chimney supply site thinking it would cut down cleaning time. First job in Oak Park, it clogged up after 10 minutes and I spent more time unclogging it than just using my regular brush. Anyone else wasted money on a tool that looked good but totally let you down?
Figured it would be a game changer for tight bends, but the dang thing snapped on the third flue. Guess the old steel wire and rags method is still the way to go around here, anyone else had bad luck with those?