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Finally cleared a flue that had me stumped for three weeks
Got a call for a house in the old part of town, one of those places with a weird, narrow chimney from the 1920s. The owner said it hadn't been cleaned in over a decade and smoke was backing up. My standard rods and brushes just weren't cutting it, they'd get stuck or skip over a section. I went back three times feeling pretty beat. Finally, I dug out an old, extra-flexible poly brush I hardly ever use, the one with the really short bristles. Went slow, added a section at a time, and after about an hour of careful work, I pulled out a solid plug of creosote the size of a football. The difference in the draft test was night and day. Has anyone else found that sometimes the less common tool is the right one for a tricky old flue?
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