Old timer told me to face my brush bristles a certain way, I blew him off for 6 years

Guy named Pete who swept since the 70s told me to always have the bristles angled up on the down stroke. I thought he was just being fussy. Then last winter I got a flue so caked I could barely get the rod through, and my regular way just pushed soot deeper into the cracks. Tried his method out of frustration and the brush grabbed the walls way better on the first pull. Anyone else get advice from an old timer that you ignored for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordanc3215d ago

Got to agree with you here. Took me a solid ten years before I listened to an old timer about letting the brush ride the flue instead of forcing it down hard. Thought he was just lazy. Turned out I was the one making extra work for myself the whole time. Feels like there's something about hitting that 40 year mark yourself where you finally get why they said what they said. They weren't fussy, they just knew how many times they'd wrecked a brush before they figured it out.

lucashart14d ago

Man, you just hit on something I've been chewing on for years. Here's the angle I don't see anyone bring up: those old timers weren't just impatient with us, they were CHEAP. They knew what a replacement brush cost and how long a good one lasts if you treat it right. I watched my grandfather use the same set of rods and two different brushes for thirty years. He'd say "that brush cost me a week of pay in 1965" and suddenly his fussy method made perfect sense. We grew up in an era where you just buy another one for twenty bucks, so we never learned the value of the tool itself, just the job.