For 8 years I used a stiff wire brush and a tarp to clean flues. Made a mess every time. Last spring I tried hooking a skinny hose attachment to my shop vac and feeding it down from the top. Cut cleanup time by half and I don't spend 20 minutes shaking out my tarp anymore. Has anyone else ditched their traditional brush for a vacuum setup?
I remember it clear as day - we were working on a 120 year old Victorian house in Mount Adams back in 2016. The owner had black soot weeping through the mortar joints and I kept spraying the flue tiles down before scrubbing. My mentor, Frank, who has been sweeping since the 70s, just shook his head and told me I was making the mess worse. He showed me how a damp rag and dry brushing does a better job because the water just pushes the soot deeper into the porous clay. I argued with him for about 10 minutes before I tried it his way on one section. The difference was night and day. Ever since then I only use a mist of water for sealing jobs, not for cleaning. Has anyone else found that less water actually gets better results on older flues?
I was reading through some NFPA reports last week and found out that a 1/8 inch layer of creosote can cut your flue draft by nearly 30 percent. Never would have guessed that small of a deposit makes that big of a difference. I always thought you needed a solid quarter inch before it started messing with performance. Has anyone else run into weird efficiency drops from what seemed like a light coating?
I had a brush I used for 8 years straight. It was a 9 inch round wire brush with most of the bristles bent sideways. I thought it was broken in and worked fine. Turns out I was just scraping soot in circles without actually cleaning anything. A guy on a job in Madison last Thursday pointed out my brush was leaving stripes on the flue. I felt stupid but he showed me how his new brush grabbed the walls. I bought a new 8 inch poly brush that same day and the difference was immediate, like night and day. Anyone else hang onto a worn out tool too long just because it felt familiar?
The homeowner called me back three days later complaining of smoke smell, and when I pulled the cap off, there was still a thin crust of creosote I'd missed that had been smoldering the whole time, so has anyone else had to go back for a re-clean after thinking they were done?
Last Thursday I had a chimney with heavy creosote buildup, like a quarter inch thick in some spots. I picked the polypropylene brush thinking it would be gentler on the flue liner, but man it took twice as long to get through the gunk. Ended up wishing I'd just gone with the fiberglass rods and a wire brush from the start. Has anyone else had this tradeoff where the safer tool just doesn't cut it?
Used to think a stiff wire brush was the only way to get heavy creosote off flue tiles. Got a poly whip on a wholesaler's recommendation and it cut my job time by about 20 minutes per flue. Anyone else switched and noticed less tile damage?
I keep seeing posts and jobs where someone installed a new EPA-certified wood insert without checking the flue condition first. That smooth glazed creosote buildup is a different beast from the old stuff. Last winter I had to drive 45 miles to a job in Bend because a homeowner tried burning for a week and the draft totally died. Cleaned it myself and found a half inch of that shiny hard coating. You have to use a rotary chain setup, not just a brush. Anyone else running into this issue a lot lately?
I was cleaning a chimney for a customer in the old part of town last Tuesday when I hit a hard creosote clog near the top. Figured I'd just muscle through with my standard wire brush since I was in a hurry. Next thing I know I've pushed the blockage down and cracked their clay liner in two spots. Had to rip out the whole upper section and reline it for $450 out of my own pocket just to make it right. Anyone else ever learned the hard way that speed costs more than taking an extra 10 minutes?
Was doing a routine sweep at an old colonial house downtown and the camera showed something weird in the flue. Pulled out a loose brick with "1820" carved into it and a little hollow spot behind it with three old clay pipes and a handful of coins. Homeowner said the original owner was a mason. I've never seen anything like that before. Anyone else find random stuff hidden in old chimneys?
I used to think magnetic sweepers were a gimmick. Just another gadget to separate rookies from their money. But after doing over 100 cleanouts this season I ran into three jobs in a row where I kept dropping screws and clips down the flue. Picked up a cheap magnetic head last week out of frustration. honestly it saved me like 20 minutes of digging around in ash on the last job. Anyone else have a tool they swore off until they actually tried it?
I used to swear by my 8-inch wire brush for every clay flue job. Did it for 10 years straight. Then about 2 years ago I got called out to a house where the wire brush kept catching on a loose tile, and the homeowner told me I was "scratching the glaze off." Switched to a poly brush on that job and it worked fine. Now I'm torn - the wire brush feels faster on heavy creosote, but the poly brush seems gentler on old tiles. What's your take on this?
I was on a job last month in a old house downtown. The owner wanted me to use a nylon brush on the clay flue liner. I did it like I always did, but when I looked up with my light I saw scratches all over the place. The nylon was too stiff for that old soft clay and it left marks that looked terrible. Now I only use poly brushes on anything built before 1950. Anyone else run into this with vintage flues?
Was doing a routine clean on a wood stove in a rental house. Got about halfway down the flue when the cable just gave out. Brush head dropped and jammed sideways at the first bend. Took me 45 minutes with a fishtape and a shop vac to get it out. What brand of brush cables have held up for you guys? I need something that wont snap after a few months.
I crossed 500 chimney sweeps last week on a house in the older part of town. That number made me realize I've been going too fast for too long, missing small creosote patches. Anybody else hit a milestone that made you slow down and rethink your method?
Swore by it for 3 months until I gouged a liner so bad the homeowner called me back after 20 fires, how do you guys even tell what's safe to scrub?
I hit my 1000th chimney sweep last week in a little old house near downtown. That number surprised me because I started this shop 3 years ago with a single brush and a beat up van. I keep a log of every job and I was curious what the most common problem is across all those sweeps. Turns out nearly 300 of them had bird nests or animal debris blocking the flue. That's way more than creosote buildup which I always thought was the big issue. Anyone else keep stats on their jobs like this or am I just weird?
Got way more packed-on stuff out than I expected, but the filter clogged in about 10 minutes flat, so now I'm wondering if anyone else has found a good filter setup for wet or sticky jobs?
Had a job last week in Albany where this guy stood 2 feet behind me for 3 hours straight while I swept his liner. He kept asking if I was going to scratch the brass trim or drop soot on his new rug. I get that it's your house but I've been doing this 11 years and never had a complaint. He finally backed off when I showed him the 2 inch thick creosote chunk I pulled out. Has anyone else had a client hover that close and make the whole job take twice as long?
I used to go back to jobs I did a year earlier and the soot was always this greasy, sticky mess. Past 6 months I started recommending only wood that's been seasoned at least 18 months. Now when I sweep those same houses, the soot is dry and powdery. Falls right out. Has anyone else seen their sweep jobs get easier just from telling people to stack their wood better?
Dropped $1200 on a Pro-Vac 700 and it's already paid for itself. No more blasted fine ash floating everywhere after a cleanout. Anyone else shell out for a good vac or still running the shop vac with a filter?
I picked up that Duluth brush from the supply house two months ago thinking the extra money meant better quality. The bristles are already bending out of shape after maybe 15 jobs, and the wire loop at the top snapped on me last Tuesday. Anyone else had better luck with the cheaper steel brushes from Home Depot?
I was cleaning a flue in an old house near downtown and scraped a chunk of creosote loose that fell right into their fireplace glass. Had to pull the whole unit apart and vacuum every bit out. Customer said they appreciated the honesty and still paid full price.
I was tallying up my jobs for the year and hit 500 this morning on a routine clean over on Maple Street. Didn't feel any different than the 200th or the 300th to be honest. Anybody else get surprised by a big number like that or am I just not paying attention?