c/chimney-sweeps

Hand brushing vs rotary brush on a tough flue job

I tried using a rotary brush on a heavily creosoted flue last month and it just smeared everything around. Went back to hand brushing with a wire brush and got a FULL scrape out in half the time. Has anyone else found rotary setups useless on really baked-on deposits?

Vent: That one homeowner who watched too many YouTube videos

Had a job last Tuesday in Maplewood where the guy insisted I use a shop vac instead of my brush because some influencer said it was "cleaner." He stood over my shoulder the whole time telling me I was missing spots. I finally asked him if he wanted to do it himself and he backed off, but man it really stuck with me how little trust some people have in the pros they hire. Any of you deal with customers who think they know better from watching a 10 minute video?

Cleaned my 500th flue this morning without realizing it until I checked my log

I keep a notebook of every job I do, just dates and basic notes. This morning a customer in Green Bay asked if I remembered coming out to her place three years ago. I flipped back and counted 499 previous jobs. Number 500 was her chimney. It surprised me because I don't think of this work in big numbers, just one job after another. I used to wonder if I was building anything real in this trade, but seeing that count made me feel like I have. What milestone caught you off guard in this line of work?

Pro tip: check your vacuum motor brushes before a big job

I was talking to an older sweep at a supply house in Denver last month and he mentioned he always keeps spare motor brushes in his truck. He said he learned that after a motor died mid-sweep on a 300-year-old farmhouse. Has anyone else had a vacuum motor fail at the worst time?

That new guy who told me I should switch to rotary brushes

Overheard a trainee at a supply shop last week telling his boss that conventional rod and brush work is obsolete. I've got 30 years of removing creosote buildup the old way and never had a single chimney fire complaint. Has anyone else had to deal with young sweepers dismissing proven techniques?

Just realized I was over-cleaning my brush after a visit to an old sweep's shop in Boston

Saw his tools caked in 30 years of soot and he said the grime actually helps it grip the flue better, made me rethink my whole routine.

Serious question about how you handle creosote buildup on top caps

I keep seeing sweeps spray degreaser on the cap and call it done, but doesn't that just push the sticky mess down into the pipe for the next fire to bake on?

Old timer told me to use a shop vac instead of a brush... now I'm not sure which way is better

So I was up on a job in Asheville last month and this veteran sweep, guy must have been 70 years old, told me to forget the brush and just use a shop vac with a hose attachment for cleaning flues. He said brushes scratch the liner and create more buildup over time. I tried it on a 14 inch clay flue and it worked okay but I feel like I missed some creosote near the top that a brush would have scraped off. Has anyone else gone back and forth between these two methods and which one do you think actually gets the job done right?

Visited a old house in Portland last week and saw something weird with the flue lining

I was out on a job in the northwest part of Portland, one of those old craftsman homes from like 1910. The homeowner wanted me to check the chimney before they started using the fireplace again this fall. When I got up on the roof I noticed the flue lining was done with some kind of terra cotta tile I've never seen before. It was all cracked and heaving in spots, like someone had tried to patch it with mortar that didn't match. The whole thing felt off, like a half measure that was gonna cause problems down the road. Has anyone else run into weird old flue materials that just seem to fail in strange ways?

Serious question - rotary brush vs traditional scraping for heavy creosote buildup?

Can we talk about how much soot buildup I found in a Victorian house last week?

I was doing a routine sweep out in a old Victorian near downtown and the flue liner was almost completely blocked with creosote. The homeowner said they hadn't had it cleaned in 15 years. Has anyone else ran into this much neglect in older homes?

I finally switched back to a manual sweep kit after 6 years of using a rotary system

Honestly, I thought the rotary setup would save me time on every job. But after a tough cleanup in an old house near downtown Pittsburgh where the soot was packed solid, it kept clogging and jamming up. I grabbed my old manual brushes and rods from the truck, and I got it done in half the time with way less mess. Has anyone else run into a situation where the fancy tools just don't cut it for certain flues?

Appreciation post: the old brush and rope method I ignored for 6 years

I started sweeping chimneys back in 2018 and always used those modern rod systems with the poly heads. Last month I was at a job in an old Victorian downtown and the flue had this crazy offset that my rods just would not bend around. The homeowner was an retired sweep named Bill who pulled out this ancient rope and brush setup from his garage. I watched him run it through in about 90 seconds with no struggle at all. I ordered a rope and brush kit that night and now I use it for any flue with multiple offsets or tight bends. The whole setup cost me 40 bucks and it takes up almost no space in my truck. Has anyone else had better luck with the rope method on tricky flues?

Had to choose between a steel brush and a poly one for a tough creosote job

I went with the steel brush because I figured it'd be tougher on the hard buildup. Ended up scratching the liner pretty bad and now I'm kicking myself - should've stuck with poly and saved the headache. Anyone else deal with this kind of choice on a heavy job?

Old timer told me to soak my brushes in linseed oil overnight...

Met a guy named Hank at a trade show back in '08 who swore this would keep my wire brushes from rusting out so fast. I tried it for about 6 months and all it did was gum everything up and make a sticky mess on my tool bag. Anyone else get bad advice from a seasoned sweep that sounded good at the time?

Vent: Homeowners keep asking me to clean their gas fireplace logs like they're wood

This happened twice last week alone. One lady in Aurora wanted me to scrub the ceramic logs with a wire brush. Told her those things are designed to self-clean from the flame. She didn't believe me until I showed her the manual on her own unit. Anyone else deal with people who think gas fireplaces work the same as wood?

Hit 500 cleanings last month and that number really hit me different

I've been sweeping chimneys in the Nashville area for about 6 years now, and I keep a log of every job I do (just a simple notebook, nothing fancy). Last month I looked back and realized I had just passed 500 cleanings total. That is a lot of soot and creosote, man. It made me think about all the different fireplaces I've seen, from fancy gas inserts to those old wood burners from the 70s that are basically a fire hazard waiting to happen. The 500 mark matters because it shows I've stuck with this trade long enough to get good at spotting problems before they turn into big calls. Maybe I do need a better record keeping system though, like a spreadsheet or something. How do you folks keep track of your job numbers over the years?

Visited a log home in Vermont and saw some scary chimney buildup

I was up in Stowe last week checking out a buddy's cabin. He had a nice wood stove but the creosote inside his chimney was over a half inch thick in spots. That place is a fire waiting to happen and he had no clue. How often do you guys run into homeowners who don't realize how bad it is until you show them?

Ran into a homeowner who changed how I think about creosote treatments

Had a job last Tuesday in a house built in 1952. Owner said he'd used a chemical log every month for 10 years. I told him those logs don't replace a proper sweep, but he pushed back. He pulled out a folder with every service record and photo from the last decade. Made me realize I've been too quick to dismiss customers who try these products themselves. Has anyone else had a homeowner teach them something unexpected about maintenance habits?

Found a live raccoon family in a chimney in Boise last month.

I was doing a routine clean on a brick chimney in a quiet neighborhood and my camera showed four sets of eyes staring back at me, so I had to call animal control and reschedule the whole job for a week later, which the homeowner wasn't thrilled about. Has anyone else had to deal with wildlife this season?

My old brush head snapped off inside a flue in Tacoma yesterday.

It was a cheap replacement I'd grabbed six months ago, and the metal just gave out. What's a good, solid brand that won't leave me fishing for parts?

Unpopular opinion: My uncle said to never use a wire brush on a clay flue liner

I argued with him for months, but after a job in Burlington where I saw a cracked liner from exactly that, I had to admit he was right. Anyone else have an old-school tip that actually held up?

Why does nobody talk about checking the smoke shelf before you start?

I was cleaning a chimney in a house built around 1910, and my brush kept getting stuck. The owner mentioned they had a small animal problem a while back. I finally got a mirror up there and saw the smoke shelf was packed solid with old mortar droppings and what looked like a squirrel nest. I'd been just brushing the flue for years without ever really checking that spot. How many times have you guys found a real mess on the shelf?

Vent: Saw a new build in Cedar Rapids with the flue pipe just shoved into the chimney, no proper collar or seal. Looked like a real fire hazard.

My extension ladder foot gave out on a steep roof pitch yesterday

I was setting up for a job on a two story colonial in Springfield, the roof was about a 10/12 pitch. I had the ladder on grass and the rubber foot just split right down the middle when I put my weight on it. Had to scramble to keep it from sliding sideways. Ended up using a scrap 2x6 as a base to finish the job. Anyone have a favorite brand for heavy duty ladder feet that can handle uneven ground?