c/chimney-sweeps

23

fiona_carr26•3d ago

20 years of sweeping and I just learned I was using too much pressure on brick

I was cleaning out a fireplace in an old house near Albany last Tuesday and the homeowner kept watching me work. He asked why I was leaning so hard on the flue brush. I told him that's just how you get it clean. Turns out he used to sweep chimneys too back in the 70s. He showed me how he just lets the brush weight do the work and guides it down slow. My shoulders have been sore every night for two decades for nothing. Anybody else get taught wrong and never questioned it?

9

max_cooper21•4d ago

Customer told me my brush was leaving marks - fixed it overnight

Last Tuesday a lady called me back because she saw gray streaks on her white brick after I swept her flue. I was using my standard wire brush like always, but on her soft clay liner it was scratching and leaving residue. Switched to a nylon brush with poly heads and the difference was night and day. No more marks, and it actually grabs the soot better on smooth surfaces. Has anyone else run into this problem with older tile liners? What brush are you using for soft clay?

11

wells.christopher•5d ago

Dual brush rods vs single rods for tall chimneys

Fixed a four story flue last week and brought both setups. Single rods kept bending and binding up every time I hit a tight spot. Swapped to the dual rod system a year ago and it clears stuff way faster. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a difference on those narrow chimney liners?

24

carr.abby•5d ago

Trying to switch from wire brushes to drill attachments for heavy creosote

I used to always scrape heavy creosote buildup with just my hand wire brushes and a lot of elbow grease. But about 6 months ago after a job where I spent 45 minutes just on one stubborn flue, I picked up a 4-inch drill attachment from the local hardware store in Des Moines. That thing shredded through the gunk in maybe 10 minutes flat. I still use the hand brushes for the final polish and the smoke shelf though, because the drill attachment can leave some weird grooves if you get too aggressive. Now I'm wondering if I'm going to wear out my drill bearings faster by using it for this kind of work. Has anyone else had their drill die on them from spinning those wire cups too hard?

8

jenny_lee•7d ago

PSA: Found out my brush is 3 sizes too small for most flues

Was over at a buddy's shop last week and he showed me his set of brushes. I've been using the same 6-inch brush for like 5 years now on everything. Turns out most residential flues are 8 to 10 inches wide and I've just been scraping a tiny strip down the middle. Ever since I switched to the 9-inch one the soot comes out way faster and cleaner. Anyone else realize they've been using the wrong tool forever without knowing?

1

miller.diana•7d ago

Question about using a shop vac vs a dedicated soot vacuum

Last week I had a big job at an old house in Nashville, and I had to choose between my regular shop vac with a fine filter and my buddy's $600 HEPA vac. I went with the shop vac to save time hauling gear, but the fine filter clogged up after three flues and I spent 45 minutes cleaning it. The dust still got everywhere, and the homeowner wasn't thrilled. Has anyone else tried getting away with a shop vac on heavy creosote jobs, or is it worth the extra money for the proper setup?

17

henryt18•8d ago

I think ultrasonic cleaning is overkill for most soot jobs

Everyone in my shop in Pittsburgh swears by ultrasonic cleaning for chimneys, but I've been doing this for 12 years and a stiff wire brush with a shop vac does the same work. I cleaned a 3-story flue last Thursday that hadn't been touched in 8 years, and the ultrasonic rental cost me $150 for nothing extra. Am I missing something, or is this just a trend that tool companies pushed on us?

27

olivia_white93•9d ago

That moment when a pellet stove updraft nearly ruined my Tuesday

I was on a job in a basement near Waco and a client had stuffed newspaper into the flue to stop a draft, which I didn't catch until I lit my brush and smoke started pouring back. How did I fix it? Yanked the paper out with a grabber tool before the whole house smelled like a campfire. Anybody else run into random blockages homeowners hide?

4

evan543•9d ago

Shoutout to the homeowner who showed me why brush direction matters

Last month I had a job in Austin where this older guy watched me work and asked why I was going top-down. He said his dad was a sweep back in the 60s and always did bottom-up on clay liners to catch loose soot. I told him I was trained top-down for safety and he just nodded. We spent 20 minutes debating it while I finished, and honestly I still think top-down is safer but he made a good point about less debris falling in between. Anyone else run into customers with strong opinions on brush technique?

5

the_viola•10d ago

I used to think synthetic brushes were a waste of money for sweeping flues

For 15 years I only used natural bristle brushes, but after a bad experience with a stuck wire brush in a tight clay flue last spring, I tried a poly brush on a recommendation. That thing bent right around the offset without any trouble and I finished the job in half the time. Has anyone else switched from natural to synthetic and found it worth the cost?

4

young.michael•10d ago

I finally tried the 'reverse brush' technique on a tough flue and it backfired hard

I was up on a roof in the older part of town near the old mill district, doing a seasonal clean on a 3-story Victorian. The flue had this nasty buildup, maybe 4 inches thick in spots, and I remembered an old forum post swearing by reversing your brush direction to knock off creosote faster. So I gave it a shot, pushing the rods up instead of pulling down, and about 10 feet in I heard this crack and felt the whole rod lock up. Turns out I dislodged a chunk of liner that had been patched with some thin mortar, and it fell down and blocked the damper plate. Had to strip the rods, go back down, and spend 45 minutes fishing out pieces of tile and soot with a shop vac extension. My arms were wrecked for two days after. Has anyone else tried that reverse method and had it go sideways on them?

5

amy_martin•10d ago

The debate over using shop vacs vs traditional soot vacuums for cleanup...

I spent 3 hours on a routine flue cleaning last Tuesday because my shop vac clogged on fine ash and now I'm wondering if dropping $400 on a proper soot vacuum is actually worth it or if I just need a better filter setup, what's your take?

0

jessem59•12d ago

Traded my leathers for Cordura after a job in the rain last month

Used to swear by leather aprons for durability but they got heavy as hell when wet, swapped to a Cordura setup after slipping on a wet roof in Portland and nearly taking a header. Anyone else made the switch and noticed how much faster you can move?

9

mason_reed47•13d ago

Switched to a Soot Eater after 12 years of using a wire brush

I always thought those flexible chimney whips were a gimmick. Stuck with my old wire brush and rods for over a decade, even after my buddy at the supply house in Columbus kept pushing the Soot Eater. Finally tried one on a nasty creosote buildup last Tuesday. That thing knocked off 3 times more soot in half the time. Has anyone else switched from traditional brushes and never looked back?

15

alice928•13d ago

Old-timer told me to scrub caps with vinegar, I laughed for a year

Guy named Ray at the Denver supply house swore by white vinegar for creosote buildup on chimney caps, I thought he was pulling my leg. After I tried it on a stubborn 3-inch crust last month, that stuff dissolved it in 20 minutes flat. Anyone else had a weird homemade cleaner actually work better than the store-bought stuff?

20

gavin_kim•13d ago

Just realized my 10th season is coming up next month

I was going through my work log last night and counted back - this February marks 10 years since I started sweeping chimneys in Portland. That's over 3,000 flues cleaned if my math is right. I remember my first job was a nasty creosote buildup on a 1920s house in the Irvington neighborhood. Has anyone else here hit a decade in the trade and felt like it flew by?

29

alice928•14d ago

Just spent 4 hours on a flue that should have been a 45 minute job

I was doing a basic sweep on an old house near downtown and hit a creosote blockage that looked small on the camera. Took me four tries with different rods and a rotary tool to finally break through the glaze. Turned out the previous sweep had left a loose brick sitting right in the bend of the flue. Has anyone else dealt with hidden debris from a past job that added way more time than expected?

12

jenny_lee•14d ago

Got chased by a squirrel in a Victorian home in Boston last Tuesday.

I was sweeping a chimney in this old Victorian over near Beacon Hill, nice place but the flue was packed with years of creosote. So I'm up on the roof, running my brush down, and I hear this scratching getting louder. Next thing I know, a squirrel shoots out of the chimney right past my face and lands on the ladder. I screamed like a kid, nearly fell off the roof. The homeowner came running out thinking I was hurt, but I was just standing there pointing at this angry squirrel chattering at me from the gutter. Turns out they'd had a nest in the top of the flue for months, and my brush pushed it loose. Now I always carry a camera scope to check for critters before I start. Anybody else ever had an animal surprise them mid-job?

29

nelson.wren•15d ago

Visited an old Victorian house in Portland and found three flues sharing one clay liner

I was doing a routine sweep on this 1890s place last month in the Pearl District. When I got up on the roof, I saw what looked like one big clay liner but three separate flues feeding into it from the inside. Honestly, I've never seen that before and it made me wonder how common this setup was back then. Has anyone else run into this kind of shared liner situation on older homes?

18

charles720•18d ago

Shoutout to the old school wire brush I almost threw away

I had this beat up wire brush from my grandpa's garage for years, figured it was junk compared to my fancy new poly disks. Last month I was doing a heavy creosote job on a 1940s house in Cleveland and the poly disk just smeared everything, but that old wire brush tore through the gunk like butter. Anybody else find an old tool that worked better than the modern stuff on certain jobs?

6

jenny_lee•18d ago

What I learned switching from brushes to poly disks for heavy creosote

I spent 3 years using nothing but wire brushes on every job because that's what my dad taught me. Last winter a house fire in Portland made me recheck my methods after a customer showed me photos of their chimney after a 6 month buildup. I tried poly disks on a 8 inch flue with level 3 glazed creosote and it took half the time and left the liner almost bare. The brushes just kept caking the stuff into the corners while the disks broke it up and let it fall. Has anyone else found that poly disks work better on the really stubborn stuff? I'm thinking of switching full time but wanted to hear if anyone had bad luck with them on older clay liners.

31

avery_flores•19d ago

Old timer told me I was brushing too fast and missing stuff

I mean I always figured speed was king but after he made me slow down and watch the soot fall I realized I was leaving a good 20% behind. Has anyone else adjusted their technique after a grumpy veteran called them out?

12

wader71•20d ago

Found a trick for stubborn creosote that actually works

Been fighting thick creosote buildup in this old house downtown for years. Tried all the chemicals and wire brushes, nothing touched it. Last month I used hot water with dish soap and let it soak for 20 minutes before scrubbing. Came off way easier than anything I've bought at the supply store. Anybody else got a weird homemade solution that beats the expensive stuff?

3

iris_schmidt•21d ago

Tried a shop vac trick on a stubborn flue liner and it actually worked

I had this one chimney in a house from 1920 that just would not pull air right. Customer said they hadn't used it in years because smoke always came back in the room. I ran a brush through it three times and still got blockage. Finally I taped a shop vac hose to the bottom opening and ran it on high for about 10 minutes. When I pulled the hose loose, about 5 pounds of old bird nesting material came tumbling down. Never thought a vacuum could clear that kind of buildup. Has anyone else used suction to break free a stuck liner?

12

the_emma•22d ago

Reading an old trade journal from 1982 changed my view on creosote buildup.

Everyone says a clean chimney has minimal creosote, but this article cited a study showing even a 1/8 inch layer can reduce draft efficiency by over 15%. I found it in a box of my dad's old papers. Has anyone else come across data that contradicts common practice?