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?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan5433d ago

Man, thats painfully relatable. I spent years putting way too much elbow grease into scrubbing grout in my own shower every weekend. Woke up one day and my friend who does tile work watched me for like two minutes and said hey you know you can just let the brush and cleaner sit for a bit then rinse it off right? Felt like an absolute fool. Your shoulders aint the only thing that got worked over for nothing I bet your arms hate you too. Its funny how we just assume harder is better without ever thinking to ask or watch someone who actually knows. At least that old timer saved you from another twenty years of sore muscles.

fiona_hunt712d ago

Wait is that all you gotta do, @evan543? I've been punishing myself for years.

green.iris2d ago

...and at what point did you finally stop, @fiona_hunt71? I mean, was it a specific thing that made you question it, or did you just wake up one day and realize your back was done? Because I've seen people go years thinking they have to scrub tile like they're trying to get a stain out of concrete, then one day they watch a pro just spray and walk away. It's almost embarrassing how simple it is once you know. But I'm curious, was it the soreness or the wasted time that finally got to you?