Draft reversals during a windy sweep left me scratching my head

I was cleaning a chimney on a ranch house yesterday, and the wind was really strong. In my experience, draft usually pulls up and out, but with each gust, air shot back down the flue. Soot kept blowing back into the living area, which was a headache. I had to pause my work and time my brush strokes between wind bursts. It made the job take twice as long as normal. This has me wondering if other sweeps run into this often. Maybe there is a simple fix I just don't know about yet. If you have tips for windy days, I'm all ears, take this with a grain of salt though.

4 comments

4 Comments

wren_mitchell1mo ago

Feel for you on that windy day struggle. The rag trick gets mentioned a lot because it's a common fix for a rough problem. Solidarity from someone who's had to pick soot out of their hair too.

wright.leo1mo ago

Yeah, the wet rag trick is the only way I can do it now. I used to just deal with the soot clouds until I tried a soaked hand towel. I'd jam it in the fireplace opening, sweep fast, then plug it back up. It kept my whole living room from getting that fine black dust on everything. Made cleanup just the fireplace tools instead of the whole room.

wren_mitchell1mo ago

Yeah, timing your brush strokes between gusts is the worst. When I get hit with that, I'll take a wet rag or an old tee shirt and stuff it in the flue opening at the fireplace to block it completely between passes. It stops the soot from blowing back into the room. Just yank it out when you're ready to make a stroke, then plug it again. Makes a messy job way more manageable.

derekhunt1mo ago

Seriously, that rag trick is a lifesaver. I used an old towel once when the wind was crazy, and it kept all the soot from blowing back into the living room. You have to time it just right, though. I remember one time I pulled the rag out too early, and a huge cloud of soot came pouring out. Made a huge mess on the carpet. But when you get the rhythm down, it saves so much cleanup time.