Just used my old hand brush on a 1920s Chicago greystone and it beat my rotary setup
Spent Saturday at a greystone on the north side in Chicago. Brought both my rotary and my old hand brush. The rotary gummed up twice on that old soft flue and honestly the brush got the job done faster with less mess. So which side are you on, do you still break out the hand brush or is the rotary power your go to for old brick?
That soft old flue is exactly where the rotary falls apart, it just smears the soot around instead of pulling it out. I keep a stiff hand brush in the bag for anything pre war, and it stays cleaner and gets into the mortar joints way better. Rotary still wins on big flat runs, but on old greystone I'm grabbing the brush first every time.