Old timer told me to never use a wire brush on clay flue tiles, glad I listened

So I was working on a house built in 1920 last week, doing a level 2 inspection before the homeowners could use their fireplace again. The flue had this heavy black crust that looked like it needed a serious scrubbing. But an old sweeper I met at a trade show in Portland told me specifically "wire brushes will scratch glazed clay tiles and ruin them, just use a poly brush and some chemical cleaner if you have to." I almost grabbed the wire brush out of habit but stopped myself and went with the poly one instead. Turns out he was 100% right because the tiles were original and already had some hairline cracks, a wire brush would have made them way worse. Has anyone else had a close call like that where you nearly made a costly mistake but someone's advice saved you?

4 comments

4 Comments

karen_carter27d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of the time I was helping a buddy rewire his old house and nearly drilled through a live wire because I was in a hurry. His dad walked by and said "stop what you're doing and think" right as I had the drill lined up, saved me a nasty shock and a whole lot of drywall work.

violag8024d ago

You bet I almost messed up that way. First time I saw real creosote buildup I thought a stiff wire brush was the answer to everything. Lucky for me the guy who trained me grabbed my hand before I touched the tiles. He told me the same thing about scratching the glaze and ruining the flue for good. Those old clay tiles are brittle as heck after decades of heat cycles. A wire brush would have turned hairline cracks into full blown gaps. That old timer's advice probably saved me from having to reline the whole chimney.

paul_ramirez27d ago

Man I've been there, almost wrecked a set of old tiles because I thought I knew better than some old timer's advice. That crusty buildup looks so intimidating but a wire brush would have turned those hairline cracks into real problems real quick. Good thing you listened, those original tiles are worth protecting and not everyone gets that second chance.

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ivan_harris27d ago

Wait what, "crusty buildup" looked that bad? Dude I woulda grabbed a wire brush without even thinking, glad you caught yourself before it was too late.