Bought one of those fancy carbon fiber brush handles at a trade show in Cleveland last spring. Thought it would be lighter and easier on my wrist after a long day of sweeping. Thing cost me $400 and it's too slick to grip when my hands get even a little sweaty. Been reaching for my beat-up wooden handle with the electrical tape wrap for the last 6 months instead. Anyone else drop cash on new tech and just go back to the old stuff?
I was picking up brushes at the supply yard on Tuesday and this retired sweep named Gene told me I was overcharging for my Level 1 inspections by $50. He said he used to lose customers by nickel-and-diming them and now I'm scared I've been doing the same thing for years. Has anyone else had an older sweep give you advice that totally changed how you run your business?
Read a stat on the CSIA website that said creosote ignites at around 450 degrees F, and after I pulled 2 inches of it out of a flue in a house near Denver last Tuesday, I'm wondering how many of you actually check moisture content in the wood your customers burn?
He saw me soaking a 6 inch brush and said "you're just making mud, not cleaning" and showed me how a quick flick and wipe does the same job in half the time. Anyone else have a senior sweep drop some simple wisdom that made you feel like an idiot for years?
Switched to a poly whip for the final pass and it pulled out way more buildup than I expected, has anyone else found that combo works better than just sticking with one head?
Bought one of those $40 rotary brush kits for cleaning chimneys. Thought I was being smart saving money over the name brand. The plastic adapter cracked on the third job and the rods bent after a month. Ended up having to buy the real deal from a supply house for $120 anyway. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way with cheap brush kits?
I used to swear by using a shop vac for every job because it's quick and easy. But after dumping a load of fine ash into a customer's living room last Tuesday in Arlington, I switched back to using a drop cloth and hand scoop. Has anyone else found that the vac kicks up more mess than it saves?
I was sweeping a flue for a guy named Mike out in Oak Park and he watched me set up for a minute before telling me I was gonna wear out my rods twice as fast with how I angled my brush. He showed me this 15 degree tilt going up instead of straight on and it cut my cleaning time by 20 percent easy. Has anyone else had an older sweeper call them out on something small like that?
Was just tallying up my year end numbers and turns out I've done 512 cleanings since January. Not a brag, I'm just surprised I kept that pace. But the weird part is around every 50th job I find something totally random. At 50 it was a kid's toy car. At 100 a full bird nest with eggs. At 150 a metal spoon someone dropped down the flue. At 200 a pair of sunglasses. 250 was a wine bottle. Has anyone else noticed specific intervals where you find junk or is my route just cursed with pranksters?
He said I was scarring the clay liner and pulled out a stiff nylon brush from his truck instead, says he's been doing flues in Philly since 1972 - who's right about brush materials for older chimneys?
I always used my regular vacuum on chimneys until last week when I sucked up some fine ash and it blew right back into my face. Picked up a HEPA filter for my Shop-Vac on Tuesday and the air stays clean now. Anyone else make that switch or still running standard filters?
Had a job last Thursday on a old farmhouse in rural Ohio where the flue was completely clogged with wet ash from a wood stove. Thought it'd be a quick 20 minute scrape and vacuum, but nope - that stuff was packed like concrete from some moisture issue. Ended up having to chip it out with a hand scraper and spent way too long on my knees. Anyone else deal with wet ash clumps that turn into basically cement?
Had a routine chimney cleaning last Tuesday on a house off Maple Street. Everything was going fine until I hit a massive fly ash clump halfway down the flue that was cemented in with creosote. I tried the rods, then a rotary tool, then had to climb up on the roof and drop a weighted chain down three times before it finally broke free. Has anyone else dealt with a stuck clump that just refuses to budge?
Pulled a section out of a fireplace insert last Tuesday in Salem and the whole thing just snapped in my hands like stale bread, had to rig a temporary fix with sheet metal while I wait for a replacement. Has anyone else found a brand that actually holds up better in high heat conditions?
I was up on a roof in Portland last October and the homeowner mentioned she'd never had soot come through the vents before - that's when it hit me I'd been ignoring the cleanout cap at the bottom of the flue for 3 years. Anyone else miss something that obvious early on?
I passed 500 chimney sweeps last Thursday... been doing this full time for about 8 months now and I never expected to hit that number so fast. I thought maybe 300 would be a big deal, but the work just kept coming once word got around. Most of it is just basic cleaning and basic inspections, but that 500th job was a big old creosote buildup in a house built in the 1920s near downtown. It got me thinking about how much this trade can surprise you with volume... has anyone else hit a milestone that felt way bigger than you planned for?
I used to think nylon brushes were superior to steel. I was wrong. For years I swore by nylon brushes for everything. Then last winter I got a call from a house on Maple Street in Portland where the customer said their stove was smoking bad. I went up top with my usual nylon kit and the brush just bounced off this thick, crusty creosote buildup. Couldn't get through it at all. The homeowner was an old-timer who used to sweep his own chimney back in the 70s and he handed me his wire brush setup. I was embarrassed honestly. After three passes with the steel brush that stuff was coming down in chunks. Now I keep both in my truck and switch based on what I see during the initial inspection. Any of you guys have a go-to brush for heavy buildup or do you just carry one type?
Back in my early days I'd just guess the length based on the roof pitch. Then last spring I had to fish a brush out of a tight bend on a job near Summit Street. Now I always triple-check with a marked tape and secure the brush with a secondary clip. Has anyone else had a tool get stuck in a tricky spot and had to get creative?
I was sweeping a flue in some old house out in the suburbs and the rain came out of nowhere halfway through. The roof was super steep and slippery, so I couldn't just stand there waiting it out. I grabbed a tarp and some bungee cords from my truck and rigged a little shelter over the chimney top. It held up just long enough to finish the brush work and get the ladder down. Any of you guys carry a quick rain setup or just tough it out?
Used to just run a shop vac with a brush attachment on every job but after a bad chimney fire cleanup last winter in a 1920s house with tar buildup I switched to a dual motor vacuum and a scraper. Took me 3 hours less on the last job and I didn't have to redo a single flue. Anyone else find a big difference swapping tools for heavy buildup?
I was up on the roof about to cap a flue when this huge gray squirrel came tearing out of a gap and ran right up my leg. Has anyone else had wildlife jump out mid-job like that?
I was reading a post on some trade forum last night and a guy mentioned his brush finally gave out after 12 years, and he did the math on it. 500 sweeps with that thing, which honestly blew my mind since I usually replace mine every 2-3 years just because. How often do you guys swap out your main brush?
Last week I watched a new guy spend 20 minutes fighting a wire brush on a stainless steel liner and it just brought back memories. We used to wreck those things all the time before poly brushes and nylon rods became common. Anyone else notice new guys defaulting to the old steel tools when they should be using softer stuff?
Found this in an NFPA report after a guy in my local sweep group posted photos of a chimney fire last week. That's hot enough to warp a stainless liner in about 30 seconds. Anyone else keep a thermometer gun to check flue temps mid-job?