c/chimney-sweeps

Why does nobody talk about how brittle those ceramic blanketing boards get after one season

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?

That moment in a 1920s Victorian when I realized I'd been skipping the cleanout all along

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?

Hit 500 sweeps in 8 months and honestly it felt weird

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.

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?

Showerthought: I used to eye-ball flue measurements until I dropped a brush down a 40-foot stack in Toledo

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?

Rigged up a tarp system last week after getting soaked on a job

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?

Rant: the shop vac method vs straight brushes for heavy creosote

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?

Got chased by a squirrel in an old Victorian in Boston last week

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?

Found out chimney brushes have a lifespan of about 500 cleanings

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?

Swapped my manual hand tools for a power drill on ladder cleanup jobs and it's way faster

Back when I started sweeps used wire brushes on everything

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?

Just learned that creosote buildup burns at 2,000 degrees

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?

Got told my brush work was 'sloppy' back in 2019 and it still sticks with me

I was cleaning a flue in a 1920s house in Portland and the homeowner watched me the whole time. He was a retired mason and told me I was tearing up the terracotta liner with my wire brush. At first I was defensive, but he showed me where I was digging into the joints instead of just scrubbing the soot. I switched to a poly brush for most of the interior work after that, and reserve the wire for heavy creosote only. Now I check every flue for glazed liners before I even pick up a tool. Has anyone else had a customer who actually knew more about the job than you did?

My brand new brush head just snapped off halfway through a job in Nashville yesterday

I had just started sweeping a heavy creosote buildup on a rental property and the wire bristles completely ripped away from the base after maybe 5 minutes of work, so I had to drive 30 minutes back to the shop to grab my backup and lost the whole morning slot has anyone else had cheap brush heads fail like that out of nowhere?

The day I found a wasp nest in a flue in Austin

I was doing a routine cleaning last spring at an old house in Austin and when I pulled the brush back out, about 20 angry wasps came with it. Turns out they had built a nest right inside the terra cotta liner, about three feet down. Now I always shine a bright light up every flue before I even start, saved me from getting stung twice since then. Has anyone else run into unexpected critters like that?

Rigged a temporary cap with duct tape after losing a chimney cap on a job in Memphis.

I was up on a roof in Memphis last Tuesday and the wind ripped the old chimney cap right off before I could get the new one secured. Had to patch it with some leftover metal flashing and duct tape just to keep rain and critters out until the replacement came in the mail. Anyone else ever have to MacGyver a fix mid-job like that?

TIL a creosote log doesn't fix everything - spent 4 hours hand scraping a flue I thought was clean

I picked up one of those creosote sweeping logs at the hardware store last spring. Figured it would save me time on a rental property job over in Medford. Nope, that log barely touched the heavy glaze buildup in the chimney. I ended up spending 4 hours with manual rods and scrapers to get it safe. Has anyone else found those logs to be basically useless for real buildup?

The two brush method felt wrong until I tried it on a job in Austin

An old timer at a conference in Nashville told me to always do a second pass with a smaller brush on masonry flues. I thought he was wasting time until I ran a job last month on a 1950s house with heavy creosote buildup. The smaller brush got chunks out of the corners that the big one missed completely. Anyone else have a tool or technique they dismissed at first that proved them wrong?

Warning: The before and after on my shop vac filter was shocking after just 2 months

I usually swap my shop vac filter every 6 months, no big deal. But I got a new fine ash vacuum attachment for chimney work, and I checked the filter after 2 months of using it on heavy soot jobs. The difference was insane, the dirty one was almost solid black and clogged, while a fresh one let the vac suck like new. Have any of you guys tried those HEPA filter upgrades for ash cleanup, or am I the only one who waited too long to check?

Rant: Removing old creosote buildup took me 3 hours with a chisel when a rotary tool would have done it in 20 minutes

Was at a house in San Antonio yesterday, 1940s fireplace that clearly hadn't been cleaned in decades. I brought my regular rods and brushes but that creosote was basically rock. Spent almost 3 hours chiseling and scraping, up and down that chimney. Felt like I was mining coal. Buddy called me later and said why didn't I use the small rotary brush attachment for my drill. Had it in my truck the whole time. Anyone else ever overthink a simple job and waste half a day?

Picked poly flue brush over wire bristles for a tough job last week

Had this one chimney in an old house built in the 40s with heavy creosote buildup. I usually grab my stiff wire brush for stuff like that but I was worried about scratching up the clay liner. Went with a poly brush instead and ran it through about 8 times with some extra pressure. Took maybe 20 minutes longer than my usual wire brush method but the liner came out clean with no gouges. Anyone else switch brush types for older flues or am I overthinking this?

Just hit my 100th creosote fire cleanup this season

That's 100 houses where someone almost lost everything because they skipped a year of sweeping. How often do you guys see repeat offenders who still don't learn?

Bought a soot eater rod after renting a machine for three years

The cheap rod snapped on the second flue on a job in Toledo last Thursday so now I'm back to renting the machine, anyone else had issues with those fiberglass rods getting brittle?

Rant: Dropped $300 on a 'premium' liner kit that failed after 2 months

Installed that stainless steel liner from the big box store and the crimping joint gave out on a job in Cleveland, nearly sent smoke pouring into a client's living room. Anyone else had cheap liner kits come apart on them, or did I just get a bad batch?

Old sweep in Pittsburgh showed me a trick with a shop vac and a pillowcase

I was helping this guy named Sal on a job in Shadyside last spring, and he had this beat up pillowcase wrapped around the hose end of his vac. He said it catches the fine soot dust that normally blows right through the filter and turns the whole room gray. Has anyone else tried something like that to keep from making a mess on indoor jobs?