c/chimney-sweeps

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?

Question about a soot explosion I had last Tuesday

I was cleaning out a old fireplace in a 1920s house near downtown Nashville last week. The homeowner said they hadn't used it in maybe 5 years so I figured it would be pretty tame. But when I started scraping the flue there was this huge buildup of fine black soot that just fell down in a cloud. I guess I stirred it up too fast because the whole thing lit off with a little poof and scared me half to death. No real damage thank goodness but it blew soot all over their living room carpet. I spent the next 3 hours vacuuming and wiping everything down trying to clean up the mess. Has anyone else ever had a soot explosion happen like that or did I just do something stupid?

Found a way to clear a stubborn flue blockage in a 1920s house in Spokane

I was on a job last week in an old Spokane neighborhood, and the homeowner said their fireplace hadn't drawn right in years. The brush and rods just wouldn't get past a point about 15 feet up. Instead of forcing it, I hooked my shop vac hose to the cleanout and had my helper tap the chimney crown with a rubber mallet while I ran the vac. The vibration broke up what felt like a solid nest of old mortar droppings, and it all came down in one chunk. Has anyone else used vibration to loosen a packed-in blockage like that?

Vent: I thought those new flexible chimney rods were just a gimmick

For years, I stuck with my old solid steel rods, thinking anything bendy couldn't possibly clean a flue right. Then I got a job on a really old house in Charleston with a crazy offset, and my regular rods just wouldn't make the turn. A guy I know lent me his set of those flexible fiberglass ones, and I was sure it would be a waste of an afternoon. But after about 20 minutes of fighting with my gear, I tried his. The thing snaked right through, and I got a perfect clean on the first pass. I had to eat my words. It's been six months now, and I use them for about half my jobs. They're not for every chimney, but they have their place. Has anyone else had a tool they swore was junk turn out to be a real help?

My extension ladder slipped on a wet roof last Tuesday

Honestly, I was cleaning a chimney in the rain and didn't secure the feet properly. The whole thing slid about two feet before it caught on a gutter. Anyone have a good method for wet roof ladder setup?

Had a real scare with a hidden beehive in a chimney last month

I was cleaning a standard brick chimney for a house in Springfield. The brush hit something soft about 15 feet down, and a second later a few bees came up the flue. The homeowner had no idea they were there. I capped the top fast and told them to call a pest pro before I could finish. It got me thinking, do you guys stop the job right away for something like that, or do you have a go-to method to handle it yourself if it's small? I don't like leaving a job half done, but bees felt beyond my pay grade.

Spent $75 on a fancy camera snake and found a raccoon family

I bought this little inspection camera on a flexible cable last fall, thinking it would help me spot cracks without getting my whole head up there. It was about $75, which felt like a lot for a tiny screen and a light. Well, I used it on a job in Springfield last week, and instead of a crack, I saw four little raccoon faces staring right back at the lens. The homeowner was watching over my shoulder and just started laughing. Has anyone else had a wild find with one of these things, or is my luck just that special?

Hot take: My old steel brush versus the new poly one on a tough creosote job

I had a brick flue in an old farmhouse with about a quarter inch of hard, glazed creosote buildup. The steel brush just scratched the surface and took forever, but the poly brush with the stiff bristles cut right through it in half the time. Which brush do you all reach for first on a glazed chimney?

Overheard a guy at the lumber yard telling his buddy his chimney 'never needs cleaning' because he burns 'good wood'. I had to bite my tongue.

Finally convinced a customer to stop burning green wood after their third creosote fire this year

Kept finding massive glazed deposits in their flue every clean, and the homeowner insisted their 'free' wood was fine. Showed them a cross-section of a chimney tile from a similar house fire in Springfield, and they finally ordered a cord of seasoned oak. Anyone else have a go-to method for getting that point across?

Showerthought: My trusty brush head snapped clean off inside a flue last Tuesday.

I was finishing a sweep on a 1920s brick chimney in Cincinnati and the threaded ferrule just gave out, leaving me to fish the bristles out with a magnet on a string for 45 minutes, so what's the most reliable brush connector you all use?