Rant: That old brick factory job in Cleveland made me rethink my whole setup.

Got a call for a massive industrial chimney at a shut-down plant. Must have been 150 feet tall. Showed up with my standard rods and brushes. Climbed up the first ladder section and the soot was like tar. Thick, sticky, nothing like home fireplaces. My regular gear just gummed up. Had to stop halfway. Ended up talking to the plant's old maintenance guy, Frank. He said they used to pressure wash it from the top with a special acid mix back in the 80s. Never even crossed my mind for residential work. Now I keep a heavy-duty chemical cleaner in the truck for the really nasty ones. Anyone else run into a job that forced a total gear change?

3 comments

3 Comments

zara_wilson1mo ago

Ever try to clean a chimney with a toothbrush?

price.linda1mo ago

Oh man, that's the perfect example of trying to fix a big problem with a tiny tool. I see this everywhere, like using a band-aid on a broken pipe. People want a quick fix so bad they grab whatever's closest, even if it makes zero sense. Why do we keep picking the wrong tool for the job?

garcia.wren1mo ago

But is a band-aid ever really that bad?