A customer called me in because their fireplace was smoking bad, so I ran a camera up and found this massive chunk of glazed creosote blocking about 40% of the 8 inch liner. Took me 45 minutes with a rotary tool to break it all free, but the draft difference after was night and day. Anybody else run into glazed creosote that built up faster than normal?
Did a job last Thursday on a house in Arlington where the old clay liner was in decent shape but had some crusty buildup. I swear by poly brushes for less mess, but my partner says wire is the only way to really scrape off the baked on creosote. I used a poly brush on the first flue and it was clean but still felt a little slick. Switched to a wire on the second one and it kicked up dust everywhere but the tiles looked almost new. Which side do you guys lean on for clay liners? Does it depend on the age of the house or the type of wood they burn?
I spent 10 years spinning my rods the same direction until a customer leaned over and asked why I was pushing soot deeper into his flue instead of pulling it out. Who else had a basic technique click way later than it should have?
I had a 6 month old fiberglass rod snap clean in half last Thursday on a job over on Maple Street. It was a standard 3/8 inch rod and it just gave out when I hit a tough creosote spot. Anyone else seeing these fiberglass rods fail way sooner than the old steel ones?
Guy I was working for in Austin said his last sweep told him that pine and cardboard were fine to burn. Had to explain that creosote buildup from that stuff will cost him way more than a few logs of seasoned hardwood.
I was working a job at an old Victorian house in East Nashville and kept getting hung up on a tight bend in the flue. Took me an extra 45 minutes of wrestling before I swapped to a smaller diameter poly brush and finished in 10 minutes flat. Any of you guys switch up your brush size based on the chimney type you're dealing with?
I showed up to a job on Maple Street and the flue was caked with about a quarter inch of glaze. The homeowner wanted it cleaned fast but I knew a whip could tear up the clay liner if I was too rough. I sat there for a solid 5 minutes weighing my options. Eventually I went with the hand brush kit because I figured slow and steady beats patching a cracked liner later. Took me almost twice as long but the glaze came off in chunks and the liner looked fine. Customer watched me the whole time and said he was glad I didn't rush it. Anyone else have a job where picking the slower tool saved your butt?
I've been sweeping for about 8 years now. Early on I mostly saw brick flues but the last 3 years almost every new install or reline I come across is metal. My old boss swore by brick - said it holds heat better and lasts twice as long. But my buddy who does new construction says metal is way easier to clean and rarely cracks. I just did a job on West Hill where a guy had a 20 year old metal liner that was all warped near the top. Replaced it with another metal one but now I'm second guessing if brick would have been smarter. What's your take? Have you seen one hold up noticeably better than the other over a long stretch?
I usually fight with extension poles that wobble, but this kit with a locking collar from Grainger actually held steady at full reach, has anyone else tried those or do you just stick with the standard poles?
I was cleaning out a 150 year old chimney at this big Victorian house near the race track. The owner insisted I use those heavy duty chemical soot removers, said it was the only way. After I finished, the next sweep job I did a week later had a cracked flue liner that looked like it was from those same chemicals eating away at the mortar. I stopped using anything but wire brushes on brick and terra cotta after that. Has anyone else seen long term damage from those chemical cleaners?
I was sweeping a chimney for a new customer last Tuesday and she asked me why I keep looking up the flue with my flashlight. I mumbled something about checking for blockages but she pushed me for the real reason. So I told her about the time I found a squirrel nest in a liner back in 2021 that could have caused a house fire if it wasnt pulled out. She said wow I never knew that and then asked if she could watch me work. It hit me that most people just see us as the sweep guy and have no idea what we actually look for. Since then I started explaining one safety check per visit and folks actually listen more. Anyone else do little walkthroughs with homeowners or do you just get the job done and leave?
Been sweeping chimneys for about 8 years now, mostly around the Richmond area. I used to do everything with rods and a brush, just letting the soot fall where it may. About 3 years ago I got a proper HEPA vacuum setup and started using it on every job. The dust difference is night and day, especially in finished basements where you can't just open a door. But I still run into old-timers who swear the vacuum clogs up too fast on heavy creosote jobs and strips out too much air from the flue. They say a manual sweep gives you a better feel for blockages. I had a job last month where the vacuum actually saved me from missing a hidden crack in the liner because the soot didn't cloud everything up. So which side do you guys lean on for a standard residential job with moderate buildup?
I counted up my logs and realized I've done exactly 500 flue cleanings since I started sweeping 4 years ago... never thought I'd hit such a round number. Anybody else keep track of their tallies or am I just weird about it?
I was up on a roof outside of Portland staring at a flue packed with stage 3 glaze, and my normal poly brush was just sliding over it like nothing. Grabbed the wire brush from the truck instead and spent an extra hour scraping, but at least the liner didn't crack. Anybody have a go-to for thick glaze that doesn't beat up your arms?
I was dead set against buying one, thought it was just another gadget, but after I dropped 200 bucks on a cheap one and it picked up a whole pile of soot and nails from a 1930s flue in one pass, I'm a total convert. Has anyone else had a magnetic tool surprise them on a job they thought was routine?
I was called out to a house last Tuesday in a neighborhood near me. The homeowner said their previous sweep had been coming for three years straight. When I ran my camera up there, the smoke shelf was caked with about two inches of soot and creosote. That is the whole reason you do a clean from the top down. You cannot get that shelf clean from below with a rotary tool. I asked the homeowner if their guy ever went on the roof and they said no. How do you call yourself a chimney sweep if you skip the most basic part of the job? Has anyone else been seeing this a lot lately?
I used to use a manual hand crank soot blower on every cleanout for like 5 years. It got the job done but my shoulder was killing me after big jobs with heavy creosote buildup. Finally switched to an electric model from a supply house in Portland after a buddy let me borrow his. First job with it cut my time from 45 minutes down to maybe 20 on a particularly nasty oil furnace flue. Now I am wondering if I should have made the change years ago. Has anyone else found a tool upgrade that saved your body more than your time?
Bought a cheap $40 ultrasonic cleaner off Amazon last month mostly as a joke to clean my stiff chimney brushes after a nasty creosote buildup job. Ran it for 15 minutes with some simple green and the bristles came out looking brand new, no more scrubbing by hand. Anybody else had surprising luck with one of these things on their gear?
Picked up one of those $40 magnetic chimney sweep kits off Amazon last week to save time on a rental property job, and the magnet snapped off inside the flue halfway through. Ended up spending 3 hours fishing out broken ceramic magnets and scratched the stainless liner so bad it needs replacing now. Has anyone else had a cheap tool fail like this mid-job or am I just unlucky?
Last week I was on a job in Burlington and the homeowner's buddy kept pushing me to switch to fiberglass rods for a tough flue liner. I've been sweeping for 12 years and my old steel rods with a good poly brush have never let me down. Three years ago I tried fiberglass on a similar job in Montpelier and the rod snapped halfway through, cost me an extra hour to fish it out. Has anyone else had trouble with fiberglass not handling real heavy creosote buildup?
Third floor walkup, hot as hell. Client had a big old creosote buildup. I was going at it hard and then crack. The whole head split right down the middle. Lost an hour waiting for my apprentice to bring me a spare. Anyone else had their poly brushes just give up like that?
I was cleaning a 6 inch flue for Mrs. Patterson's house and the brush head just broke clean off after hitting a rough spot. The metal rod bent and the plastic housing shattered. Took me an extra hour to fish out the pieces with a magnet and shop vac. Has anyone else had a rotary tool fail on them mid-job like that?
Honestly used to just use my old broom and dustpan for years, but after a job last month where I spent 45 minutes chasing soot, I grabbed a Rigid shop vac and it cut cleanup time in half. Anyone else make the switch and never look back?
Guy with 40 years experience saw me going at a creosote buildup and said I was wearing out my brush and the liner for nothing. Switched to a slower, steadier approach and my brushes last twice as long now. Anybody else get told to ease up on the elbow grease?