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Changed my mind about creosote logs after a near miss in Toledo

I used to swear creosote logs were a waste of money, always told customers to just brush more often. Then a homeowner in Toledo let me check her flue in November, and the glaze buildup was so thick it took me two hours with a rotary loop to get it off. She showed me her maintenance receipts, she had burned one of those logs every fall for three years, and I figured that glaze should have been way worse without it. Now I tell my regulars it is not a replacement for sweeping, but I have seen enough evidence to recommend one as a cheap extra between annual visits. Has anyone else had a similar flip after seeing real chimney conditions?

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jessicajohnson2mo ago

Ugh, I completely disagree. One bad glaze job in Toledo doesn't prove anything. I've pulled out creosote logs that left this weird shiny residue that was honestly harder to scrape than normal soot. It's like they just bake a layer of crud on. And I've seen plenty of flues where people used them every year and still had heavy buildup, maybe even worse because they skipped brushing thinking the log did the work. That one homeowner could've just had a milder burning season or used seasoned wood. I don't trust those things any further than I can toss a chimney brush.

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