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Got a face full of soot in a tight brick flue over in Oakwood | Chimney Sweeps - nhfree.com

Got a face full of soot in a tight brick flue over in Oakwood

Was cleaning a chimney on an old house yesterday, the kind with a super narrow flue. My brush got stuck about halfway up, so I gave the rod a good shove. Next thing I know, a huge chunk of creosote breaks loose and falls straight down. It missed the drop cloth, hit the firebox floor, and exploded into a cloud of black dust. I was right there taking a look and got it all over my face and gear. Took me an hour to clean up the mess and another 30 minutes just to get the stuff out of my hair. What's your go-to move when a big piece lets go like that to keep it contained?

3 comments

3 Comments

miab876mo ago

You said it exploded into a cloud of black dust. That's wild, I've never had one completely disintegrate on impact like that. Sounds like it was way more dried out and fragile than the usual chunks. My go-to is just to get my face out of the firebox the second I feel something big break loose.