c/chimney-sweeps

Duct tape on my wrist saved a Saturday job in Boise

Last Saturday I was up on a steep roof with a broken lanyard clip and wrapped duct tape around my forearm to hold the tool pouch strap, which kept everything from sliding off while I chased a stuck damper for 3 hours, so has anyone else rigged a quick fix like that on site?

Brush vs rotary, which one do you actually trust for creosote?

I've been running my own route for about 5 years now, and I still flip-flop between the old wire brush and the rotary setup. Last week in Springfield I took a job where the liner had this baked on glaze that the wire brush just laughed at, so I had to go back to the truck for the rotary and it ate through in 20 minutes. But on the flip side, I've seen rotary heads chew up a damaged liner if you're not careful, and that's a $2,000 mistake the homeowner won't forget. I picked the rotary for the tough stuff now, but I'm second guessing if I'm overcomplicating the easy ones. What's your go to when you pull up to a house and can't tell what's inside the flue yet?

Flash rust on tools after a Tuesday wash down in Portland

Last week I rinsed off my brushes and scrapers after a job in Portland and left them in the van overnight, by morning they had orange specs all over. Never had that happen before, even in the rainy season, but I guess the cold air and moisture did a number on them. Anyone else deal with this and got a quick fix that doesn't involve oiling everything every single time?

Bristle brush vs. rotary whip on a heavy creosote job in Toledo, I made the wrong call first

Had a chimney in Toledo last month, straight run but about 9 years of buildup. Homeowner wanted a quick cleaning, and I figured the rotary whip would chew through it faster. Took me maybe 20 minutes to realize I was just polishing the top layer and spreading dust everywhere. Creosote was crusty, almost like tar. Swapped to the bristle brush and used a chain knocker first... that got the chunks loose. Whole thing took twice as long, but the flue actually looked clean when I was done. Do you guys stick with one method or switch based on what you see after the first pass? Has anyone else gotten burned by trusting the faster tool on older buildup?

Bucket truck chatter changed my mind about rotor brushes

I was on a job in Denver last Tuesday and overheard two older sweeps talking about rotor brushes. One said he stopped using them entirely after a creosote fire in a customer's flue 8 years back. I always thought brushes were the safest option, but he showed me the scorch marks on his old brush head and explained how the wire can spark against buildup. Now I'm testing a poly head on my next two cleanings, and I'm curious if anyone else has ditched steel brushes for plastic after a close call.

The $60 creosote log actually did something I could see

Honestly, I've been sweeping for about 12 years now and always told customers those chemical creosote logs were a waste. Last month I got a call from a lady in Akron who used one every week for two months before asking me to clean her flue. I expected a mess, but the buildup came off in big dry flakes instead of that tar-like glaze I usually fight. It wasn't a miracle, I still had to do a full scrape and brush, but the job took maybe half the time. I also noticed less strong odor in the firebox compared to other jobs I do. I'm still not gonna recommend them as a replacement for regular sweeping, but I'll stop calling them pure snake oil. Has anyone else seen actual results from those logs, or did I just get lucky with her burn habits?

Wasted $85 on a magnetic sweep before I learned the hard way

Picked up one of those fancy magnetic chimney sweep kits off Amazon for $85, thought it would save me time on a tricky flue in an old house near Portland. Turns out it barely held onto the creosote chunks and the magnets just kept sticking to the damper plate, cost me two extra hours on site. I should've just stuck with my regular brush and rods setup, live and learn. Has anyone else tried those magnetic rigs and had them fail on a metal liner?

Ditched the wire brush for a rotary kit, night and day difference

I used to spend 45 minutes scraping a fireplace in Arlington with a stiff wire brush and honestly my shoulders hated me by Thursday. Switched to a rotary cleaning kit with a 1 inch poly rope attachment last fall and it cuts the job down to maybe 20 minutes tops. The trick was learning to go slow on the first pass so the bristles don't fling soot everywhere. Anyone else make the jump and never looked back, or do you stick with the old hand method for tight flues?

That $90 rotorsweep attachment did nothing for my flue

Picked up one of those spinning rotary head attachments for my drills last month to clean a heavy creosote glaze in a 8 inch clay liner. Thought it would save me a day of scraping by hand. Total waste of cash. The head kept binding on the curves and it just polished the creosote instead of cutting it. Ended up doing the whole flue manually with a scraper rod anyway. The glaze was so hard it took me almost 4 hours and two cups of coffee. Anyone else tried power attachments on glazed buildup and had them just smear it around? I'm thinking of just renting a chain knocker next time, but not sure if that's any better.

Stiff brush on masonry was my mistake for 5 years

Always used the stiff wire brush on brick chimneys. Thought it was the only way. Then a homeowner in Portland watched me work and asked why I was scratching the mortar. I looked closer. I'd been gouging soft brick all that time. Switched to a nylon brush with more bristles. Takes longer but the walls aren't ruined. Has anyone else made this switch after wrecking a flue?

Brush that with a plastic liner and you'll regret it

I used a steel wire brush on a client's metal flue in Portland last week and it shredded the flexible liner in under 10 minutes, cost me $400 in repairs out of pocket. The liner manufacturer's manual clearly says nylon or poly brushes only, but I always figured steel was fine since it worked on masonry. Has anyone else had a liner fail like this, or am I the only dummy who skipped the fine print?

Switched from vacuum attachments to a shop vac for summer cleanouts, night and day

I used to spend forever with the little hose on my truck vacuum trying to pull ash and soot out of fireboxes during the off-season. Last month I rigged up a 4 inch shop vac hose to my 14 foot extension rod using a coupler and some duct tape, and it clears a fireplace in like 3 minutes instead of 20. The bigger hose also handles the loose mortar chunks and bird nests without clogging every other sweep. Has anyone else built a cheap adapter like this, or do you guys spring for the fancy rotating vacuum kits? I'm in Portland and my neighbors think I'm nuts but my back thanks me.

Raccoon nest in a flue liner, 3 hours of my life gone

Mid-job on a two-story colonial in Nashua last October, I pulled the cap and a whole family of raccoons had shredded the stainless liner to the point where one wrong brush stroke would have buried the house in soot, so I had to cut the flue open from the attic and patch it with a section of rigid pipe, and has anyone else dealt with animals getting into liners that were supposedly capped right?

Old sweep's log book brought up things I'd forgotten

I was cleaning out a job site last Tuesday and found a notebook tucked behind a false panel in the flue chase. Turns out a guy named Ed who swept chimneys here in the 70s kept a record of every house he did, including rough sketches of the liners and notes like 'cracked crown, use care' or 'damper stuck, don't force.' Reading through it made me realize how much we lean on cameras and rotary tools now, but Ed did it all by feel and a hand brush. I spent a good hour just flipping pages, seeing how he handled a tough spot on a house I did last month, and his approach was slower but maybe smarter. It got me wondering, how many of us still keep any kind of paper trail or is it all phone photos that get lost when you upgrade? Has anyone else found old sweep gear or notes on a job and learned something from it?

That old rotary brush finally gave up after 11 years

The belt snapped mid-sweep on a two-story flue in St. Paul yesterday, and I wasted 6 hours waiting on a replacement from the supply house. Always carry a spare belt in your truck now, because the one time you don't, it's always a Monday with a full schedule. Has anyone else had a brush housing crack after a decade of use, or am I just unlucky?

Wish I hadn't taken that 'just use a shop vac' advice

A few weeks back, a guy on a job site told me I could skip the flue brush and use a shop vac with a stiff hose to clear chimney debris. I tried it on a stubborn creosote build-up in an old brick stack near Dayton, and all it did was mash the soot into a hard cake on the walls. Took me an extra hour and a half to scrape it off with a steel brush and a chisel. Has anyone else gotten burned by shortcuts like that, or is there a trick to shop vac cleaning I'm missing?

Heated debate at the shop: nylon brushes vs steel wire for heavy creosote. Went with nylon and kinda wish I hadn't.

Old soot brush vs modern rotary system

Been doing this 22 years now. Started with the old school soot brushes and rods. Heavy work. Arms would ache after a long day. My old man swore by them. Said the new rotary stuff was lazy work. Got a rotary setup about 6 years back at a trade show in Cleveland. Changed my mind fast. Cleans better. Gets the hard stuff off the sides. Takes half the time. Tried going back to the old brush on a job last month just to see. Left soot streaks. Had to redo it. Never again. Anyone else make the switch or still running the old gear?

Creosote buildup speeds shocked me after a 3 month chimney clean

I clean my own chimney every fall, but this year I let it go 3 months longer than usual. Pulled out the brush and was stunned by how much thick, shiny creosote had caked up inside. Found out from a trade article that creosote is basically unburned wood tar, and it gets worse when you burn wet or green wood. I had been burning some old pine logs from a storm, probably part of the problem. Gonna stick to seasoned hardwood from now on. Anyone else seen a big jump in buildup from burning softer wood during winter?

Warning: That creosote log job turned into a 6 hour nightmare

Last Tuesday I had a simple clean at a house in Oakwood, figured I'd be done in 90 minutes tops. The creosote buildup was so thick and hard that I had to switch from my regular brushes to a rotary tool with a wire cup. Took me over 6 hours to get it back to bare brick, and I still had to go back the next day to finish the last flue. Has anyone else dealt with that kind of rock-hard glazed creosote, and how do you break it down faster?

Showerthought: That 'creosote log' I swore by for years was a waste

Used those logs every fall for 5 years. Then a certified sweep in Denver showed me the soot buildup still looked like 3 months of neglect inside. Has anyone else found a better preventative product?

Bought a $200 chimney camera that barely works indoors

Fell for one of those fancy endoscope cameras on Amazon last month. Cost me $200 and the picture quality is so bad I can barely tell soot from brick when I'm inside a flue. The LED lights are so dim they might as well be candles. Has anyone else wasted cash on inspection gear that just collects dust now?

Vent: people keep using the wrong brush on clay flue tiles

I was on a job last Tuesday in an old house near downtown and the homeowner had tried cleaning his own flue with a wire brush. It gouged the clay liner so bad I could feel the rough spots with my gloved hand. How do you get folks to stop using metal brushes on clay without sounding like a jerk?

Hit 500 cleanings last week and it hit me different

I crossed 500 chimney sweeps last Wednesday on a job in old town. Didn't even realize I was close until I counted back through my logbook that night. That number just felt huge for some reason, like damn I've been up on a lot of roofs lol. It made me think about how much I've learned since job number 1 when I showed up with a crappy brush set. Has anyone else kept track of their total jobs and felt surprised when you hit a certain number?

That $120 magnetic sweeper I bought was a total bust - would love to hear if anyone had better luck with a different brand

I dropped $120 on a heavy-duty magnetic sweeper from Master Magnet last spring for cleaning up soot nails and debris around job sites (mostly in older brick chimneys around Philly). It picked up maybe half of what it should have, and the rolling mechanism jammed up after just 8 uses. I ended up back using a basic handheld magnet I got for $15 at Harbor Freight - works way better. Has anyone else found a sweeper that actually handles the metal junk we deal with?