Hot take: A homeowner's complaint taught me to slow down on brush strokes

Last spring I was cleaning out a flue for a lady over on Maple Street, and she came out to watch me work. She said something like, "You're awfully quick with that brush, but I hear scraping more than sweeping." At first I was annoyed, but later I realized she had a point. I was so focused on getting the job done fast that I was jamming the brush in and out without letting the bristles fully expand. That was leaving lines of soot on the walls of the clay liner. Now I take an extra 10 seconds per stroke and let the brush drag slow and steady. The difference in how much debris comes down is night and day. Has anyone else had a customer's offhand comment change how you sweep?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_lane2919d ago

Swapped out my entire technique after a customer pointed out I was rushing the corners. Was jamming the brush in fast and pulling it out faster, leaving half the soot behind. Spent a whole day doing it her way, slow and steady every stroke, and the pile of debris on the tarp was easily double what I'd normally get. Still feels weird taking that extra time but the numbers don't lie.

stella_lee19d ago

Honestly that's such a good point about the numbers not lying. Once you actually measure the difference it's hard to argue with slowing down even if it feels wrong at first.