Realized I was brushing the smoke shelf wrong for 4 years until a customer in Akron pointed it out

Hugo Gonzalez · 2026-11-12T18:35:04.661906+00:00

Had a sweet little win this week when a job that usually takes me 90 minutes was done in 45, and it's because I finally figured out my smoke shelf mistake. For years I was angling my brush straight up the flue and skipping that ledge, which is why I kept getting callbacks on the same houses (embarrassing, I know). A homeowner in Akron watched me work and asked why I wasn't sweeping side to side on the shelf, and turns out she used to clean chimneys with her dad back in the 80s. Now I hit it at a 45 degree angle first and the creosote actually comes off, so what's the move you all use on tight smoke shelves?

🐿️Pinecone Attack

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Realized I was brushing the smoke shelf wrong for 4 years until a customer in Akron pointed it out | Chimney Sweeps - Pinecone Attack