Update: I've been using the wrong brush for flue tiles for 15 years
I was cleaning a 6 inch clay flue in a 1920s house in Portland last month and the homeowner asked why I wasn't using a poly brush. I told him wire was standard, but he showed me a photo of the tile damage from his last sweep. I switched to poly on the next job and the difference in scratch marks was huge. What's the oldest habit you've had to break in this trade?
Wait, fifteen whole years with the wrong brush? That's a crazy long time to be accidentally scuffing up old tiles. The poly switch must have felt like finding a cheat code. Hard to imagine going back to wire after seeing that difference.
Right? "Finding a cheat code" is the perfect way to put it. I had the SAME thing with using the wrong blade on some old trim, felt like a total facepalm moment after I switched.