c/chimney-sweeps

Chat with an old timer made me rethink my whole brush setup

Was cleaning a flue at this Victorian house in Portland yesterday, and the homeowner came out to chat. He was probably 75, said he swept chimneys back in the 70s. He told me he never used poly brushes, just a burlap sack with rocks in it. Honestly it made me question if I'm overcomplicating things with my fancy fiberglass rods and plastic bristles. Has anyone here ever tried the old school burlap method?

TIL a 90 degree brush isn't just for tight spaces

Was cleaning out a clay flue liner in an old house off Maple Street in Portland last Tuesday. I got lazy and used the straight rod the whole way down, but I missed a ton of creosote buildup near the smoke chamber. Ended up having to redo the whole job in the rain, which added an extra 45 minutes and made a mess of my truck bed. Anybody else ever learn a lesson like that the hard way?

Rotary brushes beat hand rods every time on heavy creosote jobs

I switched to a rotary kit after a bad morning in Spokane last March where I spent 45 minutes fighting a 3-inch glaze with just rods and a brush. Anyone else find hand tools just can't touch the buildup that's been baking for years?

That Tuesday in February when everything went right for a change

I remember one Tuesday back in February 2019, I had three cleanings lined up in the same neighborhood near downtown. First house was a simple gas insert, in and out in 30 minutes. The second one was a wood burning fireplace that hadn't been touched in 15 years, but the flue was straight and the damper came out without a fight. By 2pm I was at the third house, an old Victorian with a clay liner that had a decent buildup but nothing scary. I finished by 3:30, got paid cash for all three jobs, and even stopped for a late lunch at the diner on the corner. It's rare that everything lines up like that, no stuck dampers, no creosote chunks falling behind the smoke shelf, no fussy homeowners asking questions. Has anyone else had a day where the work just flowed without any hiccups?

Three months of using a rotary brush finally paid off

I had a regular customer in a 1920s house in Cleveland whose chimney was caked with about a quarter inch of creosote. I kept hitting it with just standard rods and brushes, but it wasn't budging. Finally broke down and bought a rotary cleaning kit with a poly whip, and after three passes over two visits, the difference was night and day. Got the full sweep done in under an hour with barely any mess left behind. Has anyone else found a specific brush that works better for heavy glaze buildup?

Warning: that discount creosote log nearly lit my customer's flue on fire yesterday

I overheard a hardware store employee telling someone that a $8 creosote log does the same job as a proper sweep, and I had to step in after seeing the results of that shortcut leave a thick glaze behind that could have caught any minute - has anyone else run into homeowners using those things and thinking they are good to go?

Can we talk about how many folks skip the cleanout tee on new installs

I was out on a job last Tuesday up in Salem and the homeowner showed me their brand new fireplace insert. The crew that put it in left no cleanout tee at the bottom of the flue liner. Now every sweep who comes after is going to have a miserable time trying to brush that out. Why do installers keep skipping this step when it saves so much headache down the road. Has anyone else run into this on new builds?

Old timer told me to use dish soap instead of creosote remover. Here is what happened.

I was working a job in Buffalo last month and a retired sweep named Hank told me to just squirt some Dawn in a spray bottle with hot water and hit the heavy creosote spots before brushing. I thought he was messing with me at first. But after 3 tough cleanings this winter where my regular stuff wasn't cutting it, I gave it a try on a rental property with a wood stove insert. The creosote actually softened up way faster and I cut my brush time by like 20 minutes. I still used my steel brush after but it was way less elbow grease. Has anyone else heard this trick or am I just late to the party?

Old timer told me to skip the wire brush on clay flues

A guy who has been sweeping since the 70s told me to NEVER use a wire brush on clay flue liners because it will scratch them up and cause soot to stick worse. I tried it on a house built in 1962 last month and now I have to go back because the homeowner says it's smoking way more than before. Has anyone else had to deal with a scratched up clay liner from previous cleanings?

Just finished a job where the old creosote had built up so thick it looked like a tree branch growing sideways out of the flue

I was working on a 1920s house over in Oak Park last Tuesday and after 45 minutes of scraping I had to break out the rotary brush just to get through a foot of that stuff, anyone ever found something that weird jammed in a flue?

I finally tried the shop vac trick for a tough flue blockage

Had a chimney in Oak Park last Tuesday that was completely clogged near the top - couldn't get my standard rods to push through. On a whim I taped my shop vac hose to the bottom opening and ran it on reverse, and that blew loose debris down in about 10 seconds flat. Anyone else use this method or am I just getting lucky with that one job?

Hot take: that fancy new coffee shop in Portland has terrible chimney work

I was in Portland last weekend visiting a friend and stopped by this trendy coffee spot everyone's been raving about. First thing I noticed was their chimney cap - it was completely rusted through and missing half the mesh. The flashing around the roofline was done so sloppy you could see daylight through the gaps. I asked the barista if they ever had smoke issues and she said the place fills up with smoke every time it rains. I told her I'm a sweep and offered to take a look for free. Turns out the liner was installed backwards and the crown was cracking bad. They paid some handyman 800 bucks last year to patch it up and it just made things worse. Has anyone else run into new builds or renovated places where the chimney work looks good from the street but falls apart up close?

Remember when chimney brushes were just a hunk of wire and some stiff bristles?

I was dead set against those poly brush systems when they first showed up at the supply house maybe 8 years ago, figured they were a gimmick that'd break after 3 jobs. But after a buddy let me borrow his on a rough flue up in Portland last spring, I had to admit it saved me a good 20 minutes of fighting with stubborn soot. Any of you old-timers still stickin' with the traditional stuff, or have you made the switch too?

20 years of sweeping and I just figured out I was holding the brush wrong

TIL letting the brush spin too fast makes way more dust

Used to run my rotary brush at full speed on every job. After a cleanup in a dark living room last month I realized I was just spraying soot everywhere. Has anyone else slowed their RPM down and noticed a difference?

Creosote log gave me a false sense of security and cost me 6 extra hours

I had a regular customer in Denver who swore by those creosote sweeping logs. Thought I'd try one on my own chimney last month just to see if they actually did anything. After burning it I figured my flue was good enough to skip the regular brush cleaning for another month. Big mistake. Next time I fired up my stove I got a nasty smoke smell in the house and pulled my camera down to find a thick glaze of creosote that the log barely touched. Ended up spending 6 hours on a Saturday with my rotary brush and化学品 to get it all off. Has anyone else had those logs fail you like that?

Been seeing more creosote buildup from pellet stoves lately

Visited a job over in Frederick last week. Owner had a pellet stove running for 2 years without a sweep. Creosote was caked on thick, almost like tar. Anyone else noticing pellet stoves need more frequent cleaning than people think?

Had a ladder slide out from under me on a steep roof in Portland last Wednesday

I was cleaning a 3-story flue on a rainy morning, and my extension ladder just kicked out sideways. Lucky for me I was only 8 feet up and landed on a wet tarp instead of concrete. The homeowner came running out asking if I was okay, and I just sat there covered in soot and mud. Took me 20 minutes to get the ladder re-set on some plywood pads I keep in the truck now. Anyone else ever have a ladder fail on a tricky pitch like that?

The week I swept 47 chimneys and every single one was a mess

Last month I had a week that was both my best and worst in ten years of sweeping. I got called out to a big old house in Brookline, Massachusetts, and the homeowner said they hadn't cleaned their fireplace in 15 years. When I opened the damper, a pile of soot and bird nesting fell right onto my head. It took me over two hours to scrape out three inches of packed creosote from the smoke chamber. On the flip side, that same afternoon I did a quick sweep at a newer build where the liner was like glass and I was done in 20 minutes. The money was great that week, around $2,100 total, but my back has never hurt that bad. Has anyone else dealt with a house that was clearly neglected for a decade or more, or am I the only one who keeps landing those jobs?

Hit 500 sweeps last month and it completely changed how I think about creosote buildup

I crossed 500 chimney sweeps last month, which I never thought would be a milestone that mattered. But looking back, I started noticing a pattern around sweep 300 where certain wood types and stove designs always had heavier glazed creosote. It's not just about burning seasoned wood anymore, I can almost predict which houses will have issues based on their chimney height and flue liner age. For me, hitting that number made me pay way more attention to the smaller details that I used to overlook. Has anyone else found that a certain number of jobs shifted their whole approach to cleaning?

Old timer named Frank in Denver told me I was using too much water on my mortar mix

He said I was making soup, not mud, and that's why my repointing was crumbling after one freeze-thaw cycle. Anyone else get called out by a veteran for something basic you thought you had down?

Warning: Check your brickwork before sweeping in old houses

Went to a job in a 1920s row house in Baltimore yesterday. Started sweeping and half the firebrick lining crumbled into the flue. Almost lost my brush and rods down a collapsed section. Guy told me the last sweep was 15 years ago and nobody ever looked at the mortar. Any of you run into hidden damage like that on older structures?

Switched from wire brushes to poly brushes for flue cleaning and never going back

Ngl, I was using the standard wire brushes for like 3 years on every job. Finally tried a poly brush on a heavy creosote job in an old house in Portland last month. The wire brush just wasnt grabbing the stuff on the walls, kept sliding over it. Poly brush dug right in and I had half the mess to clean up after. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference?

Took me 6 hours to realize my flex rod was bent wrong at the factory

Spent all morning trying to force a 6 inch flex rod through a tight 45 degree turn. Finally stopped to really look at it and saw the damn thing was curved the opposite direction from the factory. Has anyone else gotten a bad rod from a batch that looked fine at first?

I finally chose between a fiberglass rod set and a steel one for my biggest job yet

Had a massive commercial job up in Scranton last month - 14 flues in a old apartment building. My buddy Mike swore by steel rods, said fiberglass would snap on the second floor. I went fiberglass anyway cause they're lighter on my back. Made it through 12 flues fine but on the 13th one a chunk of creosote the size of my fist fell and cracked the last rod section. Had to pack up and come back the next day with steel rods borrowed from a guy at the supply shop. Took twice as long on that last one. Has anyone else had fiberglass fail on heavy buildup?