c/chimney-sweeps

25

rowan_wells67•1d ago

That old mason in Pittsburgh who showed me his brush technique up close

I always thought a stiff wire brush was the only way to go for heavy creosote until I watched him use a chain knocker on a clay flue liner at a church job. The guy just said, "You're grinding away refractory, son... let the weight do the work." Has anyone else had an old timer totally flip their basic approach?

7

valwest•2d ago

Vent: Took a job at a house where they hadn't swept in 8 years and the difference was scary

I showed up to a house last Tuesday in Portland and the homeowner said they hadn't had their chimney cleaned since they bought the place back in 2016. I pulled out almost 5 gallons of creosote and soot, some of it was that shiny glazed stage three stuff that can catch so fast. The flue lining was cracked in two spots from heat damage and I could see daylight through one of the gaps. They had been burning mostly pine and construction scrap wood, not seasoned hardwood, which made the buildup way worse. The before and after on the camera inspection was night and day, the flue went from basically two inches open to a clear 8x12 channel. Has anyone else dealt with a situation where the homeowner had no idea how bad their system was after years of neglect?

14

felix_thomas73•3d ago

Thought I knew how to clean a double-wall pipe but I was dead wrong

For 7 years I used the same stiff wire brush on my double-wall chimney pipe. Figured it was fine since I got soot out every time. Then last winter I pulled a section apart to check it and found rust pitting all along the inner liner. An old sweep at a shop in Denver told me I was using a brush that was too aggressive for the stainless steel. Now I use a poly brush and check the pipe joints twice a year. Anyone else wreck a pipe from using the wrong brush?

4

the_ryan•4d ago

Chat with an old timer at the town dump last weekend got me worried about creosote buildup in triple-wall pipe

I was tossing out some scrap liner and this retired sweep, must have been 70 years old, told me he saw three house fires in his career from people running wood stoves through triple-wall without annual cleanings. He said the gap between the layers traps moisture and lets creosote form where you can't see it, especially if your chimney goes through an unheated attic like mine does. Any of you guys cut open those sections to check, or do you just trust the annual inspection?

10

david821•4d ago

Hit 500 flues cleaned this year and that number caught me off guard

I was going through my logbook last night and added up all my jobs since January. 500 flues cleaned in 9 months is way more than I expected, especially with the slow summer season. Anyone else tracking their yearly numbers and seeing a bigger total than you figured?

32

dylan_green58•5d ago

Noticed a big difference in draft after switching to stainless liner

I did a job last month on a house from the 1920s near Oak Park, the old clay liner was shot with cracks everywhere. Client agreed to a 6 inch stainless steel liner instead of just patching it up. The before and after on the draft was night and day, like the fireplace actually pulls now instead of smoking up the room. Took me about 4 hours to run the liner and hook it up, and the homeowner said even the pilot light stays lit steady now. Has anyone else seen that big of a jump just from swapping out old clay for stainless?

-1

nathan_bailey•6d ago

Hit 500 chimney caps installed last month

I just passed 500 chimney caps put on by my own hands. Started counting about 4 years ago when a customer asked how many I'd done. It really surprised me when I added it up, didn't think I was anywhere near that number. Most of them were on older homes here in the St. Louis area with masonry issues. Has anyone else kept a running count on a specific job type and found higher numbers than expected?

7

fiona502•6d ago

Thought I was wasting money on a top-of-the-line brush, but I was wrong

I bought a 10-inch TurboFlex chimney brush for $85 last month in Denver, after years of using the cheap wire brushes from the hardware store. My skepticism disappeared when I cleared a heavy creosote buildup in half the time, and the steel bristles held up with zero bending. Has anyone else had a tool they assumed was overpriced prove itself on the job?

17

olivia_chen35•9d ago

Spent 4 hours on a clay flue liner that should've taken 90 minutes tops

I was working on a house in the historic district last week and the clay liner was absolutely fused together with old creosote. Tried my regular wire brush setup and got nowhere for 2 hours. Ended up having to use a rotary chain knocker and even then it took another 2 hours to break through all the buildup. Has anyone else dealt with liners that are basically solid blocks of carbon?

4

reese177•12d ago

Hot take: I have been using the wrong brush head for 2 years straight

I cleaned a flue last week at a house in Oak Park and the homeowner pointed out I was leaving more soot than usual. Turns out I had been using a steel brush on clay flue tiles this whole time when I should have been using poly. How did I not connect the dots sooner with all the scratches I was making?

4

amygonzalez•12d ago

Three months in and my nylon brush is already shedding bristles on every job

Had to pull a clump of nylon out of a flue last Tuesday in a 1920s colonial and now I'm wondering if I should just switch to steel brushes for good, has anyone else had cheap nylon go bad this fast?

11

hall.ruby•13d ago

Had the worst chimney fire scare of my career last Thursday

Ngl, I was doing a routine sweep on an old Victorian near downtown Portland and the homeowner said they hadn't used the fireplace in months. I pulled about 3 inches of creosote buildup out of the flue, but what got me was the cracked clay liner I spotted near the top. I told the guy he needed a reline immediately, and he got defensive about the cost. Two days later he texted me that soot was falling down the chimney after a small fire, and I had to rush over to check it out. Has anyone else dealt with homeowners pushing back on liner repairs?

29

sean_murray•15d ago

Took me 10 years to finally try using a shop vac on a chimney instead of a tarp and bucket

Ran into a old timer named Hank at a job site outside of Roanoke back in March. He saw me setting up my tarp and bucket and just laughed, told me I was working too hard. He showed me how he rigs a shop vac directly to the cleanout door, saves at least 30 minutes per job. Has anyone else switched over to a vac system for residential work?

17

angela_coleman•15d ago

Debate: Should we push for HEPA vacs on every job or are shop vacs still fine?

I was over in Denver last month cleaning a big commercial flue for a restaurant, and the owner flat out asked me why I wasn't using a HEPA vac like the other guy. He said the other sweep swore by them for dust control. But I've been using a regular shop vac with a good filter for 10 years and never had complaints. On one hand, HEPA traps more fine particles and keeps the air cleaner for everyone. On the other, they're expensive and bulky for a small crew like mine. What's your take on this? Do you think it's worth the upgrade or just a fad?

16

noahchen•16d ago

Walked into a 200-year-old house in Vermont and saw a chimney crown made out of field stones

The homeowner said it's been like that since the 1800s and never had a single leak, so why are we spending all this time on fancy cement crowns when rocks and mortar clearly work just fine? Has anyone else run into old school chimney work that makes you question modern methods?

1

hugo_ellis•18d ago

Customer told me my brush technique was leaving lines in his flue

Last Tuesday a guy in his 60s pointed out I was going too fast with the poly brush and missing the top third of the flue. He showed me his father's old method of slow figure-eights with a steady push. Anyone else get schooled by a homeowner who knew more than you?

21

xena_anderson•18d ago

Noticed a weird draft after cleaning a house in the hills

I did a full sweep on this old place up near Mount Tam last Tuesday and felt air moving after I was done. Took me forever to find a tiny gap around the flu where the mortar had cracked off. Anybody else run into air leaks that only show up after you clean the soot away?

15

sage_lewis10•18d ago

30 years in this trade and I just learned I've been cleaning wrong

Last Tuesday I was on a job in Cleveland on an old house built in 1927. I was scraping the firebox and noticed the customer staring at me. He asked why I was scraping up so much creosote instead of just brushing it out. Turns out I've been over-scraping for decades and wearing down the firebrick. A guy from the local guild confirmed it after I called him. Any of you old timers ever realize you've been doing something basic wrong for years?

13

dylan_patel•19d ago

Just learned something about creosote buildup that makes way more sense now

I was up on a job last Tuesday cleaning a flue for a lady in Maplewood, and her chimney was a mess. Like, I've seen bad ones before but this had this weird shiny crust I don't normally get. So I called up an old sweeper I know, guy named Frank who's been doing this since the 80s, and he told me it was glazed creosote from burning unseasoned softwood. He said to try a rotary loop tool with a chain flail attachment instead of just my standard brush. I gave it a shot on that job and man, it cut through that stuff like butter. Took me maybe 20 extra minutes but the result was way cleaner than my usual approach. How do you guys deal with glazed creosote when you run into it? Is there a trick I'm still missing?

4

rowank69•19d ago

Cleaned a 30-year-old flue last week and the before/after was unreal

I got called to this old house in Burlington that hadn't had a sweep in probably a decade. The homeowner said they were getting smoke back every time they lit a fire. I ran my brush through and started pulling out this thick, sticky creosote that was almost like tar. After about an hour of scrubbing and using a rotary tool, the difference was night and day. The draft went from barely pulling to roaring so loud you could hear it from across the room. Honestly made me realize how many people just ignore their chimney until something goes wrong. Do you guys ever just clean a flue that looks totally fine but then find a huge block of creosote hiding up near the crown?

22

sagey69•21d ago

Vent: Switched to plastic brushes over wire and I'm never going back

Everyone in my local guild swears by wire brushes for heavy creosote but I got tired of gouging my flue liners. After 3 jobs with a poly brush set from Home Depot I actually got less drag and zero scratches. Anyone else make the swap and just deal with the side eye from old timers?

8

faith_lopez48•22d ago

My opinion on using wire brushes for clay flues changed after a job in Phoenix

I keep hearing everyone say to never use a wire brush on clay flue liners. But I had a chimney in Phoenix last month with heavy creosote that nothing else would touch. I used a soft stainless brush on it and the liner came out perfect with no scratches. Has anyone else had good luck with this when other methods fail?

20

ivan_perez•24d ago

Found a weird trick for cleaning really old creosote buildup

Been fighting this one fireplace that had like 20 years of buildup. Tried the standard brushes and rods, barely made a dent. My neighbor who does this part time told me to try a heat gun on low setting before scraping. I mean I thought he was messing with me but I gave it a shot. Hit the thick spots with the heat gun for maybe 30 seconds each and it flaked right off. Way less elbow grease. Anyone else try something like this or is it just a hack for my situation?

14

elliotc10•25d ago

Dropped $60 on a cheap creosote log and it did nothing

I had a heavy buildup in a customer's flue last Tuesday in Portland and thought I'd try one of those chemical creosote logs (you know, the ones that claim to eat away the glaze). Well, I ran a brush after burning it and the stuff was still caked on thick as before. Total waste of money, honestly felt like I lit a regular log with some powder on it. Anyone else had better luck with a specific brand or am I better off just sticking to the rotary tool every time?

2

cole_bailey85•25d ago

I used to think nylon brushes were better than steel until a job in Alexandria

I was cleaning out a flue in an old brownstone off King Street last Tuesday and the homeowner came down, asked what I was using. He was this retired mason, maybe 70 years old, and he told me he'd been sweeping chimneys since the 70s. He pulled out his own brush and showed me how a steel brush with stiff bristles got the creosote way better than my nylon one. I tried it on the third pass and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a client change your mind on gear like that?