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Why does nobody talk about checking the smoke shelf before you start?
I was cleaning a chimney in a house built around 1910, and my brush kept getting stuck. The owner mentioned they had a small animal problem a while back. I finally got a mirror up there and saw the smoke shelf was packed solid with old mortar droppings and what looked like a squirrel nest. I'd been just brushing the flue for years without ever really checking that spot. How many times have you guys found a real mess on the shelf?
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price.alice1mo ago
It's a classic case of missing the obvious spot because it's out of sight. We get so focused on the main task, brushing the flue, that the shelf becomes an afterthought. I see this everywhere, like only cleaning the parts of a machine you can see while grease builds up in the housing. That shelf is a perfect trap for all the junk that should fall down. It's a good reminder to check the whole system, not just the obvious path. A packed shelf will ruin your draft no matter how clean the flue is.
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ellis.charles1mo ago
Ever have a friend who swore their chimney was clean but still smoked up the house? My buddy Dave had that exact problem last winter. He kept brushing the flue but his fireplace would barely draw. Finally called a pro who found a solid brick of soot and old nests packed on that shelf. Dave felt like a total fool for missing it. Makes you wonder how many other simple fixes we overlook because they're not right in front of us, right?
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