I was out in Oak Park sweeping a place built in the 1920s and when I ran the brush up, something felt off. Pulled out a whole nest of leaves and a dead squirrel that had gotten stuck trying to get out. Anyone else run into animals blocking flues more in older houses?
Had a customer call me back six months after I cleaned her chimney. Said she had soot buildup way worse than before. I was ready to blame bad wood or something. Then her husband who used to sweep chimneys in the 80s came out and watched me work. He said I was running my brush too fast on the crown. Said slow and steady works the carbon loose better. I slowed down my strokes by about half and sure enough - way less dust flying around and the chimney came cleaner. Has anyone else gotten feedback like that from an old timer that changed their whole method?
I was at a hardware store last Saturday picking up a new brush head and I heard a guy telling the clerk he just sticks a shop vac hose up his flue every spring. Said he's been doing it for 5 years and never had a problem. I wanted to say something but I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to be that guy. But honestly that's a terrible idea. A shop vac can't get creosote buildup off the walls and it definitely can't spot cracks or damaged liners. I've pulled out birds nests and chunks of glaze that would choke any vacuum. Plus you got no idea if there's a blockage above the bend. Has anyone else run into homeowners who think they can DIY their chimney cleaning with regular tools?
Figured it'd save time on a heavy creosote job. Stupid thing snapped after 3 uses. The cable twisted up and the brush head flew off. Had to go back with a manual rod and hand brush anyway. Done with those gimmicks. Anyone else have better luck with a specific brand?
I used a 10 foot flex liner instead of the standard 8 footer and the extra slack caused the creosote to bunch up at the bottom of the sweep, had me rerunning the brush for 45 minutes, anyone else run into weird liner lengths messing with your sweep routine?
I was stuck between sticking with good old wire or trying the poly-pro kind everyone's been talking about, and I went with poly-pro after a buddy in Denver swore by them. Honestly, they clean just as well on creosote but don't scratch up the stainless liners so bad. Has anyone else made the swap and regretted it?
Been sweeping chimneys for about 12 years now and thought I had it all figured out. Then this guy Bill who's been doing it since the 70s watched me work a job over on Maple Street. He said I was wasting time by going back and forth instead of using one smooth continuous motion from top to bottom. I tried his method on the next three jobs and cut my cleaning time by almost 15 minutes per chimney. Now I can do six stops in a day instead of four or five. Has anyone else had a veteran change the way you do something basic like that?
Everyone online swears by soot eaters for quick cleanings. Figured I'd give one a shot on a customer's setup in Denver. Thing barely touched the glaze and left streaks all down the flue. Had to go back and hand brush the whole thing anyway. Anyone else had this fail on creosote buildup?
Last winter I had a customer who swore by those soot eater powder packets you toss into a hot fire. I figured it was snake oil, but he insisted I watch him use it on a heavy glaze log. The thing actually crumbled that hard buildup in about 20 minutes without me touching a rod. Now I keep a box in my truck for light jobs where I don't want to drag out all my gear. Anyone else had a tool they thought was fake that ended up saving them time?
I cleaned a stove last month that had 3 years of buildup on it. The chimney was almost completely clogged, only a 2 inch hole left for smoke to escape. The homeowner said it had been drafting fine so I showed them the photo of the creosote. Has anyone else had a client swear their chimney is fine when it's clearly not?
I started sweeping back in 2003 and we used solid steel wire brushes on a chain, never had to replace them for years. Now these plastic bristle rods wear down after 20 flues and I'm buying new ones every 3 months. Anyone else find the new stuff just doesn't hold up like the old gear?
I was over at a buddy's house last Saturday helping him with a job and I saw him using one of those big plastic rotary brushes on a stainless liner. He was just shoving it up there and spinning it fast as it would go. Told me he learned it from a YouTube video. But that's not how you do it on a real soot buildup. You gotta go slow and steady, let the brush do the work not the speed. I learned that from an old timer back in 97 when I first started sweeping in Portland. He used to say "you're scraping not polishing" and it stuck with me. Now I see guys burning out their liners and leaving soot packed in the corners because they rush it. Anyone else notice way more sweeps skipping the hand scraping and just relying on power tools?
Honestly, last week I had the wildest Tuesday. I showed up to a job in Medford and the homeowner already had the stove pipe disconnected and a tarp laid out. Finished the whole double-flue clean in 45 minutes flat, even with a stubborn creosote log in the second one. Then the customer handed me a $60 tip and said their dog usually freaks out but just slept through the whole thing. I'm not kidding, I drove home feeling like I won the lottery. Has anyone else had a day where the universe just decided to be nice to you?
Was cleaning a heavy buildup in a 1960s flue last Tuesday over in Salem. Used my steam cleaner to knock off the creosote like I always do. Next thing I know, I hear a pop and see a hairline crack running down the terra cotta liner. Now I'm split - some guys say steam is fine if you go slow, others swear it causes thermal shock. Has anyone else had a liner fail from steam, or was this just bad luck with an old install?
A guy named Frank, been sweeping since the 70s, swore that nylon brushes just smear soot on clay tiles. I kept using my nylon one because it was cheaper, but after three stuck sweeps in a row last winter I finally caved and bought a steel brush from Grainger for $45. First clay flue I did with it came out spotless in half the time, no residue left behind. Anyone else find that certain brush materials really do matter more than you think?
Had a homeowner call me out last month because their smoke shelf was charred black. Turns out I installed the damper plate facing the wrong direction on their prefab fireplace back in 2016. Now I double check every install with a smoke test before I leave the job. Anyone else had to eat crow on a install mistake that was sitting there for years?
One guy swore rotary tools save 30 minutes per job but the other said he's had to fix more damaged liners from them in the last 5 years than in his whole 20 year career before that. I started with manual but switched to rotary about 2 years ago and I'm torn on which way to go. The manual guy said he charges an extra $50 per job for rotary but his customers complained about noise. The rotary guy laughed and said he gets 3 more calls a week because he's faster and cheaper. Has anyone else seen damage from rotary tools that made you think twice?
The fire was in the flue tile above the damper, and a 3-second spray from 15 feet away through the cleanout door cooled it enough for us to get the proper extinguisher in place, so has anyone else had to improvise in a real emergency?
He said his neighbor paid $200 last month. I explained my price includes a full Level 2 inspection with the camera, which found a cracked flue tile. Do you think we should offer more basic, cheaper service tiers, or does that devalue the full safety check?
I used a gallon of ChimneySaver Pro spray on a really bad buildup in a brick fireplace in Akron, let it sit overnight like the label said. The next day, the creosote just wiped off with a brush, while my old powder mix took two passes and a lot more scraping. Has anyone else switched to a liquid treatment and seen it cut down on job time?
I was cleaning a flue on a really hot day last August, and the homeowner came out with a cold drink. She said her father did this job for 40 years and always told her to 'look for the cleanest brush, not the shiniest truck.' It was such a simple piece of advice, but it stuck with me. What's the best piece of wisdom someone outside the trade has given you about our work?
It was this hard, glassy black layer about a quarter inch thick that my standard brush just skated over, and I had to go back with a carbide scraper, so what's the best way you've found to deal with that specific kind of buildup?
I always laid them flat, but watching a tiny pile of creosote dust roll off the edge and onto a white rug showed me you need to tuck the edges under the fireplace hearth first.
I was doing a routine clean on a big old house in the Irvington area. When I dropped my camera down the chimney, I saw four little faces staring back up at me from the smoke shelf. The homeowner had no idea they were there, and said they'd heard 'scratching' for about a week. We had to call a wildlife removal service before I could even start the job. Has anyone else had to deal with a full animal eviction before a sweep?
I found the crack because I finally bought a decent inspection camera, a Vividia VA-400, and now I won't do an inspection without one because you just can't see that stuff from the top down, right?