jade_butler•12d agoProlific Poster

Remember when we swept with burlap bags and brooms? The difference is unreal

I was cleaning out my truck last weekend and found my old burlap bag from when I first started sweeping in 2004. I mean, I kept it for sentimental reasons I guess, but holding it next to my current HEPA vac setup made me laugh. That bag weighed like 20 pounds when full and we just carried it around on our shoulder, breaking our backs. The brooms were all wire bristles that scratched the hell out of flues if you weren't careful. Now I got a rotary system that does in 20 minutes what took me an hour back then. Sometimes I miss the simplicity though, no cameras, no paperwork, just you, the brush, and the soot. Anyone else hold onto old gear just for the memories, or am I the only weirdo?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicecooper12d ago

You really kept a 20 pound bag of soot dust around for twenty years just because it reminds you of the old days? I mean, I get being sentimental but that thing is basically a biohazard at this point, not a memory. Yeah, the rotary systems are smoother and the paperwork is a pain, but do you actually miss the part where your back hurt for two days after every job? I'll take the HEPA filter and the shorter work day over nostalgia any time. The old gear was simple because it had to be, not because it was better. Honestly, sounds like you just want an excuse to tell stories about the "good old days" that weren't actually that good.

jason_stone12d ago

Wait, you're telling me I'm not the only one who held onto a bucket of old ash from a chimney job for way too long? lol I feel personally attacked right now, because I had the same exact thing sitting in my garage for years, just covered in dust and stale memories. You're totally right though, that stuff is basically a hazard, and I remember the dumb reason I kept it was because my old boss said it was "lucky" or something. I finally tossed it last spring and honestly, my back and my lungs are doing way better with the new gear. I get the stories, but I'd rather tell them from a chair that doesn't hurt to sit in.