c/chimney-sweeps

My brush head snapped off mid-sweep on a job in Trenton yesterday

I was about 30 feet up on a 2-story colonial when the wire brush head just separated from the rod. Lucky I had a second rod in the truck or I'd have been stuck. Anyone had this happen with a cheaper brush? Thinking about upgrading to a poly head instead.

Hit 1000 cleanings this month without even keeping track

I was flipping through my old job logs and realized I've done exactly 1004 chimney cleanings since I started my own business back in 2019. That number caught me off guard because I never thought of it as a milestone, just steady work. Has anyone else randomly stumbled on a count that made you stop and think?

Watched a guy in Nashville fix a blocked flue with a shop vac and a wire coat hanger

I was helping out at a job in Nashville last month, a old house off 12th Ave. The homeowner said smoke was backing up into the living room. Usually I'd break out the rods and brushes, but this older sweep I was shadowing just grabbed a shop vac and a bent coat hanger. He shoved the hanger up the flue to break up the big chunks of creosote while the vac sucked it all down. Took maybe 20 minutes and cleared a nasty blockage near the damper. I always thought you needed the full brush kit for every job, but that guy showed me a simpler way for those tight spots where brush rods just don't fit right. Has anyone else used a shop vac with a hose extension to pull debris out of a cold flue?

Cleaned a chimney today that had a 2 inch creosote crust

Got a call from a house in the old part of town, a 1920s craftsman. The homeowner said their fireplace was smoking back into the room real bad. I pulled the cap off and saw this thick black crust, almost like tar. Took me two hours with the rotary brush and a set of rods to chip it all out. After I was done, we lit a test fire and the draft pulled so clean you could see the flame straight up. Anyone else run into buildup that hard on older homes?

Spent $300 on a "premium" chimney brush that snapped on the third job - total junk

Found out a poly brush beats a wire brush for clay flues

I've been using wire brushes for years on clay flue tiles and always fought with scratches and gouges. Last month a older sweep at a job site handed me his poly brush to try on a stubborn buildup. The difference was night and day, no damage to the tile and the soot came off way faster. Has anyone else switched over and noticed their flues looking better?

Serious question, why do folks still insist on using plastic brushes?

I've been sweeping chimneys for about 15 years now, and it still bothers me when I see new guys in town using those cheap plastic brushes on brick flues. Plastic just doesn't grip the same way, and on a cold morning, the bristles get stiff and brittle. I remember back in 2012, I had a helper named Mike who tried using one on a heavy creosote buildup, and the brush snapped halfway down. We spent an extra hour fishing the pieces out with a shop vac. Metal wire brushes might cost a bit more, around $30 to $40 compared to $12 for plastic, but they last way longer and actually scrape the walls clean. Has anyone else run into this problem with newer folks on the job?

Had a customer call me out on my brush technique last month

I've been sweeping chimneys for about 7 years now, always used the same up-and-down motion with my nylon brush. This one homeowner stood there watching me and said 'you're just pushing the soot around, not actually lifting it out.' He showed me a video of a guy using a slower twist-and-pull method that collects way more debris on the first pass. Tried it on my next three jobs and I'm getting maybe 30% less fallout inside the firebox now. Anyone else get told their basic technique was wrong and found a better way?

Heard a guy at the hardware store say everyone should switch to rotary brushes for everything

I think he's dead wrong after using my rod and hand brush setup for 15 years on 300+ chimneys in Portland, rotary brushes just bounce off heavy creosote and leave a mess, anyone else see it the same way?

Sootzilla brush failed on me halfway through a job

Was doing a level 2 inspection yesterday in Portland. The Sootzilla brush head just snapped clean off the rod. Flue was average size nothing crazy. Had to drive 45 minutes to grab a different brush from the supply house. Anyone else had their poly brush fail like that?

Hit 1,000 flue repairs last week and it hit me different

I was going through my old job books from the last 15 years and realized somewhere around last Tuesday I passed the 1,000 mark for flue repairs. That number caught me off guard. I started out just sweeping chimneys for extra cash in 2009 around Lancaster County, never thought I'd be doing this full time. Most of those early jobs were just basic cleanouts on old brick stacks. Now I'm doing relining and stainless work on houses that weren't even built when I started. The thing that got me was remembering my first flue repair on a 1920s farmhouse outside Gap - took me all day and I still messed up the seal. I'm curious how many repairs you guys figure you've done total, or do you not keep count either?

Vent: A homeowner told me my brush was scratching their flue liner

I had a job last Tuesday in a older house near downtown, and the customer said they saw fine scratches in the terracotta liner after I finished. Turns out I was using a wire brush that was way too aggressive for that soft clay material. Has anyone else switched to poly brushes for older liners, or is there a better trick to avoid this?

Manual brush vs rotary attachment on a tricky flue job

I spent 45 minutes fighting with a manual brush on a clay liner yesterday before swapping to a rotary attachment on my drill and finished in 10 minutes flat. Has anyone else found certain flue shapes just don't work with manual tools?

Had an old-timer tell me my brush was too stiff...

One of the old guys on my crew said I was scratching the flue liner with that stiff wire brush. I switched to a poly brush and it made a huge difference on those smooth stainless liners. Anyone else run into pushback on brush material?

I was dead set against those magnetic sweep magnets until a job in Cincinnati changed my mind

I always thought those rare earth magnet sweepers were just a gimmick for rookies who couldn't keep a clean workspace, then a coworker dropped a box of screws into a 1920s fireplace flue and we spent an hour fishing them out with a regular pickup tool. He brought out his magnet sweeper and had every last screw back in five minutes, no streaks on the brick or anything. Am I wrong for thinking about grabbing one now, or is this just a one-off situation that doesn't prove much?

Talked to an old timer at the supply house yesterday

Ran into a guy who's been sweeping since the 70s. He said he never uses a rotary brush on clay flues, just hand tools and patience. Made me rethink how I handle some of these older jobs here in Philly. Anyone else get advice that goes against what you learned in training?

Old way vs new way on this 1920s house this morning

Used to take me an hour with the old steel brush and rods on those narrow flues. Switched to the poly whip system last month and did this whole job in 35 minutes flat. Anyone else find newer tools actually work better than the old tried and true?

Pro tip: The $20 creosote log I laughed at actually cleaned my flue better than my brush did.

I bought one of those anti-creosote logs on a whim last month just to prove it was junk, but after burning it I checked my flue camera and the glaze was visibly flaking off, has anyone else had that happen or was my buildup just ready to fall?

Hot take: using too much water in my wash kit was making everything worse

After fighting with wet ash clumps for 6 months on a job in Portland, a customer’s plumber friend told me to barely dampen the brush head and it cut my cleanout time in half has anyone else been drowning their flues without realizing it?

I finally stopped using a regular shop vac for clean up and it cut my time in half

For years, I would finish a sweep and then spend 45 minutes with my old shop vac, trying to get every bit of soot and creosote dust off the hearth and out of the firebox. It was loud, the filter clogged fast, and I was always worried about blowing fine ash back into the room. About six months ago, I bit the bullet and got a HEPA-rated dust extractor, the kind some woodworkers use. The difference is huge. It has way more suction, the filter system is sealed, and I can attach a wide floor brush. Now the same clean up takes me 20 minutes flat, and the client's living room is actually clean, not just kinda clean. Has anyone else made a switch like this, or found a better tool for the final tidy-up?

An old man in St. Louis told me I saved his winter

I was cleaning his chimney last fall and found a huge, solid creosote blockage he had no idea about. He just looked at the chunks and said, 'You just saved my house, and my winter.' What's the most meaningful thing a customer has said to you after a job?

Vent: Bought a cheap camera scope for inspections

Wasted $150 on a knockoff brand that fogged up after two uses. Now I have to buy a proper one anyway. Anyone have a reliable model they use under $400?

I thought those chimney inspection cameras were just a gimmick until last month

A homeowner in Springfield insisted I use one on their old flue, and it showed a crack the rods missed. Now I'm debating if the $800 price is worth it for every job or just the tricky ones. What's your take on camera use versus traditional methods?

My extension ladder gave out halfway through a job in Burlington

I was cleaning a tall chimney for a two story house last Tuesday, about 25 feet up. The ladder just buckled under me, the bottom section slid right out. I mean, I was holding on to the roof edge, but it was a real scare. I had to shimmy down the gutter to get back on the porch roof. The ladder was a brand I've had for years, but I guess the locking mechanism just wore out without me noticing. I ended up having to call my buddy to bring his ladder so I could finish the job, which was super embarrassing. Has anyone else had a ladder fail like that? What do you look for to check if they're still safe?

I was cleaning a flue in a 1920s house and the owner asked why I wasn't using a mirror

I've been sweeping for about five years now, and I always just used my flashlight and camera to check my work. Last week, I was finishing up a job on an old brick chimney in Springfield. The homeowner, an older guy who used to do masonry, watched me pack up and just asked, 'Son, how do you know you got all the creosote in the back corners without a mirror?' I froze. I realized I was just assuming the camera angle showed everything, but a simple inspection mirror would show the blind spots behind the flue tiles. I bought a cheap extendable one from the hardware store the next day for $22, and on my next job, I saw a whole patch of glazed creosote my camera completely missed. It was a real 'oh, duh' moment. How many other simple tools are we overlooking that could make the job better?