c/chimney-sweeps

Can we talk about the switch from steel brushes to poly bristles for flue liners?

I swore by steel for years, but after cracking a 20-year-old clay liner in Boise last fall, I switched to poly for anything pre-1980. Anyone else made the jump and had better results?

Warning: My uncle said to always check for raccoons before sweeping a chimney in the spring.

Didn't listen on a job in Springfield last April, and a whole family came tumbling down into the fireplace. Anyone have a good, safe way to check for critters up there?

TIL I've cleaned exactly 500 chimneys in my town

I was updating my log book yesterday and realized I hit 500 jobs here in Springfield, which is wild because I only started three years ago. Some guys say keeping count is just ego, but I think it shows you're building real trust in a community. Do you track your numbers, or is it better to just focus on the next job?

Warning: I keep seeing homeowners in my area try to clean their own flues with a shop vac

I mean, I get it, you want to save some cash. But last week I went to a house in Bellingham after the owner tried that, and they just pushed all the soot down into the smoke shelf. They said 'it looked clean from the bottom'. I had to spend an extra hour clearing a full blockage they made. Has anyone else had to fix a DIY job that made things way worse?

Pro tip: tried a Milwaukee M18 blower versus the old shop vac for cleaning up after a sweep

I used to spend 20 minutes after every job cleaning soot off the hearth and floor with a shop vac. Last month I borrowed a Milwaukee M18 blower from a buddy for a job in the East End. A few quick puffs outside the door blew all the fine dust away in under a minute, no filter mess. Has anyone else found a faster cleanup method for the final dust?

Pro tip: a customer in Denver taught me to check for raccoons before starting a sweep

I was about to drop my brush down a flue on a job last month when the homeowner stopped me and said, 'Hang on, let me shine a light up there first... I think I heard something.' Sure enough, there was a whole nest tucked behind the damper. How many of you guys do a visual check with a mirror or light before every single job now?

I was checking a flue in an old house in Portland and found something that made me change my whole routine.

I was doing a standard visual check with my mirror and light, like I always do. The homeowner mentioned a faint, weird smell after rain, but I didn't see any obvious cracks. On a hunch, I ran my camera up from the bottom of the cleanout instead of the top. The footage showed a huge, hidden crack in the clay liner about eight feet up, completely blocked from my usual top-down view. Water had been seeping in there for who knows how long. Has anyone else had a case where switching your inspection angle caught a major problem?

I cleaned the same chimney in my neighborhood twice, six months apart, and the buildup was way less the second time.

First time was in October for an old couple on Maple Street. The flue was packed, maybe an inch and a half of hard glazed creosote. Just did the spring cleaning for them last week, and it was maybe a quarter of that. The only thing that changed? They stopped burning those cheap, wrapped 'fireplace logs' from the gas station and started using properly seasoned oak I recommended. The before and after on the brush was crazy. Has anyone else seen a turnaround that fast just from a fuel switch?

Just read that the National Fire Protection Association says 25% of home heating fires are from chimneys

I was looking up some safety stats on the NFPA website and that number really hit me. It's not just a few accidents, it's a full quarter of those fires. Makes you think about how many jobs we're actually preventing. What's the one thing you always check for that you think stops the most problems?

My uncle told me to always use a mirror on a stick for a quick inspection, but a job in Spokane proved him wrong.

I was at a supply house in Spokane and heard a guy say 'nobody sweeps a flue for the fun of it anymore'

DAE hit 500 flue liners replaced and feel weird about it?

On one hand, it's a solid number that shows a lot of experience... but on the other, it makes me think about all the chimneys that were in such bad shape. My first one was a cracked clay liner in a 1920s house. Do you ever get hung up on the 'why' behind the big numbers?

Just changed my mind about those flexible chimney cleaning rods

I used a set of those new polypropylene rods from ChimneyFlex on a standard brick flue in a house in Tacoma. The whole thing buckled and got stuck about 8 feet up, and I spent an extra hour fishing it out. I learned that for anything but the straightest, shortest runs, you really can't beat the old steel rods for control. Has anyone else had a bad time with the flexible ones on older masonry?

My old ash vacuum gave up the ghost halfway through a big cleanout

I was finishing a full sweep on a huge brick chimney in the old part of town last Thursday. The fireplace had not been touched in years, and I had a solid three buckets of fine soot and ash to deal with. I went to fire up my trusty 6-gallon ash vac, the one I've had for almost eight years, and it just made a sad whirring noise and died. No smoke, no smell, just done. I had to get creative fast. I ended up using heavy duty trash bags and a small hand dustpan to get it all out, which added a solid extra hour to the job. It was a mess, but I got it done. Has anyone else had a main piece of gear just quit on them in the middle of a job? What's your go-to backup plan?

A customer in Flagstaff said my cleanout was too messy

They pointed out the soot dust on their patio and said it looked like I didn't care. I used to just sweep it into a pile and bag it. Now I bring a small shop vac for the hearth area and lay down a bigger tarp. It adds maybe 5 minutes but keeps everything spotless. What's your best trick for keeping the work area clean?

So I dropped $80 on a 'chimney snake' camera attachment

Thought it would save me time on inspections, but the first time I used it, the homeowner's cat attacked the screen thinking it was a real snake. The cat knocked my tablet right off the ladder. Anyone have a less exciting way to check for flue cracks?

Checked out the old brickworks in Poughkeepsie and saw a chimney with a triple-flue setup I'd never seen before

Appreciation post: A mason in Duluth showed me my creosote scraper angle was way off

I was cleaning a flue on a 1920s house and the stuff just wasn't coming off clean, leaving a rough, almost polished surface. The mason, who was repointing the brick, watched for a minute and said, 'You're holding it like you're peeling an apple, try shaving it like a carrot.' I dropped the angle from about 45 degrees to maybe 15 and it started coming off in perfect curls. How many other basic tool grips have I been messing up for a decade?

Vent: My old rotary drill head snapped clean off inside a brick flue

It happened yesterday on a job in Portland, and I had to finish the cleanout with hand rods. Do you think it's worth investing in a whole new drill system or just buying a stronger replacement head?

Spent almost a full day on a blocked flue in an old farmhouse outside Madison

Got called out to this place last fall, a real classic brick farmhouse. The owner said the fireplace hadn't drawn right in years. I figured it was a standard creosote plug, maybe some nesting debris. Nope. After getting my rods and brush up there, I hit a solid wall about eight feet down. Felt like rock. Tried the poly brush, then the chain whip, nothing. Finally had to get the inspection camera up there. Turns out the old clay liner had partially collapsed decades ago, and then someone, maybe in the 70s, had poured some kind of mortar mix down the chimney as a 'fix'. It had set like concrete. What I thought was a two-hour job turned into a nine-hour marathon of careful drilling and chipping with hand tools to avoid damaging the brick. Anyone else run into a bizarre old 'repair' that cost you a whole day?

Had a close call with a hidden flue liner crack in an old farmhouse near Lexington

I was cleaning a chimney at this 1920s farmhouse last month, and everything seemed fine until I got to the top. The crown looked okay from the ground, but up close I found a hairline crack running down the inside of the clay liner for about 18 inches. The homeowner had been using the fireplace all winter. It made me realize I was maybe rushing the visual check from the roof edge. Now I make a point to get my whole upper body over the edge for a real close look, even if it takes an extra minute. Anyone else changed their roof routine after finding something you almost missed?

Hot take: People think a clean chimney means no more creosote risk

I was at a friend's house in Boise last month and they had a fire going. They said they had the chimney cleaned 'a while back' so they were good. I asked to see their woodpile and it was all green, unseasoned oak. That's the thing, a sweep removes buildup, but wet wood makes new creosote crazy fast no matter how clean the flue is. I told them to get a moisture meter and let that wood sit for another year. How do you guys explain the link between fuel and buildup to customers without sounding like you're just upselling another service?

Old timer in Boise told me my brush technique was too rough

Back in 2019, I was working a job in the North End and this retired sweep, Frank, watched me for a minute. He said, 'Kid, you're whippin' that rod like you're mad at it. You'll wear out the flue liner.' I started using slower, steadier strokes and my brushes last twice as long now. Anyone else get a piece of advice that totally changed your method?

Shoutout to the crew at the old mill museum in Lancaster

I was out in Lancaster, Pennsylvania last month for a family thing and made time to visit the old grist mill they turned into a museum. The main chimney stack on that building is massive, maybe 40 feet tall and built from local stone. What really got me was the access. They have this original, wrought-iron ladder built right into the side, going all the way up. The rungs are worn smooth and the whole thing is just bolted into the mortar. It made me think about how they serviced it back in the 1800s with just basic gear. I stood there for a good ten minutes just picturing it. Has anyone else run into a historical setup like that, and how would you even approach a cleaning on it today with modern safety rules?

My new fiberglass inspection rod got stuck in a flue in a 1920s bungalow

I was pushing it up a terra cotta liner and it just wouldn't budge past a certain point, felt like it hit a lip or something. Anyone know a trick for this, or should I just stick with my old steel rods for these older chimneys?