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?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_ramirez5d ago

My old boss swore those fake logs were fine (he was wrong, obviously).

the_richard6d ago

That part about the cheap wrapped logs is so real. My neighbor kept having this smoky smell in his house every time he lit a fire, and he was using that same gas station stuff. I finally talked him into just getting a cord of decent hardwood from the guy off route 9, and the difference was night and day. No more smell, and his glass doors stayed clear for once. It's wild what a difference the wood makes.