c/chimney-sweeps

Heard a customer say their fireplace 'smelled like rain' and it led to a weird find

I was finishing up a sweep in a house in Springfield yesterday, and the homeowner mentioned that their fireplace always had a damp, rainy smell after a storm. I figured it was just a draft, but I decided to poke around the crown with my inspection camera. Turns out, the mortar wash had a hairline crack you could barely see, and water was getting in and soaking the top of the clay liner. It wasn't enough to cause a big leak inside, but it was letting moisture sit and grow a bit of mold up there. That's what was causing the smell. I told them they needed a new crown seal, and they were shocked that such a small thing could be the problem. It made me realize how often we might miss the small signs that point to bigger issues. Has anyone else run into a weird smell that tipped them off to a hidden problem like that?

My old boss swore by a stiff wire brush for every flue, but I switched to a poly brush for most jobs

He'd say you needed the steel to really scrape the creosote, but after a job in Boulder where I scratched the heck out of a delicate clay liner, I changed my mind. The poly gets it just as clean on standard tile without the risk. Anyone else make the switch and find it works better for certain liners?

Unpopular opinion: My old rotary drill finally gave out on a brick chimney cap job Tuesday.

The motor just seized up halfway through setting the anchors. I had to finish the last two by hand with a star drill, which added like an hour to the job. Anyone have a go-to heavy duty rotary drill they swear by now?

A customer in Tacoma told me my brush was too soft for their flue

Last month I cleaned a chimney in a 1920s brick house, and the owner watched me work. He said, 'Your brush looks like it's just dusting the sides, not scraping.' I was using my standard poly brush. I switched to a wire one I keep in the truck for bad jobs, and a huge chunk of glazed creosote came down. I'd been avoiding wire brushes on old liners, but this changed my mind. What's your go-to for tough, glazed buildup in older masonry?

Rant: I used to think those chimney camera inspections were a total scam

Honestly, I had a job in a big old house in Savannah last week where the owner insisted on a camera check before we swept. Ngl, I rolled my eyes because the flue looked clear from below. The camera showed a huge crack in the clay liner about 15 feet up that you couldn't see otherwise. Has anyone else found a specific camera model that's actually worth the money for spotting stuff like that?

Tried a new creosote remover spray and my whole house smelled like burnt sugar for a day

I got a can of 'Soot-Away' spray to try on a standard brick flue in an old house. After the clean, I sprayed it like the can said and lit a small test fire. Instead of a clean smell, this weird sweet smoke filled the place and stuck around. I had to open every window in January. Has anyone had a chemical smell backfire like that, and what do you use instead?

A customer's fireplace was smoking out their whole house for years

They called me in after another sweep said it was fine. I found the damper was installed upside down at the factory, so it never sealed. I flipped it over and the draft is perfect now. Has anyone else run into a factory defect like that on a new unit?

Tbh, a job at a 1920s farmhouse outside of Salem last fall completely changed how I handle old flue tiles.

I was cleaning the main chimney and found the original clay tiles were basically dust held together by soot. My usual rods and brushes just started punching through. The homeowner's dad, who was watching, said his grandfather used to soak the whole flue with a garden hose sprayer attachment for an hour before sweeping. Sounded crazy, but we tried it with a gentle mist. The soot turned to mud and came off in sheets with a soft poly brush, zero damage. Now I carry a pump sprayer on every pre-1940s call. Anyone else have a weird old-timer trick for fragile historic liners?

A homeowner in Tacoma asked me why I don't just use a leaf blower for the ash, and it made me realize how little people understand about creosote.

I explained that a blower just spreads the fine, acidic powder everywhere and misses the hardened glaze, but his genuine confusion showed me we need to do a better job explaining the 'why' behind our methods to clients.

A homeowner in Portland pointed out my ladder setup was too close to their siding

They said they saw a small scratch last time and asked if I could move it out a bit. I started using those foam ladder mitts on every job now, and I keep the feet at least six inches from the wall. Has anyone found a better way to protect siding on old houses with uneven ground?

Had to pick between a new camera or a better light for my inspections

My old inspection camera gave up last fall, and I had about $500 to spend. I could get a newer camera with a bit better picture, or I could get a good, bright LED light on a pole to see up there first. I went with the light, a 3000 lumen model from a supply house. It's been six months, and I'm finding way more hairline cracks and gaps in the flue tiles now that I can actually see them clearly. Anyone else find that better lighting changed how you spot problems?

My six-year-old nephew asked me if Santa ever gets stuck in the chimneys I clean.

I was explaining my job at a family thing in Omaha, and he got real serious, looked me dead in the eye, and said, 'You gotta make sure the big man has a clear path, it's your most important job,' and honestly, I've felt a weird new sense of duty ever since.

I finally got a proper chimney camera after three years of guessing

Last month in Denver, a client insisted on seeing the flue crack I described. My old mirror just wasn't cutting it, so I rented a camera for $150. Seeing that clear video feed changed my whole approach to inspections. What's the best camera you guys use for tricky liners?

I finally figured out why my creosote scraper was always getting stuck in those old flues in the historic district.

Shoutout to the guy in Duluth who still uses a horsehair brush

I was up there for a job about five years ago and met an old timer who only cleans with a set of handmade brushes his grandfather used. He told me, 'The soot knows the bristles,' as he worked a tricky offset flue. Ever run into someone still using tools like that?

Found a huge crack in a flue liner that the homeowner said was just cleaned

Did a job in Akron last week where the customer swore their chimney was swept six months ago. Got up there and the clay liner had a vertical crack you could fit a quarter into. They had a different guy who just brushed it and never did a proper camera check. That's a carbon monoxide risk waiting to happen. How do you explain the need for an inspection camera to people who think a sweep is just cleaning?

Serious question, does anyone actually enjoy cleaning those prefab metal chimneys?

I was on a job in Boise last month, cleaning a double-wide fireplace with a metal chimney. The homeowner insisted on watching, and halfway up, a section of the inner liner just... detached. It wasn't rusted, the screws just gave out. I had to stop everything, explain the safety issue, and spent the next three hours helping them source a replacement kit instead of finishing the sweep. Has anyone else had a metal chimney just come apart in their hands?

Honestly, I used to just use a basic brush and rods for every job, but after a chimney fire scare in a 1920s house in Portland last fall, I switched to a SootMaster rotary system. The difference in creosote removal is night and day.

Pro tip: A homeowner in Denver once told me his wood stove was 'self-cleaning' because he only burned seasoned oak.

I had to explain that even clean fuel leaves creosote, and his inspection showed a quarter inch buildup after just one season. Anyone else run into this kind of stubborn belief about certain woods?

Appreciation post: A customer in Denver tipped me $100 after I found a bird's nest blocking their flue.

A talk with a firefighter in Boise made me look at creosote differently

I was having coffee with a friend who works for the city fire department, and he told me about a call they had last winter. A chimney fire in a house on the north side, nothing too wild, but he said the thing that stuck with him was the homeowner saying they'd had the chimney cleaned 'just a couple years ago.' My friend looked right at me and said, 'You guys see the buildup from the outside, but we see what it does inside the walls when it gets hot.' That hit different. I've always explained the risk of fire, but hearing him describe the hidden damage, the heat traveling through old mortar, it changed how I talk to customers. Now I don't just say 'it's dirty,' I describe what that heat can do to their house. Has anyone else had a conversation that changed how you explain the 'why' behind our work?

Found a raccoon family in a chimney in Springfield last Tuesday

I was doing a routine inspection on a 1920s brick chimney and my camera showed a whole nest about 15 feet down. The homeowner had no idea. I had to call animal control, and we waited almost two hours for them to show up and get the little guys out safely (they were not happy). The whole job took about four hours instead of one. Has anyone else had to deal with surprise wildlife mid-job, and what's your go-to plan?

Heard a guy at the hardware store say 'chimneys are just fancy pipes' and it stuck with me

I was grabbing some new rods in Springfield last week and this younger guy was telling his buddy that. It made me think about how the job feels different now. We used to be the only ones who knew the codes for a proper flue liner or how to spot a cracked tile from the ground. Now everyone thinks they can watch a video and get it. Anyone else feel like the real craft part is getting lost?

At a historic house in Savannah, I found a flue blocked by a whole bird's nest from last season.

The homeowner said they hadn't used the fireplace since spring, and pulling out that huge, packed nest made me start recommending a mid-summer check for anyone with tall trees nearby... has anyone else found something like that after a quiet season?

I swapped to a smaller brush head for a tight flue in an old Charleston house.

The homeowner said it hadn't been cleaned in over a decade, and I expected a real fight. The smaller head slipped right through and pulled out a surprising amount of soot without getting stuck once. Has anyone else found that going smaller can actually work better on those really narrow, historic chimneys?