c/chimney-sweeps

Wasted $150 on a brush set for tight flues that just bent on the first job

Picked up a set of poly brushes from some online shop last month cause they claimed they were stiff enough for heavy creosote. First job was a 6 inch flue with a tight offset near the top, and the damn thing folded over like wet cardboard after three passes. Lost the money and had to finish with my old steel brush anyway. Anyone else get burned by these overpriced poly brushes that don't hold up?

Debate: Is brush-only ever enough for a creosote job or are you wasting time without a rotary?

I was talking to an old-timer at the supply house last week, he said he's never touched a rotary tool in 30 years and his work passes inspection every time, but I've got a customer whose chimney needed three passes with a rotary to get the glaze off. He made me wonder if we overcomplicate things for most jobs or if he's just getting lucky with low-use fireplaces around here. So which camp do you fall into, brush-only purist or rotary believer and why?

Unpopular opinion: Fireclay flue liners aren't always worth the cost

I was against them for years after a bad job in 2019 where a 12-inch liner cracked during shipping. But after seeing how much longer they last versus clay tiles in a house I serviced near Pittsburgh, I started using them for heavy-use wood stoves. That one job convinced me they have a place, even if I still think they are overkill for gas fireplaces. Anyone else have a brand they trust for fireclay that won't break the bank?

Had to pick between a rotary brush and a manual whip on a heavy creosote job yesterday

Went with the rotary brush because the third floor flue was packed tight, but now I'm wondering if the manual whip would've saved me the 20 minutes of fighting with the cord, anyone else make the wrong call in a pinch?

Wasted $150 on a fancy creosote remover that did nothing

Bought this expensive spray-on creosote remover from a supply house in Lancaster, figured it'd save me time on a tough buildup. After three applications and still having to chip it out by hand, I realized I just threw my money away. Has anyone else found a specific brand that actually works or is it all hype?

I finally got a lesson from a 70 year old sweep about poking too hard

Stumbled on a stat that says 1 in 3 chimney fires come from creosote buildup in the smoke chamber, not the flue.

I was reading through some NFPA reports from 2023 and that one caught me off guard. Has anyone else been focusing more on the chamber during cleanings after hearing something like that?

That Tuesday where every flue fighted me like it was personal

Last week I had a stretch of three jobs in a row where every single flue gave me grief. First house had a nest the size of a basketball wedged tight above the damper, took me 45 minutes just to break it loose. Second place the clay tiles were so cracked and shifted I couldn't even get my brush through without it snagging every three inches. Third job the homeowner decided to watch me work and kept asking if I was sure the liner was clean, real helpful. Has anyone else had a day where it felt like the chimney itself was against you?

Finally gave up wire brushes for polypropylene rods on masonry chimneys

I used to swear by wire brushes for heavy creosote, but after ruining a flue liner on a job in Richmond last month I switched to polypropylene rods. They don't scratch the tile and still break up the hard stuff. Has anyone else had better luck with nylon or are you still running wire?

Bought a 'premium' brush kit from Amazon and instantly regretted it

Last month I dropped $80 on a brush set that claimed to be 'heavy duty' and 'professional grade.' First job with it, the bristles started shedding inside a customer's flue. I spent an extra 45 minutes fishing wire bristles out of the chimney liner with a magnet. The handle snapped on the third use too. Total waste of money and time. Anyone else had luck with a specific brand that actually holds up to daily use?

PSA: Tried a shop vac on a creosote log fire and learned a hard lesson

I got a call about a chimney fire last month, figured I'd suck up the smoldering creosote with my shop vac to speed things up. Big mistake - that hot ash melted the hose within 30 seconds and filled the room with plastic smoke. Anyone else made a dumb move trying to take a shortcut on a job?

That old rotary brush I had finally gave out mid-job

I was working on a chimney over on Maple Street last Tuesday and my old rotary brush just locked up halfway through. The motor started smoking and I had to stop everything to pull it out. Ended up finishing the job with a hand brush and a shop vac. Anyone else had a brush fail on them like that? I'm looking at a new one and wondering if the steel-wire models are worth the extra cash.

Still picking creosote out of my hair after that lodge job

Had a big job last week at a hunting lodge about 30 miles outside of Bozeman. Thought it would be a simple sweep, but the owner hadn't touched that flue in over 5 years. I pulled out close to 50 pounds of heavy glazed creosote, some of it rock hard. My back is still sore and I found black dust in my lunch bag the next day. How do you guys deal with customers who forget about maintenance until it's a real mess?

Unpopular opinion: I think learning to build a fire from scratch first makes you a better sweep than jumping straight to power tools

Met an old timer named Frank up in Bangor last fall. He showed up to a job I was on, saw me setting up the rotary brush, and just shook his head. Said 'son, do you even know how to light a fire in that thing without a starter log?' I laughed it off at first, but he spent 20 minutes showing me how he reads the draft and the soot patterns before he even pulls out a tool. Got me thinking I rely too much on the machine. Anyone else learn the hard way that the basics come first?

The week I had three no-shows in a row and almost quit

Last Tuesday I booked five jobs and only two people actually answered their doors. The other three just ghosted me even though they confirmed the night before. I drove 45 minutes to one house in Springfield and sat there for 20 minutes texting with no reply. That wasted gas and time cost me about $180 in lost income for the day. Has anyone else dealt with a string of no-shows like that or do you have a way to screen clients better?

TIL my old soot brush was wrecking my liners

Had to pick between a poly brush and a steel wire one for a 1930s clay liner job in Portland last week. Went with steel because I figured it'd be tougher on the creosote. Big mistake - it scratched up the liner bad and the homeowner noticed right away. Anyone else had a poly brush hold up better than you expected?

The homeowner who insisted I sweep his 1920s coal chimney with the flue wide open

Had a job last spring over in Medford, a big old Victorian with a coal converted fireplace. The guy stands there and tells me to sweep it with the damper FULLY open, says I'm just being lazy if I close it. I tried to explain that's how you dump a year's worth of soot right into the living room, but he wouldn't budge. Sure enough, after two pulls, black stuff is puffing out every crack in the firebox and he's coughing. He finally let me close it halfway and the rest was clean. Has anyone else run into homeowners who think they know the job better than the person holding the brush?

I wasted $200 on cheap chimney brushes last year

Bought a set of 3 wire brushes off Amazon for $30. Sounded like a steal. First one snapped its cable on a 2-story flue in Omaha, lost the head in the stack. Had to fish it out with a magnet on a rope, took me 2 hours. Second one's bristles started falling out after 3 jobs. Ended up buying a proper brush from a supplier for $85, should have just done that from the start. Anyone else get burned by cheap gear or am I the only one who learned the hard way?

Was dead set against using a shop vac for chimney cleaning until last Tuesday

I always thought shop vacs just blow dust everywhere and clog up in 5 minutes. Had this monster job on a house in Portland the homeowner had a wood stove insert that hadn't been cleaned in like 8 years. Creosote was thick and flaky. My regular rods and brush were just making a mess of the living room. Homeowner handed me his shop vac with a HEPA bag and I figured why not. Taped the hose to my brush handle with duct tape and ran the vac while brushing. Zero dust in the room. Finished in under 90 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hours. The bag caught everything even the fine stuff. Has anyone else found a specific brand of vacuum bag that works best for this setup?

Old timer swore by vinegar for creosote, almost ruined my flue

Guy named Frank with 40 years in the trade told me to dump a cup of white vinegar in every fire to cut creosote buildup. I tried it for three weeks straight in January up in Albany, and it just made this sticky mess that was harder to brush out than the tar itself. Had to run a poly brush through it like five times to get it clean. Has anyone else had an old hand give them advice that backfired like that?

Heads up - found a rotten support beam inside a chimney in an old house near downtown Portland yesterday

Was dead set against power sweep heads until a fire chief showed me the data

Honestly, I always thought rotary power sweeps were just lazy man's tools. But last month at a state conference in Harrisburg, a 20-year fire chief pulled up a study showing 68% of chimney fires start from creosote packed into the first 18 inches of flue. He said a power sweep with a poly whip gets that bottom section way cleaner than a hand brush ever could on average 40% faster removal. I watched his demo on a test flue and saw the difference in the debris pile myself. Now I'm saving up for a 3/4 inch drill and a good whip kit. Any of you guys run a power sweep on older clay liners without issues?

I finally got a tough spot clean with just a polypropylene brush

Been fighting this one chimney in Denver for two years with soot stains that wouldn't budge, tried a stiff poly brush on a whim last Tuesday and it came right off. Anyone else find weird tricks like that for old buildup?

Bought a $60 chimney camera off Amazon and couldn't see anything beyond the first bend

The image was so grainy and the light was so weak I might as well have stuck my phone up there. Ended up borrowing my uncle's old mirror setup and that worked fine. Anyone else get burned by cheap inspection gear?

Tried the cheap brush kit from a big box store against a quality SootEater setup

Last winter I grabbed a $30 brush and rod set from Home Depot to clean my neighbor's chimney. Took me almost 2 hours and I still missed a bunch of creosote near the top. Then I borrowed a SootEater from a buddy in Denver and blasted through the same job in 20 minutes flat. That spinning head just grabs everything without fighting you. Has anyone else found those budget kits are more trouble than they're worth?