Old school guy at the supply house told me my brush technique was wrecking flues

I been sweeping for about 4 years now and thought I had it down. This 60 year old guy named Mike at the counter saw me buying a new poly brush and asked how I use it. I told him I just go up and down real fast like I always done. He laughed and said I was probably scratching up stainless liners doing it that way. He showed me a slow twist motion instead of the fast jab. Tried it on a job yesterday and the difference in how smooth it felt was crazy. Anyone else get told they were doing something basic totally wrong?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanharris14d ago

You ever watch Mike work on a job before? @hayes.joel showed me his method once and it looked like the guy was polishing a car hood instead of cleaning a flue.

the_lucas14d ago

So did Mike say if that fast jab motion is what causes the scratching, or is it more about the angle of the brush when you're going up and down? I'm trying to picture how the poly bristles would dig in going straight versus twisting. Because I can see how a twist would let the bristles lay flatter against the wall instead of poking into it. Have you noticed any actual scratches in your liners since you switched methods, or is it more of a preventative thing?

hayes.joel14d agoTop Commenter

@the_lucas the twist is key here, Mike showed me that jabbing straight down lets the bristles poke right into the liner, but a little twist lays them flat so they glide instead of dig. I've actually seen tiny hairline scratches in some of my older liners from the straight jab method, so switching to the twist has been purely preventative for the new ones. It's one of those small changes that makes a big difference once you feel how smooth it goes.