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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?
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uma_martinez9d ago
Why do so many old fixes work better than new tools?
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sandraflores8d ago
Totally get what you mean @uma_martinez lol. My grandpa's old hand plane still works better than my electric sander on some jobs.
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