A guy in Denver said my brush was too small for the job and he was right

I was cleaning a 12x12 clay flue last month and thought my standard brush was fine. He pointed out I was leaving a quarter inch of creosote on the sides because the bristles weren't making full contact. I switched to a bigger, stiffer brush and it cut my time down by half. Anyone else run into this with older, bigger chimneys?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscarwilliams14d ago

So you were basically just tickling the inside of that chimney for a month? I love the idea of a guy in Denver just watching you work and finally deciding he's seen enough. That's like using a toothbrush to clean a driveway and wondering why it's taking so long.

emma_ramirez14d ago

Oscar's "tickling the inside" comment hits home. I used to swear by my go-to brush for everything, thinking a good scrub was a good scrub. But after a job on a massive old farmhouse flue, I saw the same quarter-inch ring left behind. Getting the right, bigger tool felt like I'd been cleaning with my eyes closed before. It just cuts through the gunk instead of pushing it around.