Been using the same creosote scraper for years, just found out I was holding it wrong

I was cleaning a flue in a Denver bungalow last Tuesday, and my arm was killing me after an hour. The homeowner, an old guy who used to do masonry, watched me for a minute and said, 'Son, you're fighting the tool, not the creosote.' He showed me how to turn my wrist just a bit on the upstroke, and the scraper glided instead of catching. It cut the job time in half and saved my shoulder. Anyone else have a simple grip or tool trick that made a huge difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_ross15d ago

That "fighting the tool" line makes me wonder what else I'm doing wrong in my own house.

evana7115d agoTop Commenter

Yeah @elliot_ross, I saw a thing about how using the wrong cleaning cloth for a surface just pushes dirt around. Microfiber for glass, cotton for dust, that kind of detail. Makes a huge difference once you match it up.