Pulled 15 pounds of creosote out of one flue last Thursday - never seen buildup like that in 8 years of sweeping

I've been doing this trade since 2016 and thought I'd seen it all. But this house in north Denver had a wood stove insert that the owners said they'd been using every winter for 10 years without a single cleaning. The stuff was almost solid, like tar mixed with charcoal. Took me almost 2 hours with a rotary brush and a shop vac just to get the main flue clear. Has anyone else run into a buildup that bad and what did you do to prevent it coming back?

2 comments

2 Comments

morgan.cameron7d ago

It's wild how people just assume things will keep working fine until they don't. That's the same mindset that makes folks ignore their car's oil change light for 10,000 miles.

faithrodriguez6d ago

totally feel you @morgan.cameron, it's way too easy to just put things off until it's too late.