Just realized those cheap rotary brushes actually work better than I thought

I been doing this chimney sweep thing for about 8 years now and always swore by the stiff wire hand brushes for heavy creosote. Figured those little rotary attachments you hook up to a drill were just gimmicks for homeowners who don't know better. Last month I had a job over on Elm Street where the flue was coated in that thick glaze stuff that barely chips off with a wire brush. After 45 minutes of fighting it I grabbed the drill attachment out of pure frustration. That thing chewed through the glaze in like 10 minutes flat and left the tile way cleaner than my hand brushing ever does. Felt pretty stupid for being stubborn about it for so long. Anybody else have a tool they refused to try and then it surprised them?

3 comments

3 Comments

quinncarr7d ago

Stick with the wire brush for 8 years before I finally tried the rotary one.

lilyp374d ago

Read somewhere that a lot of folks get stuck in "that's just how it's done" mode for way too long. Nice to hear you finally gave the rotary one a shot.

rose_reed7d ago

Man, I had a buddy who swore by his old claw hammer for years. He finally borrowed a framing hammer from a coworker on a reno job and said it was like night and day, the weight distribution just made everything easier. Took him a decade to realize he was making things harder on himself for no good reason, right?