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c/chimney-sweeps•dakota415dakota415•15d ago

Old timer told me my brush was too stiff and it changed everything

I was cleaning a flue in a 1920s house last month and this retired sweep walked by, stopped, and said "you're gonna tear the liner apart with that thing." I was using this heavy duty steel brush I've had for like 5 years because I thought more aggression meant cleaner results. He showed me his setup with a poly brush and some nylon mix and admitted he used to do the same thing until he wrecked a stainless liner on a job back in 98. So I switched to a softer brush on my next job and honestly the soot came off just as easy and I didn't have that scratching sound I always ignored. Has anyone else had to swap out their go-to brush because someone called them out on it? What did you switch to?
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2 Comments
betty_kelly9
Oh man, that scratching sound - I had the same thing and just told myself it was normal. Swapped to a poly brush last year and felt like a total idiot for not doing it sooner.
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seth_shah
seth_shah14d ago
Pretty sure you were overthinking it.
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