Old timer told me to always sweep from the top down and I ignored him for a year

A guy named Joe who's been doing this since the 70s in Philly told me to always start my sweeps from the chimney top, not the firebox. I figured it didn't matter much so I did it my way for about a year. Then I had a job on Pine Street where I knocked creosote loose from above and it dumped all over a freshly cleaned living room carpet. Had to pay a cleaner 80 bucks out of my own pocket. Has anyone else learned a lesson the hard way from ignoring old advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

finley_gonzalez492h ago

Eighty bucks is nothing. That's like a dinner out with drinks. You learned a lesson but it's not that deep. Old timers act like their way is the only way but sometimes you gotta see it yourself. Creosote on a rug isn't the end of the world.

sage3081h ago

Man that Pine Street job sounds rough. Eighty bucks stings when it's your own pocket and not the company's. I had a similar thing happen with a cap I didn't tighten right after a cleaning. The next storm pushed rain right down the flue and the homeowner's ceiling had this big brown water stain. I had to come back on a Saturday to fix it and buy them a new gallon of paint. Old timers really do know the little stuff that saves you headaches.