Tried a cheap flexible brush from a hardware store versus my old rigid one...

The cheap one got stuck in a tight offset flue on a job in Springfield, and I spent an extra hour cutting it out with a saw. My old brush would have just flexed and kept going. What's your go-to brush for tricky chimneys?

4 comments

4 Comments

charlescraig2mo ago

My old boss in Dayton swore by the SootSweeper brushes, the ones with the steel core. Had a similar thing happen with a cheap plastic brush in a farmhouse flue, total nightmare.

violar352mo ago

My uncle tried to save ten bucks on a plastic brush for his cabin chimney. We spent the next three hours picking melted purple bristles out of the flue liner. It looked like a Smurf exploded in there. That steel core is worth every penny just to avoid that kind of colorful disaster.

jenny4717h ago

Did your buddy's brush melt down and leave a rainbow mess too?

ellis.faith2mo ago

That steel core in a SootSweeper is good, but it can still bind in a tight offset. The real key is the brush's taper and how the bristles are set. A poorly designed steel brush will get stuck just as fast as a cheap one.