Picked a polypropylene brush over wire bristles for a heavy creosote job and got roasted for it

Last winter I had this one house in Brookline where the chimney was caked with a good quarter inch of glazed creosote. The old timers in my crew swore I needed a wire brush to really dig in there, but I went with my polypropylene one instead. Took me about 45 extra minutes of scrubbing in passes to get it all off, but I didn't scratch the terra cotta liner at all. Wire bristles would've left grooves that catch soot faster next time, and that's a call back waiting to happen. My guy Mike still gives me crap about it saying I'm too soft on the tools, but I haven't had a single complaint from that customer yet. Has anyone else here stuck with softer brushes for tough jobs and actually seen it pay off?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_julia23d ago

Mike will learn the hard way after a call back for scratched flue tiles.

lopez.brooke23d ago

Oh man, I feel that. @the_julia I had a similar thing happen with a flue once and I just taped up some cardboard while I waited for the part to come in. Client was annoyed but at least it stopped the scratching until the real fix came through.