Rant: My Tuesday turned into a 12 hour creosote nightmare

I had a standard cleaning job in a 70 year old house, but the flue was packed with over 3 inches of rock-hard, glazed creosote. My standard rods and brushes just skated over it. I had to switch to my heavy duty chain flail, which took forever and made a huge mess. The homeowner was nice about it, but I was there from 8 AM until after 8 PM. What's your go-to method for tackling that really bad, glazed stuff? Do you have a special tool or chemical treatment you trust for jobs like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

alicelopez25d ago

Ugh, that glazed stuff is the worst. Yeah, been there. For that rock hard stage three glazing, my only real fix is the chain flail too. It's a brutal, messy day every time. I don't trust chemicals to touch it, they just don't work on something that baked on. You just have to power through with the heavy tools and bill for the extra time.

robin_wright24d ago

Did you ever try a pressure washer with a surface cleaner attachment? I heard it can cut through some of that glazing without needing the full flail setup. Honestly though, for the really bad stuff, you're right that brute force is the only answer.