Dropped a brush head down a flue in West Philly last Tuesday

I was on a job last Tuesday, cleaning a flue for an old row house in West Philly. I had my rods set up and was working the brush through a tight bend when the connection slipped. Heard that hollow clank as the brush head fell about 15 feet and got stuck at a horizontal section near the smoke chamber. Tried fishing it out with a hooked rod for 45 minutes but kept missing. Ended up having to cut a small access hole in the smoke shelf to reach it. Pulled the brush out, patched the hole with sheet metal, and sealed it with furnace cement. Took an extra hour and a half and I only charged the customer for the original sweep. Has anyone else dealt with a brush getting stuck in a weird spot? How'd you get it out?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee68910d ago

Tiny funeral bell" is too real... you ever charge for that extra time or just eat it?

brooke_jones10d ago

Nah man, you gotta charge for that extra time. This is your livelihood we're talking about. People don't realize how much of a pain it is when stuff goes sideways, especially with a crooked chimney like that. I'd add it to the bill and explain why, most folks get it once you show them the bent coat hanger and all the extra dust you breathed in. If they push back, you can always knock a few bucks off later, but start high so you've got room to negotiate.

thomasgonzalez10d ago

Man this is exactly why I keep a spare brush head in my truck, because I know my clumsy self will drop one eventually. The clank sound is the worst, like a tiny funeral bell for your afternoon. I once lost a brush in a chimney so crooked it looked like a question mark, had to use a shop vac with a custom hose taped to a coat hanger to fish it out. Felt like MacGyver but with more dust and swearing. You handled it way better than I would have, I probably would've just cried in the truck for ten minutes first.