Finally figured out why my soot was always so clumpy

For years I was using a wire brush that was way too stiff for residential flues, thought the clumpy soot was just normal creosote. Then a homeowner handed me a nylon brush last month and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else made that mistake with brush stiffness?

3 comments

3 Comments

val_shah8h ago

Used to swear by steel brushes thinking I just needed something aggressive to break up the tough stuff. Switched to a softer poly brush on a recommendation and yeah my soot piles are way less clumpy now too. The stiff ones just grind everything into a fine powder that mats together instead of letting it fall clean.

dylan4635h ago

Had a buddy who used to clean his chimney with a stiff wire brush. Did it every spring like clockwork. One year he got a clog that just would not budge, so he spent a whole Saturday fighting that thing. Smoked out the living room twice trying to get the draft right after. Finally called a pro who told him the same thing you just said. Switched to a softer brush and now his cleanup time is cut in half. Said the hard brush was just making a paste out of everything.

samrodriguez5h ago

Man, "making a paste out of everything" - that's the perfect way to put it lol. I had the same thing happen with a grill brush once, thought I was being thorough but just smearing goo everywhere. A buddy of mine who builds fireplaces told me the same thing, said stiff bristles just beat the creosote into a tar-like sludge instead of scraping it off clean. Switched to a softer nylon brush for my own place and now it actually falls down like dust instead of sticking. Sucks that we both had to learn that the hard way with a smoky living room though, that's a frustrating Saturday for sure.