Hand brushing versus power sweeping - which side are you on?

Last month I did a job on an old Victorian in Portland where the homeowner insisted I use only hand brushes on the flue tiles. Said power tools scratch the glaze. I’ve been sweeping for 7 years and always used a rotary kit, never had a complaint. But after that job, I noticed less dust in the room than usual. Does that mean hand tools actually do a better job, or was it just a one-off with good draft?

3 comments

3 Comments

williamhenderson15d ago

That 90s Victorian sounds like it had good draft anyway, but I've noticed this pattern with a lot of old school tools vs modern ones. Like my grandpa always hand sharpened his lawnmower blades with a file, and his lawn looked like a golf course. Meanwhile I use a grinder and get it done in 10 minutes but the cut is always a little ragged. Maybe it's just me but it feels like the slower way forces you to be more careful and pay attention, which ends up doing a better job overall. I mean, hand brushing probably lets you feel the tile surface and catch problem spots a rotary kit just blasts through.

dylan46315d ago

You know what, I used to think the opposite honestly. That line about "the slower way forces you to be more careful and pay attention" really hit me though... makes total sense.

mark_green15d ago

My buddy Mike does commercial sweeps in Seattle and he told me about this one time he had to hand brush a whole bakery flue because the owner was a retired mason. He swore the hand brushing let him feel the buildup differently, said he found a hairline crack he would have totally missed with the power kit just vibrating through it. He's been doing a mix ever since.