Switched from a standard brush to a rotary cleaning system about 4 months ago

I used to just go at it with the ol' wire brush and rods for every job, even the nasty creosote jobs. Felt like I was spending half my day fighting with the rods. Then I dropped $300 on a used rotary setup from a guy in Columbus. First job with it was a rental property that hadn't been cleaned in 5 years. Cut my time from 2 hours down to 45 minutes. My arms didn't ache the next day either. Has anyone else made the switch and found it worth it for the heavy buildup jobs?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan_harris1d ago

Heard a guy say the real game changer was switching to a rotary setup for the real nasty jobs.

emery101d ago

You're right about the arm ache, I ditched my wire brush last year and it's night and day on heavy jobs.

wells.christopher1d ago

Wait, is this really true across the board though? @emery10 I hear so many people saying the same thing about wire brushes, but I feel like there's still a solid place for them on certain stuff. On really tough or uneven surfaces, a wire brush can get into spots those power tools just can't reach, you know? And yeah, arm ache is real, but sometimes the control you get with a manual brush makes up for it, especially if you're just doing a small spot or a detail job. I think everyone's quick to toss them out, but they're still handy to have around for the right tasks.