Old timer told me my brush was too stiff and I argued for 20 minutes before trying his way

I used to think a stiff brush was the only way to really scrub a flue clean, but this 60 year old sweep in Columbus showed me I was just scratching up the liner and making more work for myself. He handed me his regular poly brush and I knocked out a heavy creosote job in half the time with way less mess. Has anyone else had to eat crow after ignoring advice from the guys who've been doing this since before I was born?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.nina10d agoMost Upvoted

aaron_perry said "Sometimes you gotta shut up and listen to the old heads" and that hit home. Reminds me of my father-in-law who insisted I was tightening lug nuts all wrong on my truck. Took me stripping two studs before I tried his method and it worked perfectly. Pride gets in the way more than anything else.

aaron74010d ago

Honestly, is it really that deep though? I mean a stiff brush works fine, just takes a little more muscle.

aaron_perry10d ago

Man, I had the same thing happen to me with a guy in Pittsburgh. I was using a steel brush like a jackhammer and he just shook his head and handed me a nylon one. Felt like an idiot when the creosote came off cleaner and my arms weren't wrecked. Sometimes you gotta shut up and listen to the old heads.