Old timer told me to never use a wire brush on clay flues, I didn't listen

Guy who's been sweeping since the 70s warned me that wire brushes scratch up the glazing inside clay tiles pretty bad. I figured he was just being paranoid, so I kept using mine on a house built in the 50s. After about 4 sweeps on that same chimney, I noticed the tiles had that rough texture and started catching soot like crazy. Had to call a mason out to reline it, cost me $2,800 and a lot of embarrassment. Anyone else ever mess up a flue by ignoring the old school advice?

3 comments

3 Comments

david_henderson61mo ago

Feel for you man, that's a rough lesson to learn the hard way. I've been sweeping for about 12 years now and I made a similar mistake on my own house early on, thought the old guy was just being stubborn. That rough glazing is a nightmare once it happens, just grabs every bit of creosote like velcro. Your mileage may vary but I've switched to nylon brushes on clay flues ever since and haven't had any issues. At least you got it relined properly, that's the right fix even if it stung the wallet.

markm271mo ago

Yeah nylon brushes are a game changer. Switched over myself a few years back after a similar scare on a rental property I manage. The stiff wire just chews up the clay over time and then you're stuck with that rough surface that holds onto everything. Nylon bristles still get the buildup off without gouging the flue. Another thing that helped me was going to a slow steady pace on the rods instead of rushing. Less chance of binding up and scratching things up. But yeah the reline is the only real fix once that glazing gets bad, sucks it cost you but at least you wont have to worry about it again.

rileyjones26d ago

You been using just the nylon rods or did you switch up the connectors too?