The old sweep in Grand Rapids told me to stop brushing flues dry, 3 jobs later the soot pile proved him right

Daniel Moore · 2026-09-30T13:15:08.637199+00:00

I always figured the guys who sprayed a light mist inside the flue before brushing were just making extra work for themselves, and I told a 30 year vet named Ray in Grand Rapids exactly that last fall. He didn't argue, he just handed me a pump sprayer and said to try it on the next two chimneys. First job, a badly glazed flue on a 1920s house, the soot came down in clumps instead of that fine dust that hangs in the air for an hour. Second and third jobs, same thing, and the box of filters I go through each week dropped from four to two. The mist keeps the fine stuff from going airborne, so my ladder and drop cloth stay clean and the customer's living room doesn't get a gray film. Now I want to know who else sprays before brushing and how much water you use, because I'm still guessing at the amount.

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The old sweep in Grand Rapids told me to stop brushing flues dry, 3 jobs later the soot pile proved him right | Chimney Sweeps - Hub Chatter