Had a brush head moment cleaning a flue last week - realized I was scrubbing the wrong way

I've been sweeping chimneys for about 8 years now, and last Tuesday I noticed a customer's liner was way more scratched up than it should be. Turns out I was pushing the brush against the grain of the clay flue tiles the whole time. An old guy named Hank who was watching me work just said 'you're fighting the brick, son' and showed me how the brush should follow the natural curve. I switched my technique on the spot and the soot came off twice as fast with half the effort. Has anyone else had a basic move they did wrong for years until someone called it out?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.max6d ago

Three years into trimming trees before someone showed me I was sharpening my chainsaw backwards.

the_anthony5d ago

Ask Hank if he's seen that mistake ruin a flue completely or if it's usually fixable once you catch it. I'm wondering how many years I could've been doing it wrong without anyone saying something, because nobody had ever corrected me before. Was it just pure dumb luck nobody called it out earlier, or do most people not pay close enough attention to notice? Makes me second-guess everything else I think I know about the basics.