Tried the soot eater vs the traditional brush for a really caked on creosote job

Had a house out in the suburbs last week where the homeowner hadn't cleaned their chimney in like 5 years. Thick glaze of creosote everywhere. Normally I just use the standard wire brush but I grabbed a Soot Eater kit on a whim from the supply house. Ran it up and down for 20 minutes and it barely touched the stuff. Switched back to my old brush with the steel bristles and that got it done in another 30 minutes. Anyone else find the flexible rods just dont cut it for heavy buildup?

2 comments

2 Comments

simonreed14d ago

Different tools for different stages of the job, right?

simon_black14d ago

My buddy Mike had the exact same problem last winter on a rental property in the north end. He spent a whole morning with one of those Soot Eater kits and got nowhere on the hard crusted stuff. Once he broke out the heavy bristle brush, it was done in under an hour. Those flexible rods are good for light maintenance between seasons but they don't have the bite for a real bake-on situation. It's like trying to scrape dried concrete with a plastic spatula. You need the stiff wire to actually break through and scrape the glaze down to the clay liner.