Switched from wire brushes to poly brushes for creosote cleanup and wish I did it years ago

I always used standard wire brushes on my rotary kit because that's what my old boss used back in the day. Last month I was doing a cleanup on a 3-year-old wood stove in Denver and the wire brush kept snagging on the damper plate. Borrowed a poly brush from another guy on the job and it glided right through, picked up just as much soot too. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed less wear on their flue tiles?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilychen1mo ago

Wait, you actually had a boss back in the day who used wire brushes on flue tiles?

blair_davis1mo ago

Ha, no way! @lilychen, that reminds me of a buddy who worked for a guy that did the exact same thing, swore by wire brushes on old clay flues until the day one of them snapped and shot a bristle right into his arm! He said the boss just shrugged and went back to scrubbing, no big deal. Wild how some folks just stick to their ways no matter what happens, huh?