valthomas•23d agoMost Upvoted

Was skeptical about rotary cleaning heads for years, now I'm a believer

I used to think those spinning rotary heads were just a gimmick to sell more tools. But last spring I took on a job in a 1920s house in Richmond with heavy creosote buildup that my standard brushes just couldn't touch. A buddy let me borrow his Sooteater rod and head setup, and it cut my cleaning time in half on that one chimney. Has anyone else had a similar experience where they changed their mind on a tool after giving it a fair shot?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee_grant9723d ago

How bad was the creosote before you started on it?

the_sam23d ago

Think you might be mixing up creosote with just regular soot buildup. Creosote is that tar-like, shiny stuff that's almost like varnish inside the flue, not just the black dusty soot you see on the glass. Before I even touched it, the creosote was a solid quarter inch thick in some spots, like someone had painted the inside of the chimney with roofing tar. It wasn't just dirty, it was hard and crusty and you could actually see the rainbow sheen on it when you shined a light up there. Regular chimney cleaning won't touch that kind of buildup, you need a professional with the right tools to scrape it off before it starts a real fire hazard.