A roofer in Boise told me I was sweeping the flue wrong, and I can't stop thinking about it

Barbara Murphy · 2026-10-07T18:30:03.827273+00:00

So I was up on a job in Boise last Tuesday, a two story with an old brick flue that's been a pain all season, and the roofer working the same house started chatting with me between runs. He asked what brush I was running and when I said my usual 6 inch poly, he kind of laughed and said 'you're scrubbing the sides, not the shelf.' I had no idea what he meant, so he climbed up and showed me the smoke shelf behind the damper, that little ledge where creosote hides, and told me he sees it caked on 8 out of 10 houses he works on. I've been sweeping for 11 years and I always hit that spot quick with the whip, but he had me run the brush down slow and spin it there for a good 20 seconds, and honestly a chunk of glaze the size of my fist came loose. It hit me different because I'd just told a customer 45 minutes earlier her flue was clean, and now I'm second guessing every job I've closed out this fall. Now I'm wondering how many callbacks I've been dodging by luck, not skill. Any of you change up your routine after a random tip from someone outside the trade? And do you charge extra for the smoke shelf or just fold it into the flat rate?

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A roofer in Boise told me I was sweeping the flue wrong, and I can't stop thinking about it | Chimney Sweeps - Talk Freely