Overheard a customer say wire brushes wreck flues and it got me thinking

I was swapping parts at the supply house yesterday and heard a old-timer tell a homeowner that wire brushes scratch up clay liners and cause more creosote buildup later. He was pushing those poly brushes instead and I have to admit I never really thought about it before. Has anyone here switched from wire to something softer and noticed a difference in how clean the flue stays?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason95811d agoMost Upvoted

Man, I watched a guy destroy his own chimney liner with one of those cheap wire brushes... he was going at it like he was scrubbing a burnt grill. Thing is, those soft poly brushes actually bend and conform to the shape of the flue better, so they hit all the crevices instead of just digging a groove down the middle. I have a theory that the scratches from wire brushes create little ledges where wet creosote can grab hold and harden into that nasty glazed stuff. Plus a scratched up clay liner lets more moisture soak in over winter and then you get spalling and cracks down the road.

blairstone11d ago

Right, because nothing says "I know what I'm doing" like reenacting a scene from a Tom and Jerry cartoon with a chimney brush. The guy probably thought he was being thorough while basically sandblasting his flue into a scratch-and-sniff disaster. Funny how people treat a chimney like a grill grate, but then act shocked when their liner looks like a cheese grater after a season. Guess that's the difference between cleaning for show and cleaning for function.