I finally tried the old-school method of scrubbing with just hot water and a stiff brush on a heavy creosote job

Been sweeping for about 15 years now and I always reach for the chemical sprays on tough glaze. Last Tuesday I had a job out in the sticks where the homeowner had a woodstove that was caked with that hard, shiny creosote. I forgot my spray bottle in the truck and just said screw it, grabbed the brush and a bucket of hot water from their tap. Figured I'd give it a shot since that's what the old guys talk about at the supply house. Ended up breaking through the glaze faster than I expected and the brush just ate that stuff up without making a mess of soot everywhere. I was surprised it worked that well and now I'm wondering if I've been wasting money on chemicals for years. Has anyone else found that hot water does the job better on certain types of buildup?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph_coleman1mo ago

Wait you actually forgot your chemicals on a heavy glaze job? That's wild. I've been doing this for ten years and I would've turned the truck around for sure. Hot water works that well on hard creosote? I gotta try this next week when I got a stubborn one lined up. Here I am spending good money on spray every season for nothing.

baker.ben1mo ago

Ten years in and you never tried hot water on glazed creosote before?