That old timer said to skip the magnetic sweeps, I should have listened

So this guy George who's been sweeping since the 70s told me last month to stay away from those magnetic chimney sweeps everyone is raving about. He said they miss the fine soot and creosote that sticks to the sides. I figured he was just old school and didn't want to try new things, so I used one on a job over on Elm Street last Wednesday. The homeowner called me two days later saying their fireplace was smoking worse than before. I went back and ran a traditional brush through it, and the amount of black dust that came out was ridiculous. Now I'm worried about liability if that missed buildup causes a fire down the line. Anyone else had a bad experience with magnetic sweeps or am I the only one?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_tara26d ago

Oh man, you trusted a magnetic sweep on a real job? That's wild. I can't believe people are selling those things as a replacement for actual brushes. Of course it missed all the sticky stuff, that's basic physics right there. You'd think a magnet sliding up a metal flue would just push the loose stuff around and leave the rest glued to the sides. Hope you got a signed waiver or something, because that homeowner's fireplace is a ticking time bomb now.

victor21926d ago

You ever hear what happened to my buddy Dave? He bought one of those magnetic sweeps off some Instagram ad and tried it on a job last winter. Said he ran it up and down the flue three times, felt pretty good about it. Then the homeowner called him back two weeks later saying they smelled smoke, so Dave went to check and found a whole chunk of creosote the size of a dinner plate still stuck near the top. Guy had to redo the whole job for free and eat the cost of a real brush and rods. How is that even a product you can sell to people?