Found a way to clean a class A flue without dragging a section off

Had this job last month in Denver, 30 foot class A chimney, zero access from the top. Normally we'd pull sections apart in the attic but the homeowner had it boxed in with drywall. Tried a soot eater with a flexible rod kit, worked way better than I expected. Got the whole thing clean from the bottom in about 45 minutes. Anyone else run into this setup and find a workaround?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_evan29d agoMost Upvoted

Huh... 45 minutes through a soot eater? That's wild, is it really that serious?

mark_nguyen9529d agoMost Upvoted

Yeah I actually read something about this the other day. Some fire departments have been talking about how the soot from house fires is way worse than people realize, like it's full of chemicals from plastics and furniture that have been burning. So a 45 minute cleanup with a "soot eater" (which is basically a special machine that filters the air) makes sense if you don't want to be breathing that stuff in for days after. I saw a news segment where a firefighter said the particles can hang around in the air for hours too, so it's not just about the smell. Plus if it's a modern home with all that synthetic stuff, the soot sticks to everything and is a pain to get rid of without the right tools. So yeah, it's probably that serious lol.