The day I realized my brush was too stiff for a historic flue in Charleston

I was cleaning a 150-year-old chimney downtown last fall, and my standard poly brush got stuck halfway up. The old clay liner was rough and uneven, and I had to pull hard for ten minutes to get it free. I switched to a softer horsehair brush I keep in the truck for delicate jobs, and it slid right through without a scratch. Anyone else run into this with really old brickwork, and what brush do you grab first?

3 comments

3 Comments

jason_robinson3mo agoMost Upvoted

My old boss in Savannah showed me that trick twenty years ago. We were working on a row of houses from the 1850s, and he always kept a worn-out horsehair brush in his kit. Said the modern stuff was too harsh for the original mortar. I’ve seen a stiff brush actually knock loose a chunk of that old, crumbly clay liner. Now my softer brush is the first thing I try on any flue built before 1900. It just glides over the rough spots.

elizabeth_gonzalez3mo ago

Ever try a natural bristle brush on those old liners? It's even softer than worn horsehair...

ruby_sanchez451mo ago

@elizabeth_gonzalez makes a good point about natural bristle. My uncle had an old boar bristle brush he swore by for the 1880s row houses he worked on in Baltimore. Said it was the only thing that wouldn't leave scratches in the clay.