After 6 months I found out I was using my brush extension all wrong

Was working a job in a old house in Cincinnati last week. The flue was tight and I kept jamming my brush extension into the smoke shelf. The homeowner came out and watched me for a minute, then asked why I wasn't using the pivot joint. I didn't even know it had one. Now I twist it about 30 degrees before I go past the damper and it slides through every time. Anybody else miss something obvious on their gear for way too long?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_hernandez2d ago

Man, the pivot joint thing got me too. I had been fighting with my brush kit for almost a year before another sweeper pointed it out to me. He just looked at me like I was crazy and twisted it a bit, and it slid right past the damper like butter. I felt pretty dumb but honestly, some of these little tricks aren't in the manual. Now I always give it that small twist before I even start pushing up. It saves so much time and it keeps the cables from kinking too. Once you know it, you can't believe you ever worked without doing it.

lucashart2d ago

@ray_hernandez Same thing happened to me with a different brand. I was jamming the brush head against the damper for months until a guy I worked with just showed me the twist in about two seconds. It's one of those things that feels obvious after you learn it, but nobody mentions it anywhere. My cables used to get all twisted and worn out before that trick, now they last way longer.