Had a talk with an old timer about creosote logs...

I was at the supply house on Tuesday and this guy who's been sweeping since the 70s told me he never uses chemical creosote logs on any of his jobs. He said they just mask the problem and can actually make the glaze harder to remove later on. Made me wonder if I've been doing my clients a disservice by recommending them for light buildup.

2 comments

2 Comments

oliviagrant26d agoMost Upvoted

That part about making the glaze harder is exactly what my old mentor used to say... he called it "baking it in" instead of breaking it down. I've seen it happen a few times where a homeowner used those logs for months and then called me out because their draft got worse. Ended up having to do a full rotary cleaning to get that tar-like crust off the liner. My rule of thumb now is only recommend them if they're actively burning and doing a hot fire after, otherwise it's just a waste of money and creates more problems down the road.

nguyen.tara25d ago

Baking it in" ... man that really puts it into perspective. I've seen that crusty tar-like buildup too, and yeah, it's a nightmare to get off once it sets in. @oliviagrant your mention of having to do a full rotary cleaning hits home, I had a job last winter where a guy used those logs every month and the glaze was so hard I had to swap out my brushes halfway through. It took twice as long and I still didn't feel good about the result.