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Overheard a homeowner say soot is basically just dirt and it made my eye twitch
Honestly I was at a backyard BBQ last weekend in Medford and this guy starts going on about how he'll just clean his own chimney because 'it's just dirt, right?' I nearly choked on my burger. Soot is not dirt. It's carbon buildup, creosote, acidic residue, and all kinds of nasty stuff that can cause chimney fires or even carbon monoxide poisoning if you don't handle it right. I tried explaining that just sweeping it out with a shop vac isn't gonna cut it because the real danger is in the flue lining and the creosote glaze that needs proper scraping. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language. I guess people just don't get what we actually do until something goes wrong. Has anyone else run into folks who think chimney sweeping is just like dusting a shelf?
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seanlee13d ago
That "till I saw what came out of my chimney" line from @diana20 is exactly it - seeing is believing with this stuff. People don't realize soot can be oily and sticky and will eventually form that rock-hard glaze that shop vacs can't touch. Once you actually see the layers of creosote built up inside a flue, you get why it's not something to mess around with half-heartedly.
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