Poly Brushes – The Lighter Touch
There are times where, as a chimney sweep, you don’t reach for the steel brushes.
The Polypropylene Brush – A Sturdy Plastic Brush.
These brushes come in 3 different levels of stiffness – light, medium and heavy-duty. The choice of which brush to use is determined by the type of creosote build-up in the flue, the type of chimney flue material, and any bends or angles in the chimney flue.
Before the advent of light-weight, flexible stainless steel liner materials, chimneys were lined with heavy-duty, ridged sections of stainless steel piping that were riveted together. At the end of the run was usually a 5′ long section of heavy-duty flexible stainless steel. This was installed so that the liner could fit over the bend at the back wall of the fireplace (that the woodstove insert was being installed into. These heavy materials could take the force of cleanings with the traditional stiff wire brushes.
The new light-weight liner materials can be damaged with the use of poles and brushes that are too stiff. The bottom line is that the correct brushes and rods are used as the situation calls for.