A customer's chimney fire last month made me check my own gear

Honestly, I got called out to a house in Springfield after a small chimney fire. The homeowner was fine, but the liner was a mess. While I was up there, I noticed my own inspection mirror was totally scratched and cloudy. I'd been using it for maybe two years, just wiping it on my shirt. The guy asked me a simple question about a crack in the back of his firebox, and I realized I couldn't see it clearly at all. I was basically guessing on creosote thickness and cracks for who knows how long. I drove straight to the supply house and bought a new one, a basic Flexi-Spec. The difference was night and day. How often do you all actually replace your basic tools like that before they totally fail?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleycooper2mo ago

Same thing happened to me with my flashlight last year. Dropped it one too many times and the beam got so dim I couldn't tell if I was looking at creosote or just shadow.

uma_nguyen243mo ago

I mean, that's a good catch, but a scratched mirror is already totally failed for that job.

hugo_nelson3mo ago

Honestly uma_nguyen24, I've seen scratched mirrors still work fine for a lot of things.