Just had a brush head explode on a job in Brookline this morning

I was sweeping a customer's chimney off Washington Street when my steel brush head just flew apart mid-stroke. Sent metal bristles flying everywhere, one of them got stuck in my glove and I had to stop and pick them out for 15 minutes. Has anyone else had a brush head fail like that on them or was mine just some cheap junk?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinp441mo ago

Yeah, I've had that happen. "My steel brush head just flew apart mid-stroke" - that's bad luck but also probably cheap junk. Get a brush with welded wire instead of the twist-in stuff. The twist-in heads snap under pressure, especially on older, crusty chimneys. Also check your brush size. If it's too tight for the flue, the flexing will tear it apart quick. Happened to me twice before I learned. Spend the extra 20 bucks on a quality brand. Cheaper to buy once than pull bristles out of your glove and your customer's rug. I keep a spare brush in the truck now. That 15 minute pickup session taught me to never rely on just one.

mason8471mo ago

@gavinp44 nailed it with the welded wire advice. I swapped to those after a cheap twist-head blew apart inside a flue and I spent an hour picking wires out of the damper plate. That's the kind of mistake you only make once. The size thing is huge too - people shove a brush in thinking tighter is better but it just torques the head and snaps it. I'd also say check your rods while you're at it, a bent one can put weird stress on the brush and cause the same failure. Now I run two brushes on every job - one for the rough scrubbing and a backup for when the first one gets caught on a bad tile joint. Spend the money on a good brand like Gardus or something with a solid warranty, it pays off when you're not chasing bristles across a client's driveway.