Pro tip: Push brooms vs leaf blowers for cleanouts - what's your take?

I was doing a cleanout last Tuesday on an old farmhouse chimney and my buddy swore I was wasting time with my push broom. He said a good leaf blower makes the job 3x faster and gets the fine dust out better too. But I worry about blasting soot and creosote everywhere inside the house, especially with newer HVAC systems pulling air from everywhere. Plus my push broom only cost me $25 and a decent backpack blower is what, $300 or more? What do you all use for the heavy dust and debris at the bottom of a flue?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.robert1mo ago

Wait, your buddy wants you to leaf blow a chimney cleanout inside a house? Has he actually tried that or is he just guessing? I tried that once back when I was dumb enough to think I was saving time, and let me tell you, I spent the next three hours wiping a fine layer of soot off every surface in the room like some kind of chimney dust fairy. My push broom never made me apologize to my wife for turning her kitchen gray.

jade7381mo ago

Cover EVERYTHING with plastic drop cloths first, then tape up the door cracks, and MAYBE you'll only have to wipe down half the room instead of the whole thing. Really though, that "quick fix" turned into me finding soot on the ceiling fan blades three weeks later. Your poor wife probably still finds little gray fingerprints on random stuff to this day.