A simple trick with a mirror showed me most people miss a key spot in the flue

I was cleaning a chimney in a 1920s house in Springfield last month and the owner kept complaining about a faint smoke smell even after my service. I went back with a small inspection mirror on a pole and looked up from the fireplace opening, not just down from the top. I found a huge, solid creosote buildup about 18 inches down from the crown that my rods and brush from above had just slid right over. It was a perfect ledge that trapped everything. Now I always do a visual check from below with a light and mirror before I call a job done. Has anyone else found a common blind spot like that in certain older builds?

2 comments

2 Comments

gibson.elizabeth4d ago

Check the smoke shelf too, especially in those old brick fireplaces. Gunk builds up there and you can't see it from the top.

rileyellis4d ago

I used to think top-down was enough until I saw that ledge myself.