Old timer swore by sweeping from bottom up, I think he was full of it

A 30 year veteran at the Columbia Shop told me to always start at the fireplace and work upward, said it keeps the dust from settling back down. I tried it on a 2 story job last Tuesday and ended up with soot in my eyes and the homeowner's white couch looking gray. Anyone else get told this trick, or is it just a way to make the new guy look stupid?

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robertgreen1mo ago

Old timers love their little rituals, but that doesn't mean they hold up. Sweeping bottom up just pushes everything into the air while you're still standing there, and that's exactly how you get soot in your eyes. The couch thing is on you though, should've thrown a drop cloth over it before you even pulled the brush out. Half the time these guys are just repeating what their own foreman told them forty years ago without ever testing it beyond one job. Sweep top down and let gravity do the work, then hit the floor last. That dust settles no matter which direction you start, so you might as well work with physics instead of against it.

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