Cleaning the Chimney - Did I get it right?

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isuphipsi1052

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 15, 2006
83
Upstate NY - Near Rochester
Yesterday was the first time that I've personally cleaned the flue on my own. Climbed onto the roof with my trusty brush and borrowed chimney rods from my fire department's ladder truck. As I removed the chimney cap, I noticed a build up of creosote in the cap (approximately 1-1 1/2" worth), with a build up of the same (or slightly more) at the very top of the flue. I inserted the brush into the flue and began working it up and down, gradually adding additional rods until the brush would go no further. I gave the flue a vigorous brushing throughout the entire process. When I was done I tied a piece of twine to my flashlight and lowered it into the liner. While I saw some staining, I saw no blockages or creosote protrusions in the line all the way to firebox.

The wife was downstairs with the shop vac, cleaning the debris as it fell into the firebox. With all that being said, did I do it right?
 
Yup... roughly same here.
 
The wife was able to look up into the "stove pipe" on her end (it's an insert VC - Winter Warm small), she said it looked clear to her as well...
 
The buildup in the cap is fairly normal. Those are usually the first things to plug up.
 
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