Overheard a fireplace builder swear by vacuuming before sweeping and it clicked for me

I always just went straight in with the rods and brushes, figured the vac came after. But this old timer was talking to a customer and said "you're just pushing dust deeper into the creosote if you don't suck out the loose stuff first." Tried it on a heavy buildup job last Thursday and the difference was night and day - way less mess and the brush grabbed better. Anybody else do a pre-vacuum pass or am I late to the party?

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benb211mo ago

Wait, have you ever read that old chimney sweep manual from the 1800s? I came across it online once, and they actually did a dry scrape first with a special tool before the brush hit the flue. Sounds like your guy is bringing back an old school trick. I tried the pre vac thing once on a rental property and it shocked me how much dry crap came off before I even touched it with a brush. The creosote was way less sticky after that too, like the loose stuff wasn't gumming everything up.