An old customer told me my brush technique was wrong and I actually listened

About two years ago I was sweeping a chimney for a retired mason in Newark. He watched me work for maybe five minutes and then said my brush strokes were wearing out his flue liner faster than normal. I was going up and down like I always did, figuring that was the only way to get the soot loose. He told me to use a twisting motion on the way up and keep the brush steady on the way down. Felt weird at first but after a few sweeps I noticed I was getting way less debris caught in the corners. Also my arms weren't as tired at the end of the day. Has anyone else had a customer change how they work and actually see better results?

3 comments

3 Comments

piperb932mo ago

My uncle swears by the Twist and Shout method for mopping floors too.

jade_singh2mo ago

Ask him straight up if he's actually done it himself, or if he just heard about it from a buddy (like, a real mopping session, not just watching a YouTube video). I get why people like the idea - it's catchy, right? But I've always wondered if the "shout" part is just for show or if it genuinely helps get stuck-on gunk off the floor. Does he swear by a specific order for the twist and shout, like twist first then shout, or does he mix it up depending on the floor type? I need to know if this is a legit cleaning technique or just one of those things uncles say to sound wise (you know, like "rub dirt on it" for a scrape).

jade_singh1mo ago

Uncle wisdom is like a 50/50 shot, sometimes it's gold and sometimes it's just weird. You gotta ask him if the shout part is volume-based or if it's more of a battle cry against dried spaghetti sauce.