Dropped my brush head down a 3-story flue on Tuesday

I was doing a seasonal clean at a house near downtown, and my brush head came loose from the rods about 20 feet up. Heard it clatter all the way down to the smoke shelf. I spent the next 45 minutes fishing it out with a magnet on a rope, which actually worked but felt like forever. The homeowner just watched from the kitchen and asked if this happens often. I told her it was my first time in 4 years of doing this. Has anyone else had a tool fail mid-job and had to get creative? How did you get it back?

2 comments

2 Comments

skylerw8718d ago

You mentioned "being stubborn about not breaking something" and that really hits on a bigger pattern I see everywhere. People get so focused on not making a mistake that they waste way more time trying to avoid it than just dealing with it head on. Half the problems I see at work or around town would go faster if folks just accepted the first fix instead of trying to be too careful.

black.patricia19d ago

Honestly, I gotta push back a little here. Magnet on a rope is fine and all but let's be real, you should've just rented a shop vac with a long hose extension instead of spending 45 minutes fishing. Ngl, that's way too much time on a job where the homeowner is watching you. I get that you wanted to avoid tearing into the flue but sometimes you gotta just pull the damper plate and reach in if the magnet doesn't grab quick. Tbh, this is one of those things where being stubborn about not breaking something can cost you more time than just doing the fix the right way.