A retired sweep's comment about soot got under my skin

Talked to an old-timer at the supply house last Tuesday, guy who swept chimneys for 40 years before hanging it up. He watched me load a bag of soot into my truck and just said, 'You treat that like dirt, but it's a history book.' I laughed it off at the time, but I've been thinking about it all week. He meant each layer tells you what the homeowner burned, how often, and if their wood was seasoned. I've pulled creosote off walls for a decade and never once looked at it beyond 'that's a lot' or 'that's bad.' Now I'm second-guessing every job I've done where I just bagged it up and moved on. Anyone else ever start reading the soot instead of just removing it? What do you look for in the layers?

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kevin21826d ago

Man, that old timer just rewired my whole brain. I’ve been hauling soot for years and always saw it as a mess to dump, never as a clue about how someone’s been burning. Now I’m staring at the last bag in my truck like it’s got something to say, and I’m kinda pissed I never listened before.