That creosote log I tried wrecked my whole Saturday

I had a customer in Milwaukee last week who swore by those creosote remover logs. Said he used one every month and never needed a sweep. I went up to check it out and found this thick, sticky glaze all over the flue. Took me almost 4 hours with a rotary tool to chip it off, way more than the usual 45 minutes. Has anyone else dealt with that gummy residue from those things?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethwhite1mo agoTop Commenter

Wait, is that gummy stuff what I ended up with after trying one of those logs last winter? I totally ruined a Saturday too, except mine was because I convinced myself I could "save money" by doing it myself and then spent 3 hours scrubbing my hands with Gojo trying to get that sticky tar off my fingers. Honestly, I think I created more problems than I solved because now my flue has this weird patchy residue that looks like a messy glue project from kindergarten. My neighbor swears by them too, but I'm pretty sure he just likes the smell and doesn't actually check his chimney. At least your 4 hour job was for a customer who learned a lesson - I just made a mess for myself and still had to call a sweep anyway.

hollym821mo ago

Hard disagree. I've been using those creosote logs for years and never had a problem. You just have to burn them right - follow the directions exactly and don't expect them to do the work of a professional sweep. The residue you saw was probably old buildup mixing with the chemical reaction, not the log itself failing. Sounds like that customer wasn't maintaining his chimney properly to begin with, just lighting one log and hoping for magic. Your 4 hour job was likely years of neglect showing up, not a bad product. Plus I've seen way worse messes from people using fire starters or wet wood that leave tar everywhere.

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