The Usual Suspects: What Causes Sewer Clogs?

The purpose of Vactor trucks and similar equipment is to fix the problems posed by clogged up sewage systems. Such problems are recurring, however, and that’s many states have set rules on what can be flushed down a drain. So what kinds of waste materials can block sewers, exactly?

For one thing, kitchen waste like excessive amounts of food fat and grease are the usual culprits and they can also pose a danger to your drain pipes and sewage system. Another common item that homeowners throw down their garbage disposal bins are fruits and vegetables. While many of them will actually go down nicely in your garbage disposal and through the sewage, starchy vegetables like potatoes, pumpkin, corn, plantains, as well as stringy ones like celery, asparagus, and artichokes might not do so well. They could even add to a clog.

Chicken, pork, lamb or beef bones should also not be thrown down the drain, although there are other food items that might seem innocuous at first but are actually harmful to your sewage system. Fruit pits, rice, coffee grounds, pasta, and even eggshells can all cause clogs. Contrary to popular belief, paper products like tissue and baby wipes don’t always dissolve when flushed down the toilet, and that can result in even more blockages.

How to Prolong a Street Sweeper Broom's Life

The brooms are the most essential parts of any vacuum truck. These make contact with the surfaces that require cleaning but don't quite get much credit in a sense despite being on the case every day the sweepers are out on the streets. With the wear and tear that goes with everyday use, here are some tips on how to make them last.

The first and most important pointer is to equip your Vactor truck with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts. These may cost you a tidy sum, but they're made to last. Check if all broom linkages are in working order, as they reduce the wear and tear on the brushes.

Downward force of a vehicle allows it to stay on the ground but at greater strain on the tires; the same principle applies to the brushes. Some experts recommend adjusting the brushes to a downward tilt of five degrees and an outward tilt of five degrees to provide optimum surface contact without subjecting them to excessive stress.

The brushes are a Vactor truck's bread and butter. Taking care of them, among other parts, will enhance the vehicle's efficiency and keep the city streets as clean as it can.  

How Powerful are Sewer Cleaners?

Sewer cleaners suck, literally. They take the stickiest and most hard-to-dislodge grime and debris from sewers using raw suction power from its powerful engines. They help keep the sewers of cities and towns clean, and prevent flooding that could've resulted from the things that get stuck inside sewers. On the other hand, how well can these sewer cleaners do their job?

It depends on the type of motor the truck runs on: positive displacement (PD) or fan. They both can draw a lot of water and sludge per minute, although the PD model runs far better than the fan. Many PD-type sewer cleaners can move 5,000 cubic feet of water per minute (cfm), with the smaller PD-type units rated at around 2,000. There's no specific figure for fans, but suction power can be estimated by the horsepower, in which the PD has the upper hand.

To put it into perspective, imagine you have a pool 30 feet wide and 60 feet long, with depths between 3 and 10 feet. Doing the math, the pool can hold up to 11,700 cubic feet of water. Now, if you have a PD-type sewer cleaner move all that water out of the pool, it will only take the cleaner roughly two and a half minutes. That's how powerful these cleaners are.