A Note About Dirty Jobs and Mike Rowe: by Joycelyn Leigh

September, 2007

     I enjoy Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs on the Discovery channel.  Sometimes I feel a bit squeamish by the visual images being played out before me, which, in turn makes me feel a bit guilty. The reason I feel guilty, is because I know first hand that I am actually being spared the ultimate worst of the worst that "grunge" work can offer: the smells. 

     Mike Rowe and the crew of Dirty Jobs do a great job at enlightening us about the behind-the-scenes heroes who keep our water clean and spare us from having to deal with our own waste products.  In one segment, he led me into the bowels of a septic pumper's world, and he gagged and gasped with convincing drama: "Oh, God!...oh...how do you do this?!..."  But it wasn't the physical labor, or the sight of Mike chipping away at waste material that had hardened into "concrete" that made me feel sorry for Mike.  My first thought as I observed Mike's complexion take on a bit of a greenish tint, was, "I wonder if Mike does his own laundry?"  

      If Mike did actually have to do their own laundry after spending his day with a septic pumper, I doubt he was any less green at the gills than I always am whenever I load Kevin's "sewer patrol gear" into my own washing machine.  And I do admit it - as I think about that laundry, I do get a bit irritable with those who argue that waste itself contains enough natural bacteria to keep drains clear and septic tanks in healthy working order.  Antibacterial agents used in every household, sanitizers dumped through grease traps and baby wipes flushed down toilets have rendered the good ole days of natural waste obsolete.  The Ingel's family of "Little House on the Prairie" might not have been too much for Mother Nature to handle, but comparing natural waste to the very un-natural waste that pollutes our systems today just isn't logical.   

     I have included some great reference material and statistics on this site that address this argument better than I.  Laws of physics, enzyme concentration and catalyst conversion processes?  My mind grapples better with what my senses perceive, and what our company numbers reveal: clogged drains, clean-outs, backed up toilets, noxious fumes coming up from the inside drains and outside grounds - waste system failures rank number one for emergency calls.  And, very rarely, are these emergencies created by toddlers who have dropped small items down the toilet.  They're caused by human waste - baby wipes, napkins, paper towels, hair, grease, oil, gump, gook, coffee grounds, mysterious looking green and stringy vegetables, gum, potato peelings...on and on the list goes. 

     So, if the waste itself contains enough natural bacteria to do the job, why are consumers spending all sorts of money on drain cleaners that are "harmful if swallowed," or "can cause blindness if get in eyes"?  Why would consumers risk using agents that are so dangerous, that the number of the poison control center is actually printed on the product labels? 

      Hmmm....

     And lastly, why does Kevin return home way too frequently with a distinctive odor that tells me somebody's sewer or septic were in serious trouble?  If the waste itself produces enough bacteria to do a fine job all on its own, then why does his laundry reek?  (I am quite certain that Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs knows exactly which distinctive odor I refer to).  

    So, please, do me a favor - do yourself a favor -try Bio-Clean. 

          Go Green with Bio-Clean!

Get yours today at www.shop.leigh-plumbing.com

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