To the Editor:
In the same October issue of Cleaner in which you had an article about safety (The Power of Stories, October 2009), you also had an article that included a photo of a drain-cleaning machine in operation depicting four extremely dangerous safety issues (“Challenging Tradition,” page 22).
The photo shows one person with his hands on the cable while another has his foot on the pedal. This is very dangerous. The operator should always have control of both the cable and the foot pedal. If the operator’s hand gets caught in a torqueing cable, he would lose a finger before the other person realized the situation and stopped the machine. Drain-cleaning machines are to be operated by one person only.
The photo shows the machine placed six-to-eight feet from the pipe with a long length of exposed cable between the machine and drain opening. The distance should be no more than two feet. If the cable hits an obstruction and starts to twist or buck, the exposed section of cable could instantly whip and injure the operator. If you can’t get the machine that close to the drain, you should use a guide tube provided by the manufacturer, or slide the cable through a piece of pipe or conduit.
The operator has goggles around his neck but is not wearing them. Goggles or eye protection should always be worn to protect the operator from spraying sewer water and debris from the spinning cable, and possibly shards of pipe should the plastic pipe break.
The operator appears to be wearing rubber gloves (though this cannot be verified). Rubber can get caught in the spinning cable and take the operator’s finger off in a second. Heavy-duty leather gloves should be worn to protect the operator. If operators have a concern about handling a wet cable, rubber inserts can be worn inside the leather gloves.
I am sure the contractor in this article is experienced and knows what he is doing. But many of your readers are new to the drain-cleaning business and could be seriously injured if they follow the example of this photograph. Care should be taken when using photos of tools in use in your articles to make sure all safety precautions are being followed. Please stress to your readers to use their tools correctly and safely. Contractors should not rush through a job – or they may take a shortcut through the emergency room.
Marty Silverman
Vice President of Marketing
General Pipe Cleaners
McKees Rocks, Pa.
