Tools on the Truck

Join us as we talk about the “tools on the truck” — basically the must-haves for anyone working on septic systems. We get into everything from PPE and safety basics to the everyday tools and diagnostic gear that can save you a trip back to the shop. We also discuss how prepping ahead of a job and asking the right questions can make your day a whole lot easier. Through it all, we share practical tips from real experience to help you show up ready and get the job done right.  

If you have comments or questions about our podcast, you can reach us through this link. To discuss a project or talk to one of our engineers, call 800-348-9843.

Transcript

00;00;09;26 - 00;00;32;11

Hello, and welcome to Make it Clear. A conversational podcast about all things related to water and wastewater. I'm your host, Angela Bounds, and I'm joined by my co-host Shawn Rapp. In each episode, we'll tackle a relevant topic with facts and expert opinions and make things clear. 

Angela: Hello and thanks for listening again. Today we've got Shawn

00;00;32;11 - 00;00;52;29

and I. Hi, Shawn. 

Shawn: Hey, hey. 

Angela: We're going to be talking about tools of the trade. Tools on your truck. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: If you're a service provider installer, what you should have on your truck to service, install, maintain… 

Shawn: Yep. 

Angela: work on septic systems.

00;00;53;04 - 00;01;05;07

Shawn: And not everything that we talk about is going to be applicable to everybody. So if you're a service provider we’re talking about control panel parts, you probably aren't going to be worrying too much more about that. But if you're an installer, you probably won't need that stuff.

00;01;05;08 - 00;01;10;14

Angela: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. So let's kind of get into it.

00;01;10;16 - 00;01;12;15

Shawn: All right. Good deal.

00;01;12;17 - 00;01;15;24

Angela: First and foremost, 

00;01;15;27 - 00;01;16;17

Shawn: Yes.

00;01;16;18 - 00;01;19;25

Angela: Aside from gas in your vehicle, right?

00;01;19;28 - 00;01;21;05

Shawn: That's necessary for everybody.

00;01;21;06 - 00;01;35;25

Angela: Yeah. Aside from the gas to run your vehicle, you need PPE. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: The number of times that I have heard somebody say, oh, that got in my mouth or

00;01;35;27 - 00;01;37;23

Shawn: Yeah. Yeah.

00;01;37;25 - 00;01;41;14

Angela: It's on my hands. That's avoidable.

00;01;41;16 - 00;01;44;21

Shawn: Yeah, it is 100%.

00;01;44;24 - 00;02;05;27

Angela: It's avoidable. No, I'm not suggesting that you always have to wear a mask, but if I were sticking my head anywhere near the entrance of a septic tank and planning to pull something out of it, right, I would probably put on a mask.

00;02;05;29 - 00;02;30;00

Shawn: Yeah. And one of our... We're having a big training at the office today, and one of our speakers actually was talking about working on things, and he said he was talking about how when you lift that lid when go out for maintenance, you'll get a blast of air or gas that comes back at you. And so, again, you probably want to have a mask on so that you're not getting that methane and whatever else is coming out of there.

00;02;30;03 - 00;02;32;23

Angela: Yeah. 

Shawn: So I mean, it helps.

00;02;32;25 - 00;02;35;11

Angela: And protective goggles.

00;02;35;12 - 00;02;36;06

Shawn: Oh, absolutely.

00;02;36;08 - 00;02;38;01

Angela: You want to keep that stuff out of your eyes.

00;02;38;02 - 00;02;38;18

Shawn: Yes.

00;02;38;19 - 00;02;39;00

Angela: Right?

00;02;39;01 - 00;02;40;11

Shawn: For sure.

00;02;40;13 - 00;02;45;18

Angela: So eye protection, safety glasses, splash goggles…

00;02;45;19 - 00;02;46;07

Shawn: Yeah.

00;02;46;13 - 00;02;49;13

Angela: are always good. They make goggles that'll go over glasses.

00;02;49;14 - 00;02;51;26

Shawn: Or a face mask or something like that. Full face shield.

00;02;51;26 - 00;02;53;29

Angela: And face shield. We've all seen them.

00;02;54;01 - 00;02;54;20

Shawn: Yep.

00;02;54;25 - 00;02;56;21

Angela: You do want to protect your nose in your mouth.

00;02;56;22 - 00;03;01;00

Shawn: Yep. And if you feel so inclined, maybe like a Tyvek suit or something. I mean…

00;03;01;01 - 00;03;02;05

Angela: Some people do.

00;03;02;05 - 00;03;02;22

Shawn: Some people do.

00;03;02;23 - 00;03;03;19

Angela: Some people do.

00;03;03;20 - 00;03;04;22

Shawn: Yeah.

00;03;04;24 - 00;03;23;11

Angela: A lot of people don't wear Tyvek suits. A lot of people don't wear gloves or masks. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: Or goggles. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: I would just suggest that if you're working around liquid that you don't want in your mouth or your eye, that you wear something to ensure that doesn't happen.

00;03;23;13 - 00;03;25;03

Shawn: Exactly.

00;03;25;05 - 00;03;29;14

Angela: That stuff is not, not something that you want your eye.

00;03;29;15 - 00;03;37;19

Shawn: That's right. And just a little note in just in the event that something does happen, keep some like disinfection wipes or something in your truck.

00;03;37;21 - 00;03;39;17

Angela: Don't put a disinfection wipe in your eye.

00;03;39;18 - 00;03;40;20

Shawn: No. no, no, no.

00;03;40;24 - 00;03;45;14

Angela: Yeah. You know, they're always warnings because…

00;03;45;17 - 00;03;46;29

Shawn: Yep. Keep your hands clean.

00;03;47;00 - 00;03;48;01

Angela: Your hands clean.

00;03;48;02 - 00;03;48;20

Shawn: Yeah.

00;03;48;25 - 00;04;09;20

Angela: It's probably a good idea to keep along with the eye protection, like you're going to want some. Not just sanitizer, but some… something to flush an eye with. Or an orifice. Right? If for some reason you got it into your eye or your or your nose or your mouth. You're going to want to flush it... 

Shawn: Right 

Angela: and get it out.

00;04;09;25 - 00;04;12;07

Angela: Trust 

00;04;12;10 - 00;04;14;17

Angela: If that gets into your mouth of your eye, you want to get it out.

00;04;14;18 - 00;04;15;19

Shawn: Yes.

00;04;15;21 - 00;04;20;26

Angela: And you'll want to flush it. And you don't want to use… You don't just want to use regular water in your eyes.

00;04;20;27 - 00;04;21;08

Shawn: Right.

00;04;21;13 - 00;04;23;18

Angela: But you can... Some saline solution.

00;04;23;19 - 00;04;24;20

Shawn: Yeah. Perfect.

00;04;24;21 - 00;04;31;24

Angela: A bottle of travel size saline solution should be able to flush your eye out.

00;04;31;25 - 00;04;32;21

Shawn: Yeah. For sure.

00;04;32;27 - 00;04;41;05

Angela: Easy stuff. You can pick most of this stuff up at your local Walmart, Target, Fred Meyer, Walgreens.

00;04;41;06 - 00;04;41;23

Shawn: Yep.

00;04;42;00 - 00;04;44;21

Angela: I guess Fred Meyer is a West Coast thing.

00;04;44;21 - 00;04;46;13

Shawn: True. True.

00;04;46;16 - 00;04;48;17

Angela: That's where we are. So that's my frame of reference.

00;04;48;18 - 00;04;49;12

Shawn: That's right.

00;04;49;13 - 00;05;07;13

Angela: So another good thing to do and to keep in mind is asking standard intake questions before you get out to the job site. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: Right. You want to know what you're getting into. 

Shawn: Yep. 

Angela: Like you don't necessarily want someone to go out and open their own...

00;05;07;16 - 00;05;08;04

Shawn: Right

00;05;08;05 - 00;05;15;14

Angela: Tank. Right. You don't want them... You don't want them getting in there necessarily to tell you what's going on. But, if they can...

00;05;15;16 - 00;05;33;19

Shawn: Yeah. Well, and asking them simple triage questions before you go will also inform you of what you need to take with you. 

Angela: Right. 

Shawn: So you don't necessarily need to take something out for measuring the tank if you're just replacing a pump or if you're replacing a float. You may not need to take that other equipment with you. 

00;05;33;20 - 00;05;45;22

Angela: yeah, it's good to triage. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: Right. Determine what… what's going to need to happen, what risks may be there and how you're going to do your work. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: It helps you plan for your day.

00;05;45;23 - 00;05;47;05

Shawn: Yep.

00;05;47;07 - 00;05;59;00

Angela: All right. So some core hand tools that you really need to carry in your truck. You're going to want the bolt key.

00;05;59;02 - 00;05;59;28

Shawn: Oh for sure.

00;05;59;29 - 00;06;01;21

Angela: To take off those bolts.

00;06;01;23 - 00;06;06;28

Shawn: Yeah. If, if the lid has a, like a special hex key or something you need that.

00;06;07;01 - 00;06;09;06

Angela: Yup. You need the one that fits it.

00;06;09;09 - 00;06;12;09

Shawn: For sure. 

Angela: Trust us.

00;06;12;11 - 00;06;20;28

Angela: Last thing you want is to get out there and not have the right key to take those bolts out. You get very angry very quickly.

00;06;20;29 - 00;06;22;22

Shawn: Yeah.

00;06;22;24 - 00;06;30;09

Angela: I have taken the calls, as has Shawn. Why won’t this work? Well, did you take the right key?

00;06;30;12 - 00;06;31;06

Angela: **grumbling noises**

00;06;31;08 - 00;06;41;14

Angela: Yeah. Just take the key. Make sure you have the right one. You also want to make sure that you have all the tools that you're going to need.

00;06;41;15 - 00;06;45;07

Shawn: Yeah. Just the general tools, screwdrivers, socket sets…

00;06;45;09 - 00;06;51;22

Angela: It's always good to…

Shawn: Wrenches…

Angela: Yeah, it's always good too, to carry some extra bolts.

00;06;51;24 - 00;06;52;09

Shawn: Yes.

00;06;52;10 - 00;07;09;17

Angela: So bolts will get lost in the grass. Sometimes you take them off, you set them down. And next thing you know the grass is a little bit tall around you. And you have no idea where that bolt went. But please, I beg of you, make sure that you bolt that lid down before you leave.

00;07;09;19 - 00;07;10;29

Shawn: Yes.

00;07;11;02 - 00;07;21;07

Angela: The bolts are there for a reason. Use them all. Bolt down your lid. So it's a great idea. Everybody should carry extra bolts in their truck.

00;07;21;09 - 00;07;21;22

Shawn: Yes.

00;07;21;23 - 00;07;54;15

Angela: Just in case. I have, I have watched one of my coworkers run down to the local hardware store because we found a... we found a tank lid unsecure in somebody's backyard. Not even ten feet from a play structure. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: So swing set in the backyard. Ten feet away. Septic tank. No bolts. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: He actually ran down to the local hardware store and got bolts and took them back.

00;07;54;17 - 00;07;56;04

Shawn: Yeah. That's just not acceptable.

00;07;56;05 - 00;08;05;12

Angela: It's just not acceptable. It's not safe. There's no... You know, we've been plugging a lot of… we've been plugging the Safety Shield and the Guardian…

00;08;05;13 - 00;08;06;09

Shawn: Yeah.

00;08;06;12 - 00;08;07;24

Angela: for secondary devices.

00;08;07;25 - 00;08;08;12

Shawn: Yep.

00;08;08;13 - 00;08;11;18

Angela: Your best defense is a lit bolt.

00;08;11;19 - 00;08;12;19

Shawn: Yes.

00;08;12;21 - 00;08;15;27

Angela: Please bolt your lids down.

00;08;15;29 - 00;08;16;26

Shawn: Yeah.

00;08;16;28 - 00;08;17;23

Angela: All right.

00;08;17;27 - 00;08;18;08

Shawn: Oh! Shovel!

00;08;18;09 - 00;08;21;02

Angela: Off that soapbox. Yep.

00;08;21;04 - 00;08;24;15

Shawn: A hand trowel, something in case you have to dig around the lid or something.

00;08;24;16 - 00;08;29;10

Angela: Yeah. Just in case. Yep. Sometimes the grass can be overgrown a little bit. Or…

00;08;29;12 - 00;08;30;18

Shawn: Yeah.

00;08;30;21 - 00;08;37;04

Angela: the dirt gets up around that lid and you need to dig it out. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: It's much easier to do with a trowel than your hand.

00;08;37;05 - 00;08;41;07

Shawn: Yes. And cleaner. 

00;08;41;09 - 00;08;55;27

Angela: Yeah. If you are going out… So let's talk a little bit about some extra tools for diagnosis. Not just getting into the tank or opening the control box. If you are going to be diagnosing and inspecting the system. Get a Sludge Judge.

00;08;55;28 - 00;08;56;26

Shawn: Yeah.

00;08;56;28 - 00;08;58;05

Angela: So easy.

00;08;58;07 - 00;09;00;13

Shawn: Yep. And they work really well.

00;09;00;15 - 00;09;26;16

Angela: Yeah. You know, Sludge Judge…  this is... I fully understand how ridiculous what I'm about to say sounds. But when you grow up in this industry, this is how you equate things. The Sludge Judge is so simple. It's like the toothbrush, right? Like, everybody's like, how did I not come up with a toothbrush? How did I not… how did my, how did my ancestors not invent a toothbrush?

00;09;26;17 - 00;09;33;11

Shawn: Right. 

Angela: And it's like, that's what a Sludge Judge is like. It's the best way to go out and measure…

00;09;33;17 - 00;09;34;00

Shawn: Yeah.

00;09;34;01 - 00;09;35;13

Angela: What is happening in your tank.

00;09;35;15 - 00;09;36;03

Shawn: Yep.

00;09;36;06 - 00;09;39;19

Angela: See how healthy your tank is or unhealthy, right?

00;09;39;22 - 00;09;40;22

Shawn: Or if it needs to be pumped.

00;09;40;29 - 00;09;42;25

Angela: Or if it actually needs to be pumped.

00;09;42;26 - 00;09;44;02

Shawn: Yeah.

00;09;44;05 - 00;09;59;16

Angela: Prescriptive pumping is something we have already talked about. And you likely know my feelings, right? I would much rather that you measure your sludge to see how healthy your tank is. And if it's working before you pay somebody to pump it.

00;09;59;16 - 00;10;00;01

Shawn: For sure.

00;10;00;01 - 00;10;02;21

Angela: And make your system start all over again.

00;10;02;22 - 00;10;03;15

Shawn: Exactly.

00;10;03;16 - 00;10;05;25

Angela: It's kind of like sourdough when you think about it.

00;10;05;26 - 00;10;06;13

Shawn: Kind of.

00;10;06;14 - 00;10;25;20

Angela: Do you know what I mean? It's like if every time we made sourdough, we have to had to use a new starter. But the Sludge Judge is kind of like the, the rubber band that goes on the outside. Right? You take a certain amount out and then you still have… 

Shawn: Yep. 

Angela: Anyways, I'm full of analogies today.

00;10;25;23 - 00;10;41;05

Shawn: Oh… good grief. Oh, some things I didn't think about, but when I was doing research for this was kind of brought up. It was die tablets in like the smoke. 

Angela: Oh yeah. 

Shawn: And things like that. 

Angela: Yeah. 

Shawn: For tracing leaks or… or air flow and that kind of thing.

00;10;41;07 - 00;10;41;25

Angela: Yeah.

00;10;41;26 - 00;10;42;29

Shawn: 

Oh, and have a good flashlight.

00;10;43;01 - 00;10;48;11

Angela: I was just going to say have a good flashlight. And I don't mean the one on the back of your phone.

00;10;48;12 - 00;10;48;27

Shawn: No.

00;10;48;28 - 00;11;09;19

Angela: Unless you want to risk losing it. 

Shawn: Right. 

Angela: And I think we've recently talked about people dropping phones in their tanks. You would much rather lose a 5 or $10 flashlight, right? You would much rather lose a $20 Mag-light  than your phone.

00;11;09;20 - 00;11;12;16

Shawn: Exactly. 

Angela: Trust us. 

Shawn: Although that would still hurt.

00;11;12;16 - 00;11;22;18

Angela: Yeah, I understand when the nice flashlights go missing in the house, it's always like a oh, where's my flashlight? I know I bought a two pack at Costco.

00;11;22;19 - 00;11;24;10

Shawn: Right.

00;11;24;12 - 00;11;27;01

Angela: But I would rather lose that down the tank than my phone.

00;11;27;03 - 00;11;42;14

Shawn: Exactly. Oh, and if you do work on control panels, make sure you bring a voltmeter and an ohm meter. 

Angela: Yeah. 

Shawn: I can't tell you how many calls I took from people who get out to a site, and they're like, oh, I didn't bring my voltmeter with me. 

Angela: Right. 

Shawn: Keep it in the truck.

00;11;42;15 - 00;11;48;21

Angela: Keep it in the truck. Just leave the voltmeter in your truck. Leave the flashlight. A flashlight is a good thing to have in your truck or your...

00;11;48;23 - 00;11;49;26

Shawn: Absolutely.

00;11;49;27 - 00;11;51;17

Angela: Your tool kit, regardless.

00;11;51;19 - 00;11;52;04

Shawn: Yeah.

00;11;52;09 - 00;11;58;06

Angela: I keep one in my car. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: Just in case. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: I mean, it's cute and sparkly.

Shawn: Right?

00;11;58;08 - 00;11;59;02

Shawn: But still, it works.

00;11;59;02 - 00;12;11;14

Angela: Like my car. Yeah, it's in the center console if I need it. If I were to go out and service the system... 

Shawn: You would have one. 

Angela: I would have a flashlight. I would not be using the flashlight on the back of my phone. 

Shawn: No. 

Angela: Ever.

00;12;11;16 - 00;12;18;28

Shawn: Oh, if you do any testing, make sure you've got test strips for Ph. 

Angela: Yep. 

Shawn: Maybe a DO meter if you do that kind of thing.

00;12;18;29 - 00;12;28;13

Angela: Yeah. And there are lots of test strips that you can get just to test the health of the system. Yeah. You also want to have… they make rugged tablets.

00;12;28;16 - 00;12;29;27

Shawn: Yeah. They do.

00;12;29;29 - 00;12;38;08

Angela: That are really good for service providers and installers, people that work out in the elements. They're not as sensitive as non-rugged.

00;12;38;12 - 00;12;39;17

Shawn: Right. Exactly.

00;12;39;19 - 00;12;55;25

Angela: But it's really good so that you can access service records. If you know that you're going out into an area that does not have cell service. 

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: You can download them before you go out which is a really good idea. But having that right at your fingertips is really good.

00;12;55;26 - 00;12;56;05

Shawn: Yes.

00;12;56;07 - 00;13;07;08

Angela: Just because you can't... The wiring diagrams, as we have said before, should always stay with the control panel. But they don't always stay with the control panel.

00;13;07;10 - 00;13;08;03

Shawn: Exactly.

00;13;08;05 - 00;13;15;10

Angela: So you don't want to get out to a site that doesn't have service and go, oh, well, okay. That sucks.

00;13;15;12 - 00;13;20;24

Shawn: Right. If you downloaded the diagrams before because you know about the panel…

Angela:  Yeah. 

Shawn: That'll save you a lot of time.

00;13;21;01 - 00;13;38;01

Angela: Go back to what we talked about just a minute ago with triaging the call, knowing what you're going into.

Shawn: Yep.

Angela:  You can actually ask them, hey, are the wiring diagrams in the control panel? If not, you can download them before you go. 

Shawn: Yep.

Angela: Take them on your tablet or print them out.

00;13;38;03 - 00;13;39;10

Shawn: Yeah. Either way.

00;13;39;12 - 00;13;42;10

Angela: If you are still printing things out.

00;13;42;12 - 00;13;43;18

Shawn: Oh, I do all the time.

00;13;43;19 - 00;13;58;24

Angela: I do not. I do not actually just went through my files and most of them only go back to about 2020. That's about when I stopped printing anything and fully went digital.

00;13;58;25 - 00;13;59;14

Shawn: Yeah.

00;13;59;21 - 00;14;11;00

Angela: Okay. So let's talk about pumping, hoses, clean up gear, all of that stuff. If you're a tank pumper, you know what you need.

00;14;11;01 - 00;14;11;20

Shawn: Yeah.

00;14;11;22 - 00;14;17;13

Angela: Yeah. There are pretty strict regulations that regulate what you guys are going to do.

00;14;17;14 - 00;14;18;11

Shawn: Yep.

00;14;18;13 - 00;14;22;09

Angela: If you're going to be cleaning up, you might need a wet/dry vac. Maybe.

00;14;22;10 - 00;14;27;21

Shawn: Maybe I was thinking more along the lines of, if you have to be inside a building or a residence…

00;14;27;22 - 00;14;29;02

Angela: Or a valve box, you're gonna…

00;14;29;02 - 00;14;41;02

Shawn: You’ll need stuff to keep that clean. Yeah. Those little bootie wrap things that go over your shoes. Those are great for if you have to go into somebody's home to, say, flip a breaker or something, or…

00;14;41;04 - 00;14;43;11

Angela: You probably want to take some wipes as well.

00;14;43;12 - 00;14;44;11

Shawn: Yeah.

00;14;44;13 - 00;14;48;24

Angela: Like some of those out. If you have a, if you have to get into like the water meter.

00;14;48;25 - 00;14;49;10

Shawn: Yeah.

00;14;49;11 - 00;14;58;05

Angela: Or the valve box or anything like that if you're trying to check numbers and around moisture.

00;14;58;06 - 00;14;58;21

Shawn: Yep.

00;14;58;23 - 00;15;17;20

Angela: Sometimes that stuff, not inside the control panel necessarily, but inside of some of the other boxes. It can get pretty dirty. 

Shawn: Yeah.

Angela: I did open my water meter and I was like, oh, I can't read those numbers because it's so filthy. I need to clean it. See, I do these things too.

00;15;17;20 - 00;15;20;25

Shawn: Right?

00;15;20;28 - 00;15;25;26

Angela: We have already talked a little bit about the electrical controls and what you'll need.

00;15;25;27 - 00;15;27;07

Shawn: Yeah.

00;15;27;09 - 00;15;46;26

Angela: Before you work on a control panel, make sure you have the correct licensing in your jurisdiction. There are jurisdictions where you need a limited electrical license to work inside a control panel. So we do not encourage you to do any work inside the control panel if you are not authorized to do so.

00;15;46;27 - 00;15;48;05

Shawn: Yes.

00;15;48;07 - 00;16;01;02

Angela: If you are authorized to do so, you're going to want to make sure that you have the small insulated screwdrivers that can get into the small areas on a control panel.

00;16;01;03 - 00;16;01;22

Shawn: For sure.

00;16;01;27 - 00;16;23;20

Angela: You're going to want to make sure that you have some pliers. You should take some extra fuses, maybe some relays or terminals just in case, which not necessarily. You might want to take some terminal blocks. Very, very rarely does a terminal block… 

Shawn: Yeah

Angela: I can't even I honestly cannot think of one time that a terminal block has gone out.

00;16;23;20 - 00;16;29;06

Angela: I am certain that people have had it happen. I can't think of one phone call that I took.

00;16;29;07 - 00;16;31;09

Shawn: Yeah. It's mostly things like fuses and...

00;16;31;12 - 00;16;32;09

Angela: Mostly fuses.

00;16;32;09 - 00;16;34;14

Shawn: Small parts, contactor.

00;16;34;15 - 00;16;42;17

Angela; Small parts, the contactor or something like that, or the on off switch, sometimes that kind of thing.

00;16;42;19 - 00;16;43;03

Shawn: Yeah.

00;16;43;04 - 00;16;55;04

Angela: But you're going to want to take some of the connectors as well just in case. And that would I would also suggest a pair of wire strippers, just in case you had to redo one of the connections.

00;16;55;05 - 00;17;01;26

Shawn: Yeah. One thing I didn't think about either that again came up when I was doing research on this is lockout tag out?

00;17;01;28 - 00;17;02;28

Angela: Oh, interesting.

00;17;03;00 - 00;17;21;25

Shawn: Yeah. Which I don't know necessarily that you would need that for residential stuff, because the homeowner is typically going to know you're working on something, but maybe at a business or something if you're doing service on something at a commercial site. 

Angela: Yeah

Shawn: you might want to take something that's lockout tag out so that if you do turn off a server or a service breaker…

00;17;21;27 - 00;17;25;00

Angela: Yeah

Shawn: somebody doesn't come along and say, why isn't this one. 

Angela: Why is this off? Yeah.

00;17;25;03 - 00;17;26;23

Angela: Click. Whoops!

00;17;26;24 - 00;17;29;29

Shawn: Yeah. So just, just kind of keep that in the back of your mind.

00;17;30;00 - 00;17;34;00

Angela: Yeah. Yeah. That's a good practice to get into. Just for safety.

00;17;34;01 - 00;17;34;28

Shawn: Yeah.

00;17;35;00 - 00;17;41;10

Angela: Oh. What else do we have? Let me see. I would say rule of thumb is leave it better than you found it if you can.

00;17;41;12 - 00;18;01;12

Shawn: Yeah. Yeah. I know there are some service providers and installers that when they go through and do repairs to systems or whatever, they'll, they know that if they have to dig something up, they want to try to put it back the way it was. So, you know, grass seed and, and things like that, that they can put on a truck if they know that's what they're going to do, then they can put that on the truck.

00;18;01;13 - 00;18;03;07

Shawn: I wouldn't carry that on the truck all the time.

00;18;03;08 - 00;18;03;24

Angela: Right. I wouldn't either.

00;18;03;24 - 00;18;10;00

Shawn: But it's something that you might consider if you're working on a job like that to carry some of that stuff.

00;18;10;02 - 00;18;22;00

Angela: I would say just put everything back the way you found it. For the most part, you shouldn't need to disrupt… 

Shawn: Right 

Angela: anybody's lawn or dirt too terribly much. But if you do, just put it back.

00;18;22;02 - 00;18;27;10

Shawn: Yeah. One thing that you might carry on your truck, just in case from time to time, is a carbon filter.

00;18;27;14 - 00;18;33;17

Angela: Oh, yeah. There are a lot of carbon filters out there.

Shawn: Yep. 

Angela: On systems. Or at least replacement cartridges.

00;18;33;18 - 00;18;42;00

Shawn: Yeah. Yeah. Because sometimes you'll get calls for while you're out there. Hey, I noticed that I have a smell. 

Angela: Yeah

Shawn: I just happen to have a part that will take care of that.

00;18;42;01 - 00;18;43;29

Angela: Yeah. Oh, I can put this on your vent.

00;18;44;00 - 00;18;49;28

Shawn: Exactly. Oh, and don't forget to carry a tube or a bag of epoxy or a sealant.

00;18;50;00 - 00;18;50;11

Angela: Sealant. Yeah.

00;18;50;12 - 00;18;53;26

Shawn: Yeah. Just in case to repair a broken part.

00;18;53;28 - 00;19;03;12

Angela: Or a broken seal. If the, if the grommet, you might want to carry some grommets as well that are standard in your area, whether that's half inch or...

00;19;03;17 - 00;19;04;14

Shawn: Yeah.

00;19;04;17 - 00;19;05;02

Angela: quarter inch just in case.

00;19;05;04 - 00;19;07;01

Shawn: Whatever that happens to be. 

Angela: Yeah. 

Shawn: For sure.

00;19;07;06 - 00;19;09;06

Angela: All right. I can't think of anything else though.

00;19;09;07 - 00;19;20;07

Shawn: No, but I'm just, just be cautious when you go to sites, you know, make sure you've got your protective equipment. Do your triage before you go. So you know what you're looking at and bring parts accordingly.

00;19;20;08 - 00;19;39;16

Angela: Right. I mean I think that you really have to think about it's, it's best for you and your business because if you don't go out prepared and have if you don't have all the parts, you don't have all the pieces, or you don't have all the tools that you need to do what it is you need to do out there, you're going to have to go back.

00;19;39;17 - 00;19;40;05

Shawn: Yeah.

00;19;40;09 - 00;19;44;01

Angela: Every time, you go back. It's taking away from another job that you could be doing.

00;19;44;02 - 00;19;49;13

Shawn: Yeah. 

Angela: So,,,

Shawn: One other thing I thought of, too. Make sure you carry business cards.

00;19;49;19 - 00;19;50;12

Angela: Yes.

00;19;50;13 - 00;19;54;26

Shawn: Make sure that everybody who you do business with has your number.

00;19;54;27 - 00;20;01;16

Angela: Yeah. That way.. it's, it's difficult to remember who it is you spoke to. In today's day and age.

00;20;01;17 - 00;20;02;26

Shawn: Yeah.

00;20;02;28 - 00;20;22;05

Angela: We are bombarded with a lot of information all the time. And leave a business card. I can't tell you how many times somebody has come to my house to do something. I will not remember their name. I definitely will not remember your name. I won't remember it. Will not.

00;20;22;05 - 00;20;23;02

Shawn: That’s just the way.

00;20;23;02 - 00;20;44;16

Angela: It is. Listen, there's a lot of stuff up in that brain. Somebody's name that I met once is probably not up there. It's in the deep recesses. But... And I may not even remember the name of the business, but I will remember that I took your card.

00;20;44;17 - 00;20;45;01

Shawn: Right.

00;20;45;02 - 00;20;54;24

Angela:; And I will be able to find your card. So take business cards. Give them out. Give them out. All right. Anything else?

00;20;54;25 - 00;20;56;21

Shawn: No. I think we've covered quite a bit of stuff.

00;20;56;22 - 00;21;02;13

Angela: All right. So thank you, Shawn, for doing this with me. And thank you all for listening.

00;21;02;15 - 00;21;20;21

We want to thank you again for joining us today. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe where you listen to podcasts so you're notified when new episodes are posted. Also, you can leave your comments or suggestions through the contact link on our website.

Until next time. Have a great day!