And you think that you've had a **** day!

[Moley]

I've just watched an episode of 'Sewermen'. There is no way I could do their job. Up to their necks in other peoples ---- day after day. One guy did say you get used to the smell after a while. He described it something like 'going into the bathroom after your father has had a dump'. First of all my father died 1 1/2 years ago so I would be very surprised if he was taking a dump in my bathroom and second, I just don't see how you can get accustomed to the smell of gallons (should that be tons as gallons suggests liquid) of other peoples 'richard the thirds'.
Best of luck to them but I think I'll stay in the job I'm in!

 

[Bobster]

I've spent a few weeks working at waste water treatment sites, you do kind of get used to the smell. Unless it's a particularly hot day.

Biomass plants are far worse for smell. The bacteria they use (digestant) gets on your clothes, may as well bin them. Doesn't matter how many times I washed them, few hours out of the machine, they would stick to high hell again.

 

[littlespark]

tv producers seem to have an obsession with “fat-bergs”.... the congealed cooking fat blocking inadequate drainage systems.

Also with clearing out a hoarders house. 17 skips full of rubbish, a quick paint and that seems to cancel out any odour of cat p**s carpets and rancid milk

 

[FatAlan]

It’s just like being a police officer, being paid to sort out everyone else’s s**t

 

[Andy78]

Did a few months once at a waste oil recycling plant. Wow did that smell, you could catch it on the air a couple of miles down the road. They had open silos of rancid fats and oils that had been festering for years. Every single surface was covered in black scum. Overalls got washed on site in their laundromat type washers as the grease had a habit of breaking domestic versions.

Did get used to the smell though, the first 5 minutes of every day would be a bit stomach wrenching, but then it just faded off. Guess your brain learns to "turn off" the experience.

 

[Bobster]

Same with seemingly nice smells, worked in a well know chewing gum manufacturer.

The mint in the air was unbearable for the first 20min, then just stopped noticing it.

Everything got impregnated with the smell of mint that you took into the factory. Taking my wallet out at the bar in the evening an getting a fresh blast of mint. Thankfully not a bad smell.

 

[Paul L]

When i was an apprentice many moons ago we did a lot of remedial works in a piggery in the local agricultural college. The smell in there was unbelievable! We had to make sure that it was the only job of the day because that smell just didn't go away at all. Vicious buggers too, you'd get a nasty nip if you went anywhere their piglets. Good old days

 

[Bobster]

When i was an apprentice many moons ago we did a lot of remedial works in a piggery in the local agricultural college. The smell in there was unbelievable! We had to make sure that it was the only job of the day because that smell just didn't go away at all. Vicious buggers too, you'd get a nasty nip if you went anywhere their piglets. Good old days

As an apprentice I went and did a bit of cash in hand work at a local farm.

Testing for voltage at an outside heater in the pig pen, full with piglets. One decided to bite one of my meter leads that was dangling down as I was testing.

Pop, no more alive piggy.

Didn't charge the farmer for that job as I felt so bad.

 

[UNG]

Probably the worst place I have worked for smells would be the Heparin plant at a pharmaceutical factory, didn't really notice the smell that much during the day but it seemed to get into your skin and despite a shower, a complete change of clothes and a copious amount of deodorant before going out in the evening the smell was certainly noticeable in a busy warm pub. The thought of ever needing to be prescribed that stuff doesn't bear thinking about
Having worked on many sewage pumps other peoples crap doesn't bother me and the smell tends not to be noticeable after a while as those Sewermen say it is all in a days work. What does surprise me is what people will flush down the toilet and not expect it to block the drains
The job I couldn't do is a mortuary technician don't have a problem seeing a post mortem carried out but that job requires you to have a really strange personality. Spent a couple of weeks installing intruder alarms in a couple of new hospital mortuary's and the mortuary techs had a guy who turned to install some kit throwing up within minutes

 

[Moley]

tv producers seem to have an obsession with “fat-bergs”

Strange, they haven't come after my wife yet

 

[Moley]

Did a few months once at a waste oil recycling plant. Wow did that smell, you could catch it on the air a couple of miles down the road.

Transformer oil is the same. Once it gets on your overalls you'll never get rid of the smell no matter how you wash them. Some of the older transformers at some of the power stations leak like sieves so matter what you do you get covered.

 

[Moley]

Pop, no more alive piggy.

Didn't charge the farmer for that job as I felt so bad.

But I bet the sausages were good

 

[StephenRowley]

Transformer oil is the same. Once it gets on your overalls you'll never get rid of the smell no matter how you wash them. Some of the older transformers at some of the power stations leak like sieves so matter what you do you get covered.

Very first job I did when I started my apprenticeship was to help clean out the sludge from the bottom of a transformer bund.

The smell not as bad as when I worked at supermarket and had to empty out the waste fat buckets from the oven counter into the IBC.

It was especially bad when it was cold and it would all congeal into solid lumps of fat.

 

[telectrix]

back in the 90's i was doing agency work. rate then was about £9/hour for sparks, was sent to a "processing plant" on a 4 week contract. turned out it was a slaughterhouse. 5 minutes in the door, i turned and walked. the stench was diabolical. called in local pub later. you could tell the plant's employees, they were all together, 20 feet away from the non-stinking clientelle.

 

[pirate]

I once had to go to a house where the old lady had died...and no-one had noticed for a few weeks
She had 3 cats and a wee dog, and they had all been shut up in the house with her...the cats were alive, the doggy had died, and there was sh*t everywhere, adding to the aroma of dead person.
My colleague threw up almost instantly, and I followed suit a short time later.

I had to throw my clothes away, such was the stench.