In his more than 55 years running O’Fallon (Missouri) Sewer Service, Leonard Earnest has seen quite a few technological changes.

He says the most significant might be the diagnostic tools, especially pipe cameras and smoke testing equipment. O’Fallon Sewer Service uses cameras made by RIDGID.

“We do a lot of camera work, and that lets people know what’s going on,” Earnest says. “With the camera and locating, you know you’re at the right spot and you’re doing the right thing, and people appreciate that.”

Using the camera adds to the expense, but customers value the information it can provide. Sometimes O’Fallon Sewer Service gets a call after another company has dug numerous holes.

“Competitors will do that, put foxholes all around the house rather than pay a few bucks to find out where they need to be,” Earnest says. “We get called out after they’ve already destroyed everything.”

He also thinks smoke testing has proved its value. “We’ve done miracles with that,” he says.

His company uses Superior Signal smoke testing equipment.

In one case, his company was called to a movie theater that had problems with mysterious odors ever since it was built. “We discovered vents that were never hooked up,” Earnest recalls. “They were just loose in the wall. It was supposed to be venting outside, and it was just venting into the wall.”

In another case, a bank was on the verge of shutting down a branch because of odors, but smoke testing revealed the problem was the result of nails that had been driven into a sewer vent.

Something like that can make a big difference to property owners.

“If you find it, it saves the building,” Earnest says.

One thing O’Fallon Sewer Service has learned about doing smoke tests in commercial buildings is to be sure to alert local fire departments so they don’t think the building is on fire. “If the smoke comes out in the wrong place, it can set off the fire alarms,” Earnest says. “We let the fire department know that we’re doing this.”