Good kit separates what gets contaminated from what you wear in the customer's kitchen, and keeps you visible when the van is parked over a chamber on a busy street.
Sewage, hygiene and what goes home
Waste water can carry bacteria and viruses, including the infection that causes Weil's disease. Waterproof gloves, eye protection when jetting, and covering any cuts are basic steps. Clothing that has been splashed should be bagged and washed separately at a high temperature, never mixed with family laundry.
Many firms give engineers two sets of tops: a dirty-work layer for the job and a clean branded polo for talking to customers and writing up the report.
Jetting and wet work
Jetting spray and blow-back soak anything nearby. Waterproof jackets and over trousers, plus safety wellingtons, keep you dry through a long sewer clean. Choose wellingtons with toe protection, because manhole covers and rods are heavy.
Printed logos generally suit waterproofs better than embroidery, because stitching through a taped waterproof fabric can let water in at the logo. Rinse wellingtons and waterproofs at the van before you get back in the cab.
Manholes in the road
Working in or next to the carriageway means hi-vis, and roadworks on the public highway need signing and guarding laid out to Chapter 8 guidance. Class 3 hi-vis is usual for roadside work. Confined space entry into chambers and sewers is a specialist activity with its own training, equipment and rescue planning. Check your site rules or risk assessment. Keep a hi-vis jacket in every van, even for crews who mostly work on private driveways.
Where to put your logo
For drainage firms, put the biggest branding on outer layers that are seen at the roadside: a printed name across the back of hi-vis and waterproof jackets, kept off the reflective tape and within the fluorescent area. Save embroidery for the clean polos and softshells engineers wear when meeting customers. Avoid light garment colours on anything worn for the dirty part of the job; navy, black and dark grey wash out far better.
Ordering for drainage engineers
Most drainage engineers start with waterproof jackets and rainwear, safety boots and wellingtons and hi-vis jackets. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.
