Strangest thing found in a vacuum

[Eric H]

Yesterday morning I noticed some foam shipping peanuts blowing around in the driveway. Sure enough someone had packed 3 vacs full of peanuts
About 2 trash barrels full. Nothing unusual. packing peanuts, concrete, bird seed, dog food, etc don't get a rise out of me anymore.
Since I was already dirty I decided to empty the vac trash at another location that I had not done in a while. It wasn't too bad, except most were full of water from the very heavy rains we had about 2 weeks earlier. AS I got to the second to last one I pulled out the bucket and saw a umbrella. 2"diameter and nearly 18" long!!! I'm surprised the thing got thru the hose.
What was the customer thinking? "hey, I can put this in the trash can....naw, it would be more fun to shove it up this hose"

 

[Whale of a Wash]

The foam is easy to explain -someone just got married and had a car full. But i can't believe some of my customers are driving 1500mi to annoy you too!!!!
John

 

[Parker]

I've had someone vac up the keys to their car..... luckly I was there to get them out for her

 

[MEP001]

Nothing unusual. packing peanuts, concrete,

I would have figured it was too far for mac to drive as well.

I had a woman call me one day, she had vacuumed up her car keys, luckily I was just a minute away. As I was unlocking the tank, she said that she had locked her keys in her car when she went to get change and had paid someone to get them out, so she was holding the keys in her hand while she cleaned her car and accidentally dropped them right in front of the nozzle.

 

[Jeff_L]

Not her lucky day...

 

[jprb]

I had a lady called and had vacuumed up a green emerald. To my amazement it was laying right on top of a layer of straw, which was all floating on a half tub of water. Lucky her! I was going to allow HER to dig as long as she wanted!

 

[Keith Baker]

It could be worse Eric, at least they spent some money sucking the packing peanuts up into the vacs. You could have found them dumped directly into your trash cans. Or worse, they could have just shoveled them out right into your parking lot or in the back of one of your bays.
At least you got paid a little bit for your labor.

 

[pitzerwm]

I had a lady call and asked how soon could I get there, I asked why and she said that she had vac'ed up her blouse, I said that if she was standing there naked that I would be right there. Sadly, she wasn't so I retrieved it later in the day, took it over to my laundromat, washed & dried it, and delivered it to her job. Customer for life.

 

[ted mcmeekin]

The day after haloween last year I went to a trash can and found, an empty Jack Daniels bottle, a silk witches hat, a mask and a used condem. Maybe they had there party at the wash.

Ted

 

[Indiana Wash]

For the first 6 months I owned my wash, I would find a pair of ladies underwear in my vacs every time I checked them. Usually there would be more than one pair. I also found some in the trash at least once a week. I no longer notice them in my trash. Maybe it was one customer who went elsewhere.

 

[MEP001]

I recently had a customer call and say she lost a ring in a vacuum. She was very vague about which vac it was in her message, and before I could call her back she'd called the police and filed a report, and the cop also left me a message. When I talked to her, she was even more vague about which one. so I searched carefully through all the vacs for it. After about two hours I called her again and said I hadn't found it, but I would save all the debris and check it again. She says "That's ok, I already filed an insurance claim." I'm beginning to doubt there ever was a ring - she said it was a family heirloom and very valuable to her, and someone wouldn't give up so quickly on that.

I guess this is more of a strangest thing I didn't find in a vacuum story.

 

[Dean Taylor]

Sorry guys but I just read this and had to post it. What's in your Vaccuum?

AP
posted: 2 HOURS 27 MINUTES AGO comments: SAGINAW, Mich. (March 26) - A man police caught performing a sex act with a car wash vacuum has been sentenced to 90 days in the Saginaw County Jail. Jason Leroy Savage must also submit to drug testing.
The 29-year-old Swan Creek Township man was sentenced Wednesday in Saginaw County Circuit Court. Savage pleaded no contest to indecent exposure last month.
Police say Savage was arrested after a resident called officers early on Oct. 16 to report suspicious activity at a car wash in Thomas Township, about 90 miles northwest of Detroit.
Savage's attorney, Philip Sturtz, didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

 

[Jeff_L]

That's just gross. Another reason why I wear gloves while emptying them out!

 

[Dean Taylor]

A friend of mine has a local bum which he let's clean his vac's out for free. The deal is, he gets to keep anything he finds. From what I hear, he has had some pretty nice finds like rings, watches, jewelry, and evidently enough change and paper money to buy his wine and cigs. for the day. It's a win/win and he never has to worry about cleaning his vacs.

 

[starion]

I have had several people call to say they had sucked up a flash card for a camera and really needed it back. After loading it up to see the incriminating evidence, we call them back.

We have found 4 or 5 of them just cleaning the buckets out. Haven't run across any with any juicy pictures yet....

 

[starion]

Sort of related to this thread...

I have come up with a vacuum sifter device, I'll send pictures when I get a chance. Basically a 2x4 frame with a screen, a motor attached to the frame with an offset to make it vibrate. Put the whole contraption over the dumpster, dump the vacuum bucket on it, turn it on, and let it shake the ashes and other stuff straight through.

It's not perfect, but it makes it a heck of lot easier to pick the coins and bigger items out when you've sorted over half of it out...

We get about $18 a week in coins from our vacuum buckets...another $10 or so lying on the ground in loose change...

 

[Red Baron]

I have no clue what is in my vacs - I have no interest in poking around in that nastiness. I suspect though that these are a few items that might be found in most car wash vacs:
* Hepetitus
* Syringes
* Tetanus
* Herpes Simplex 10

 

[starion]

No different than emptying the trash cans...

 

[Red Baron]

No different than emptying the trash cans...

You must not dump your trashcans like I dump mine. Do you climb inside yours and pull them over from the inside?

 

[starion]

No, but I'm just as likely to get stuck by a needle dumping trash as I am dumping vacuum buckets...

Which, BTW, I have never found any syringes in the vacuums. In the trash and on the ground though...