How one Person’s Search for Cistern Cleaning led to her own Nirvana

Article by Geoffrey Montgomery-Swan

The challenge for Beth was not as simple as she first considered…getting the water cistern cleaned should be easy she thought…but then she remembered in the past she called up a local guy who came and emptied her cistern, climbed inside, put in a bunch of chemicals scrubbed around and a few hours later declared all was good and clean.

And this time she thought to herself with all the “green” way of doing things, there must be a better way of cleaning the water cistern. After all she mused, having to empty the cistern and chuck away all the water never really felt right to her…and then it also occurred to Beth that putting someone into a cistern with a rather small entry hole seemed a bit risky – what would happen she thought if he or she (Beth was an equal opportunity employer) couldn’t get out?

It also occurred to Beth by having someone clean her cistern the old way was not really in her or the Environments best interests.

Beth started doing the math… she reasoned her full cistern water value was about $250, then she added the cleaning cost of $395 – and this cost she reasoned may have increased since the last time it was cleaned a few years ago – after totaling all the costs together Beth also remembered she had to pay for a water refill…another $250…starting to get expensive she thought to herself.

A friend who worked in insurance gave her some advice which she remembered “never let anyone climb into the water cistern without all the safety protocols in place and this includes having a safety rig, breathing gear, oxygen testers for air quality, and at least 2 people…just in case of an emergency” her friend reminded her.

Beth was getting worried because as her insurance friend mentioned “if there was an accident without all these protocols in place, it is considered an “illegal act” and she would be personally liable to any survivors claims! Needless to say – this fact caught her attention!

“Oh”  the friend continued “if something like this happens, WorkSafeBC gets in on the act and an investigation starts, because remember you are the employer and need to have whomever you hire follow all the right WorkSafeBC conditions…if you don’t and the investigations discover a breach, you Beth would be liable, and the fines to the homeowner ‘hirer’ start at $25,000 and go up to as high as $500,000”.

Shaken, Beth was counting her lucky stars that nothing had happened in the past.

So Beth made a list of her priorities for which company she would choose.

For Beth it all started with Safety, Beth did not want any possible insurance issues should an accident occur, paralleling her thoughts she recalled there wouldn’t be a WorkSafeBC issue by not allowing the cleaner to go into the confined space of a cistern.

Beth started doing the dollar costs, between the existing water value and replacement and cleaning cost there was a $900 cost she could reduce…if she could find a company which could tick all the boxes… Environmentally conscious, no cistern entry, no chemicals used (Beth never liked tasting the taste of chlorine after the last time she had it cleaned) no costly water replacement, no insurance worries, and conforming to WorkSafeBC regulations all meant if she could find a company that could do the work she would feel great about employing them, and save a bundle in the process!

Time for Google!

Armed with her wish list Beth typed in “who does cistern cleaning”

Voilà – One name seemed to be everywhere: Environmental Cistern Cleaning. The reviews were all very positive; and she was in luck the company located in British Columbia was close by, and in reading their website it ticked all the boxes for Beth.

• No water wastage
• No chemicals or cleaning agents used
• No emptying of cistern before cleaning
• No interruption of service…Beth liked this! It meant she could go about her day and use her water even while her cistern was being cleaned

They even offered to disinfect the water cistern with Hydrogen Peroxide – Beth liked this because as a Nurse she was very familiar with Hydrogen Peroxide, being a contact sterilant no chance for nasty stuff like E-coli, Coliforms, Pathogens to ruin her day…and besides that rotten egg smell that seem to come into her house with the water would not be an issue any more…boy was Beth ever happy!

The final clincher was when she totaled the bill and it was under half what she paid before (That vacation seemed to be getting closer!)

Beth felt good again, Environmental Cistern Cleaning (CleanCistern.Com) really was the Environmental Solution to Cistern and Water Tank Cleaning.

She made the phone call 250-247-9797 booked her appointment and relaxed…