TG: Waste Water System

SAFETY CALLOUTS

Consider the below callouts when guiding a volunteer through the instructions

• Wastewater is a biohazard. Wear gloves to protect your hands and ensure you are careful to avoid splashing water onto your body.
• Ensure no one is in the shower area before opening the rear doors to complete inspections. 

POSSIBLE REASONS FOR CALL

• Waste tank not draining / Waste water not pumping out of waste hose 
• Wastewater overflowing / Leaking
• Wastewater pooling in washing machine after cycle has finished 

TROUBLESHOOTING

Issue: Waste tank not draining

1. Is there water in the waste tank?

To check for the amount of waste water on board, there will be clear tubes attached to the tank displaying the water level.

Laundry Van - rear of vehicle under the washing machines. Waste tank is on the left

Hybrid Van - to the right hand side of the washers and dryers. When opening the sliding door, look to the right. Bottom tank is the waste tank.

If yes, proceed to next step.

If no, then potentially there hasn’t been enough washes and showers completed to show a waste water level on the gauge. There may not be enough water in the waste tank yet for the pump to push out the water.  

2. On the control panel is the toilet icon turned on (illuminated green) 

1.  If no, turn on the icon and ensure the waste hose is extended out far enough (the hose is only wrapped around the hose reel 3 times). The waste tank should now start draining.

2.  If yes, is the waste hose free from kinks, blockages (is the hose crushed?) and is the hose fully extended? The hose should also not be directed uphill or have the outlet of the hose higher than the van.

3.  If the waste tank has not started draining after the above checks have been carried out, a fuse reset or replacement may be required. Refer to SIG: Fuse reset and replacement.

4.  After completing a fuse reset or replacement, has the waste tank started draining? 

If yes, continue with shift.

If no, proceed to next step.

3. Is the waste filter free from debris and clean? The waste filter can be found in the following locations:

Laundry Van - Located behind the side sliding door, below the control panel.

Hybrid van - Located behind the left hand rear door.

Pod -  There is no waste filter in a pod

If no,

If comfortable to do so, turn off the waste pump by pressing the toilet icon on the control panel (when off, the light will show as white) and clean out the waste filter. This can be done by unscrewing the clear plastic cap (anti-clockwise direction), remove the white plastic insert, clean/remove debris, then reassemble filter - ensuring the white plastic insert is refitted. Turn the pump back on at the control panel (toilet icon illuminated green).

If the waste tank starts to drain, continue with shift. 

If the waste tank doesn't start to drain, continue to next steps.

Diagnostic complete, the issue cannot be resolved on shift. You will need to either:

1. If possible to do on site, manually drain the waste tank SIG: Manually drain the waste tank
2. If you cannot manually drain on site, continue shift, but be mindful of how many loads/showers you can complete, ensure you don’t let the waste water overflow from the bottom of the vehicle by overflowing the waste tank.
3. If you are at the end of shift, and you aren’t able to complete any more washes or showers due to the waste tank being full, pack up and go home.
   
   Submit an incident report

TROUBLESHOOTING

Issue: Wastewater overflowing / leaking under the van

1. Is there water leaking under the van?    

If yes and there is a smell to the water, it will most likely be waste water. Below are the locations of the van the wastewater will overflow from.

Laundry Van

If the water is leaking from the passenger side of the van and it is a reasonably high flow it is most likely waste water, proceed to next step to determine the level of the tanks 

Hybrid Van

Both clean and wastewater will overflow from the passenger side of the van when the tanks are full, proceed to next step to determine the level of the tanks

If the leak is only minor - slight drip/leak - then it is not something that can be resolved on shift, please submit an incident report. 

2. Is there water in the waste tank?

To check for the amount of waste water on board, there will be clear tubes attached to the tank displaying the water level.

It can be tricky to tell if the tank is full or empty, below are some tips to help check:

• Squeeze the tube to see if you can see water moving
• If the tube is hard to squeeze, it is likely full of water
• If the tube is dirty and hard to see through, submit an incident report.

Laundry Van - rear of vehicle under the washing machines on the left

Hybrid Van - to the right hand side of the washers and dryers. When opening the sliding door, look to the right. Bottom tank is the waste tank. 

If yes, tank is full:

If you have access to an approved waste disposal point on site:

• Pump out waste (if the waste doesn’t drain from the waste hose/pump not working, follow “Waste tank not draining” troubleshooting steps above.

If there is no access to an approved waste disposal point on site:

• Stop accepting any additional showers/washes and pump out wastewater back at base.

Diagnostic complete, the issue cannot be resolved on shift. You will need to either:

1. If the leak is only happening when the shower is operating - continue shift with washers only
2. If the leak is only happening when washers are happening - continue with showers only
3. Continue shift at reduced capacity and focus on connection with friends
4. Pack up and go home once final washes and showers are complete (if waste tank is full and no disposal point on site)
   
   Submit an incident report

TROUBLESHOOTING

Issue: Waste water pooling in washing machine after wash has ended

If wastewater is pooling in the washing machine after the cycle has ended, refer to TG: Washer System