
City of Toronto uses a specialty sewer sucking truck to clean the sewers. Worker uses a pick axe to remove the grate, plunges the crevice tool down the hole, sucks the garbage out. It takes only about 2 minutes max. Toronto, Canada. Photo 1 by Don Tai
What is that high pitched sound on the street? It sounds like a large vacuum cleaner, and it was. The City of Toronto sewers were being cleaned by the sewer cleaning truck.
It is really very simple. The guy pulls up to a sewer grate, located once for every 6 houses, on the street. He uses a pick axe and pulls the sewer grate off, puts the sucker crevice tool down the sewer and sucks the garbage out. Per sewer it takes only about 2 minutes, max.
I hope this guy was wearing hearing protection, because it did not look like he was. This vacuum cleaner is really, really loud, and would damage your hearing in short order. It looks like there was a driver along with the guy moving the crevice tool.

City of Toronto uses a specialty sewer sucking truck to clean the sewers. Worker uses a pick axe to remove the grate, plunges the crevice tool down the hole, sucks the garbage out. It takes only about 2 minutes max. Toronto, Canada. Photo 1 by Don Tai

City of Toronto uses a specialty sewer sucking truck to clean the sewers. Sewer grate put back into place, job is done. It takes only about 2 minutes max. Toronto, Canada. Photo 2 by Don Tai