vacuums lock or not ?

My wife insisted we put locks on the vaccum cleanout doors.
Some guy was scrounging thru them and making a mess looking for coins.
So I purchased 6 padlocks and locked them up.
Last night some one broke six latch's and went thru them again. Damage. 6 padlocks gone. six latch's destroyed, two clean out tubs gone and of cource my labor to repair.
So what do you guys do. I want them secured but I think there has to be some common since approach to letting a dirt bag get to the dirt with out costing me time and parts :) suggestions appreciated, what do you do at your self service wash.
By the way...Feb 2011 has been one of if not our best month in three years. we had snow and ice for a week and then 60-70 degree weekend, it was amazing.
Weather doese make a difference doesnt it :)

use zip-ties.

Homer: I was wondering about that. sounds like a common since solution. Anybody doing that /// sure beats buying more locks that can be ripped of with a pair of plyers :)

Hobos- gotta love 'em. Sounds like an old fashioned ass kicking is in order. What they don't understand is those locks are there trying to protect them from any dangers hidden in the cleanout bin. It sure would be a shame if someone vacuumed up a box of razor blades in the cleanout trash and they broke in and cut themselves, if you know what I mean........

Seriously, you can install high security brackets on the cleanout door. However, if they are motivated enough they will get through them and damage your door in the process.

I usually compromised. I use something a little more durable than zip ties. I use coat hanger wire. Insert through the lock hole, take a pair of lineman's pliers bend the wire over double and twist several times. If someone really wants in they can get in, but it will keep the causal person out. And keep those things cleaned out so often that they learn it's mostly a waste of time. If they score big you'll have problems for months.

I had the same problem for a year. I had locks on them, but they pryed the latches off, so I put new latches on. They kept on going in leaving a mess, and left the doors open, so the next customer would have not suction and would be upset. I left notes, eventually telling the person it was OK if he did it, but to clean up his mess and close the door. Did not help, until I staked out the place and caught the SOB. Some sleeze bag - I gave him a piece of mind. He stopped for awhile, but then came back. He eventually quit. Don't put ties on - just close and latch the doors (no locks). I thought about putting a snake in the vac, mice or maneur. A good ass-kickin would work, but then you would have a bigger problem - revenge. Don't forget that what you're dealing with - a person down on his luck. Not much will deter him.

Stake out the place. He could be easy to catch if he's regular. Have a man to man talk with him about how much bull shit he's causing you. He may then understand and go somewhere else. While you are talking to him, get his license or some identification. Sorry to say, but you may have to take it from him if he won't hand it over. If you have his identification or his name then he may then quit suspecting you will come after him.

Good luck

We had this same problem with someone breaking into our vacuums. The door kit that you can buy works wonders and haven't had a problem since. We have a guy that comes to us once a week and we let him clean them out and keep the money. He cleans everything up and no mess. The problem wasn't the fact that they were cleaning them out, it was the fact that they spread the stuff everywhere. You may find one of them, but there is usually a couple of guys that try and clean out the vacs. Kleen-rite's kit is pretty cheap or Powerbrite has a nice kit for the doors.

You probably aren't going to like either of the best options available to you. Either clean out the vacs every day so there's nothing for them to get, or lock them up very securely. I left ours with just a zip tie holding them shut for years, but eventually someone started going through them every night, making a mess and leaving the doors open. I had to put good security on them, but that's not always necessary.

Another option - use Padlock seals (common in the self storage biz)

http://www.chateauproducts.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=29_18&products_id=5916

They will make it clear to the honest that they shouldn't be in there, and the dishonest will snap them off and let themselves in w/o any damage. This is what I do. I don't have a problem with people going through them nightly to steal the change, just the occasional person who sucked up something they want back. With the seals on they call me instead.

I also have extensive security cams, that deters sometimes. Only 2 break-ins I've had have been to change machines - both times they got zero dollars, but did hundreds in damage. Next up for me is a license plate cam mounted near the entry/exit of my wash - next criminal on my site is goin to jail.

I wish there was someone in my area willing to clean my vac's out for free! I hate that job! and when I do clean em out there's plenty of money in there - but it's mixed with so much junk I haven't been able to clean the coin enough to give it to a bank. Anyone have any ideas? I've got hundreds of dollars in coin sitting around in buckets mixed with crap that I can't do anything with!!! lol...

M

BTW - congrats to "allen" - not just on the best month ever, but on perfecting time-travel too! I hope my Feb 2011 will be as good as his was when it happens/happened/is happening! (j/k!! I know it's a typo but I couldn't resist!!)

murhm, I just cleaned out vacs yesterday. I haven't dug through the trash in years, for some reason I decided to take a quick look and see what I could find. It wasn't bad at all. Yesterday I got about $15, a Kershaw pocketknife, and two chucky cheese tokens :)

I may try a little game and see how much money I can yank in a year. There is a coinstar machine at the grocery store next door. My haul yesterday was pretty clean. If it is dirty I'm gonna throw the change in water for a couple of days to get the big stuff off, and try it out. Coinstar allows you to redeem for gift codes to various places, including Amazon.com

The best way I've found to get the coins clean is to put them in a bucket and spray them with high-pressure. Letting them soak in water will make them corrode very quickly, and the CoinStar machine will kick them out.

I made a sifter out of vinyl-coated hardware cloth and a couple buckets, but I find less than a dollar in change a day from all the vacs, not enough to mess with. I'd rather secure the vacs well and clean them once a week and just dump everything.

If you want the change yourself, clean the vacs every day or two. I find it takes less time overall, and the coins don't get ruined.

Wow lots of good ideas, from your suggestions I have developed a plan.
1. Use the coat hanger wire or similar to secure the doors.
2. Remove the catch pans inside so the Bum cannt steal them ($30.00) each nor can he carry the mess behind the wash and go thru it, he will have to expose himself while he is busy stealing.
3. Purchase a large dollied vacuum so I can roll up , open the door, suck the mess out, close the door , easy quick job done and My wife who loves to go treasure diving can go thru the mess at her leasure.
I will report how this works out in the next few months.
Also As for the Time Machine. Its in the basement and its really neet, thats all I can say about it except "Buy Apple Stock " :)
thanks guys its nice to have comrades to talk to when it -2 degrees out and snow drifts over bay 1,2,and 3 :(
night

wash the coins with water-let them dry-then I use my vibrating tumbler made to polish rifle and pistol brass for reloading. Even better, "pop a cap" every once in a while and word gets around fast.