“Mark Arnold sucks food and grease off a plate with his invention, the Enviro Vac.Matt Johnson / staff photoMark Arnold’s career has been in the toilet – actually under the toilet – for years. But recently the Clinton septic tank cleaner and installer became an inventor. Now he’s hoping this new career will allow him to spend a little more time working in the kitchen than .For years, Arnold has owned and operated Arnold’s Septic Systems. He doesn’t know exactly how many hours he has spent watching a big hose vacuum septic effluent into a tank on the back of his truck, but he does know that the job gave him a lot of time to think. What he though about was a kitchen appliance that would make his job almost obsolete and that would allow Whidbey Island’s 9,000 septic tank owners to use their systems longer before calling someone like him to clean them out.The trouble with septic systems – which can be an efficient way of treating waste water – is that after a few years of use, they become moribund with grease, food particles, and other solids. Ideally, all these things would be trapped in a special chamber inside a septic tank and never make it into the perforated septic lines that leach waste water into the soil. Unfortunately, ideal rarely happens. Grease and small particulate matter can clog the holes in the septic lines, causing the septic system to back up and become useless.Arnold’s invention – a vacuum cleaner designed to be used on dishes, pots, pans, counters and sinks in the kitchen – could eliminate virtually all septic clogging material. That means fewer septic system failures and big savings for home and business owners.I want it for everybody’s house, he said.Called the Enviro Vac, Arnold’s device is actually quite simple. Essentially a Shop-Vac with an attached soap dispenser and a stainless steel can to hold food waste, the vacuum sucks food and grease off almost anything. Its small soap sprayer helps break up cooked-food. Arnold said much of this food and grease usually goes down the drain and into a septic or sewer system when dishes are washed. By using his Enviro Vac, food waste stays out of the pipes and can become useful compost. Plus, the dishes are so close to being clean after they are vacuumed, they need only a brief rinse in the dishwasher.That’s my big plug, saving water and energy, he said. The device, which is still in the prototype phase, is being tested at a Denny’s restaurant in Ferndale. Arnold said the dishwashing staff at the restaurant have been using the vacuum for more than a year. Restaurant management is interested in owning a production model, he said. The Enviro Vac should be commercially available sometime this year. Arnold said the commercial model will cost $3,750, while a home model will list at $1,800. To find out more about the Enviro-Vac, call Arnold at 321-1654, or e-mail him at nvirovac@clintonwa.com. “