When Trevor Shamblin applies a layer of a certain chemical on a contaminated area, it usually foams as the algicide reacts and begins to kill whatever it is coming into contact with.

But when he applied the same layer to Manteca’s Library Park recently as part of his ongoing contract with the City of Manteca to clean and sterilize streets and surfaces in the downtown area, he had never seen the chemical react the way that it did before.

“When we first walked over there, our feet were sticking to the ground and you could smell it – it was urine,” said Shamblin, the owner of Shamblin Softwash and Pressure Washing, of the area around the gazebo. “I’ve never seen it foam that way before – it was like sea foam rising out of the ground.

“By the time we were done is was pretty much spotless and it looked like a completely different area.”

For months Shamblin has been completing projects for the City of Manteca throughout the downtown area to clean sidewalks in an attempt to help make Downtown Manteca a more inviting place. Just recently he added Library Park to the list of things he would responsible for cleaning and this past week began the undertaking.

It is part of ongoing efforts instituted this year by the City of Manteca to keeping downtown cleaner and making it more appealing.

The urine is likely the result of the homeless using Library Park.

Using specialized equipment and a variety of chemicals that are either recaptured or eco-friendly, Shamblin has become known for tackling projects and breathing new life into previously dismal areas – whether that’s a store parking lot, a municipal building down in Fresno where he has a contract with the county, or solar panels on the roof of a massive business.

While he has grown the independent business since starting it with only a single truck and a trailer that he had built himself to do the job, Shamblin is looking to further expand – adding another rig that can be deployed to keep with the demand of the work that includes residential, industrial, and now government contracts to clean and sanitize areas.

But of all of his mounting work, Shamblin said that projects like the one he recently completed at Library Park are among his favorite – transforming a portion of the community that he calls home into a place that he would be willing to take his own kids to enjoy.

“I can say that there are parts of that park that were disgusting – that I wouldn’t want to be walking with my kids,” Shamblin said. “Whether it was the side of the library or out back along the gate or even on the statue and memorial for the veterans that was there – it was a disgusting, and now it’s completely sanitized.

“I think that this is something that Manteca should continue doing routinely – it made it like a whole new place.”

For additional information about the services provided by Shamblin Softwash and Pressure Washing, visit their website at www.shamblinsoftwash.com or call 209.923.1770.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.