Best Episodes
Host and everyman Mike Rowe gets the grimy scoop on downright nasty occupations.
Written by Sophie and last updated on feb 10, 2023.
PS: The following content contains spoilers!
PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!
Mike Rowe hosts a very special episode of Dirty Jobs as he looks back at some of the world's dirtiest machines that are making civilized life better for the rest of us.
The episode was rated 7.96 from 23 votes.
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The episode was rated 8.00 from 12 votes.
Mike works at a barber shop in Mobile, Ala., and visits California to work as a landfill operator.
The episode was rated 8.00 from 17 votes.
Mike visits a Chicken Farm to see how eggs make it to the store. There, he finds out that 1.4 million chickens equal a lot of poo, which he gets the chance to clean. Later, Mike learns how dirty dirt becomes clean dirt as he sterilizes soil in Oklahoma.
The episode was rated 8.00 from 11 votes.
Mike Rowe looks back at some of his favorite dirty jobs and salutes the men and women from around the country who have found innovative and entrepreneurial ways to get dirty
The episode was rated 8.00 from 14 votes.
Breeding and training Alaskan Huskies as sled dogs with Martin Buser; revisit of dirty jobs in Alaska: Bird ringing common terns and Canadian geese ("Abandoned Mine Plugger"), fishing and processing of fish ("Floating Fish Factory"), cleaning up diesel spill in Dutch Harbor, Alaska ("Ice Salvage Crew"), incinerating toilet cleaner ("Bologna Maker"). The mail bag portion was taped at the Soo Locks on the floor of the MacArthur Lock in front of the upstream bulkheads.
The episode was rated 8.09 from 11 votes.
Mike heads to the Dirty Potato Chips factory and learns how potato chips are made and what it takes to keep the machines used to make them clean and in working order. Then it?s off to Rifle, CO where Mike attempts to clean a "monster" hidden underground.
The episode was rated 8.13 from 23 votes.
Mike helps break down some homes at the Windsorland Mobile Home Park to make room for a new shopping center. Next, he heads to Patina-V where he learns the art involved in creating a mannequin.
The episode was rated 8.14 from 22 votes.
Mike teams up with the boys from Bartos Bait & Fish to catch leeches that will later be sold for fish bait. Then it's off to the Green Tripe factory in Hollister, CA where Mike helps make BARF (Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) for dogs.
The episode was rated 8.14 from 21 votes.
Mike goes to Michigan to join up with the 12 maintenance crew.
The episode was rated 8.17 from 18 votes.
Mike Rowe gets dirty as he braves the untamed world of Vomit Island, a place where few have ever been and even fewer would ever want to go. Mike's mission is to help band and count newly hatched herons on the poo covered island.
The episode was rated 8.17 from 18 votes.
Mike Rowe rolls up his sleeves and gets dirty at a recycling center in San Francisco that requires their dump truck drivers to clean out the back of their dirty trucks after each shift. It's a dirty job that even Mike has a hard time completing.
The episode was rated 8.23 from 13 votes.
Mike heads to MotivePower in Boise, Idaho to build and restore locomotives for his 200th dirty job.
The episode was rated 8.31 from 16 votes.
Mike answers questions from viewers and shows some of the many outtakes and deleted scenes from the show. Mike also does a new dirty job and goes to a dairy farm in Pennsylvania to milk some cows, feed a newborn calf, collect fresh cow poo for study, and do some of the daily maintenence on the feed mill. Mike ends the show by singing his own version of the Dirty Jobs theme song.
The episode was rated 8.33 from 12 votes.
Mike travels to Ohio to check on the Common Tern population and then he finds himself in Northern California plugging an abandoned mineshaft.
The episode was rated 8.47 from 19 votes.
