VOC compliant/Run off water

[MrHandWash]

This situation is hypothetical, but I would like feed back. Say you have a customer that doesn't want a waterless auto wash, for fear of marring, as well as no steam cleaning. So you opt to use a rinsless 2-3 bucket system to clean that clients car. If you're using a VOC compliant product, I know it still isn't allowed to enter storm drains. My question here lies in: Are you allowed to have VOC & Non-VOC products run off in grass?

I'm not asking for someone to guide me to OSHA or EPA laws federal and state. I'm just asking as a rule of thumb or those who know.

 

[JonMiles]

That seems like a non-issue with rinseless washing. With a rinseless going section by section you will drop very little product on the ground and most of it will end up soaking into the pavement or sitting on the garage floor. Just toss a beach towel under the section you are working on and you will be able to reclaim the runoff with no issue.

 

[zliegen]

I thought it only mattered if there were VOC's. There are no VOC's at all in rinseless washes as far as I know. Like JonMiles said as well--you shouldn't really be draining much of anything onto or into the ground while using a rinseless wash, theres just hardly any water being used.

 

[MrHandWash]

So just drop a couple towels on the ground or something to soak up excess and you're fine?

I was kind of curious if it were to get into grass with a non-VOC product, would there be fines as well? Or no?

 

[JonMiles]

So just drop a couple towels on the ground or something to soak up excess and you're fine?

I was kind of curious if it were to get into grass with a non-VOC product, would there be fines as well? Or no?

If the EPA sees wet grass and starts giving you a hard time after a rinseless wash; just tell them a big dog was in the yard and peed on the grass where it's wet. They will walk away without further questions.

They really can't fine you for a minimal amount of water on the pavement, the thing they can fine you for is the water running down the drains with suds still floating. A rinseless wash with a little bit of runoff looks like the someone spilled a bottle of water on the pavement, it's very easily overlooked. The government doesn't want to fine you unless you are blatantly disobeying their ordinances.

If you work clean and work smart, you will be in the clear.

I am going outside right now to do an ONR wash on my truck, so i will take a pic of my redneck reclamation system for you.

 

[Kurt_s]

This situation is hypothetical, but I would like feed back. Say you have a customer that doesn't want a waterless auto wash, for fear of marring, as well as no steam cleaning. So you opt to use a rinsless 2-3 bucket system to clean that clients car. If you're using a VOC compliant product, I know it still isn't allowed to enter storm drains. My question here lies in: Are you allowed to have VOC & Non-VOC products run off in grass?

I'm not asking for someone to guide me to OSHA or EPA laws federal and state. I'm just asking as a rule of thumb or those who know.

The No Rinse wash allows you to dispose of the dirty water in the sewage drains for processing rather than into the storm drain. Pouring it into the grass would defeat the purpose of reclaiming water.

It's my understanding is that they are trying to process waste water before it hits the rivers, lakes and oceans, which means either a drainage system to collect waste water at a drive-up car wash or using something like a no rinse or waterless wash.

I find it funny that "they" used to promote the use of surfactants and wetting agents (detergents) to help water better penetrate into the ground to reduce water use. They also used to promote the use of washing machine waste water for watering the grass. It's also interesting that the water districts are finding antibiotics, hormones and drug residues in our drinking water at higher and higher concentrations, which are not removed by standard water processing methods. I am wondering how the push for car wash waste water collection and disposal will affect the drinking water provided by municipalities.

I also wonder what is more harmful to the environment, the car wash product used for a hose and bucket wash or the chemicals in the rinseless/waterless wash and the detergents used to wash the towels used? Granted there is probably 100 gallons of water difference between the hose and bucket and the rinseless wash. I am so confused...

What is the most environmentally friendly car wash for hose and bucket washing?

 

[MrHandWash]

Gotcha, so as long as I'm not running a water burm path right into the storm drain, I should be good :dblthumb2: I wonder what the fine for that would be like ^.^

 

[Kurt_s]

Gotcha, so as long as I'm not running a water burm path right into the storm drain, I should be good :dblthumb2: I wonder what the fine for that would be like ^.^

I hear that they can be expensive so better.

The rinseless wash offers a way to save water, recycle waste water and still make a car beautiful. It also saves time if the car is only a bit dirty. I takes me about an hour with a hose and bucket and 20 minutes with ONR.

There is the law of unexpected consequences. I wonder where rinseless and waterless washes will take us from an environmental standpoint?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I was always told in Irvine, California that you couldn't wash your car in the driveway, but you could wash it in your lawn as the grass would trap any contaminants into itself and prevent it from getting into the water system.

Made sense to me...

I lived in Apple Valley and there were no restrictions but most of the time I either had to wash very early morning or late into the evening due to the heat and wind causing the water to dry so quickly.

Laws and regulations are going to vary between cities and states and chances are good that water use is going to become more restrictive moving into the future, not less restrictive and it will start to spread to areas that are currently not affected by Government oversight.

I'm always waiting to see some Congress Critter propose a Car Wash and/or Car Wax Tax and create a bureaucratic agency to be know as "The Wax Police".


You read it here first...

 

[AeroCleanse]

My understanding is you cant have runoff water that reaches the storm drainage system. Thus if you use ONR (for example) and you get the product on the driveway, it doesn't matter as long as it doesn't reach the storm drainage system. You can dispose of the wash water down a sanitary sewer, as that water gets treated.

That would be the federal law.

Water usage is more of the local issue. I'm not sure using a rinse-less product would matter, as they are more concerned with flowing water (wasting it). However, if it's water usage that's the concern, then check with the local government.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

If you're using a VOC compliant product, I know it still isn't allowed to enter storm drains. My question here lies in: Are you allowed to have VOC & Non-VOC products run off in grass?

First of all, VOC's are a component of air pollution, and have nothing to do with water pollution, per se (although if you were to pour a product capable of creating VOC's into a storm drain, you would certainly be creating water pollution).

There are NO chemicals which are allowed by law to enter storm drains (heck, here we aren't even allowed to get leaves in the storm drains on purpose). However as has been pointed out, if you get product on the ground that isn't entering the storm drain, that is fine (although that could get a little gray depending on the enforcement official). Also, any effluent discharged onto grass is not being discharged into storm drains and is fine (as Mike Phillips noted). I'm pretty sure that just because it's ok to dump wash effluent on your lawn, you can't dump anything you want on your lawn (motor oil, etc.), so don't take that as a license to use HF wheel cleaners on a customer's lawn.

 

[dougaross]

I was always told in Irvine, California that you couldn't wash your car in the driveway, but you could wash it in your lawn as the grass would trap any contaminants into itself and prevent it from getting into the water system.

Made sense to me...

I lived in Apple Valley and there were no restrictions but most of the time I either had to wash very early morning or late into the evening due to the heat and wind causing the water to dry so quickly.

Laws and regulations are going to vary between cities and states and chances are good that water use is going to become more restrictive moving into the future, not less restrictive and it will start to spread to areas that are currently not affected by Government oversight.

I'm always waiting to see some Congress Critter propose a Car Wash and/or Car Wax Tax and create a bureaucratic agency to be know as "The Wax Police".


You read it here first...

This agency will be administered by the "Wax Czar"