what kind of drain blockers r u using?

magazine

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I use a wet vac and a generator to suck up wash water but I use water logs to direct the water to a location. The water logs dont hold up very good and are expensive to replace each time one tears. What are you guys using? I like the vacuboom. That is what I am trying to imitate but I cant find something to block the water that well. Any better suggestions would be very appreciated.
 
We started out using sand snakes... but honestly we dont run into the drain problems very much - most of our fleet washing clients have dirt parking lots or they are industrial parks that dont have any storm drains within reach of where we are working....so we have been fortunate. We use the vacuboom on our new construction homes and at other places where we HAVE to reclaim.
 
I use a pan that fits snuggly into the storm drain, capturing 100% of the waste water. I then put the drain grate back in the drain to keep traffic from falling into the drain. The grate sits about 1/4" above the surface, so I put an orange cone on top, that also lets me know where the drain is when theres a big pool of water covering the drain.
 
Plumbers ballon in the drain or rubber matt over the grate. I also use old firehose filled with sand in about 4' sections. Makes cheap dams that can divert water to the sump pump.
 
Plumbers ballon in the drain or rubber matt over the grate. I also use old firehose filled with sand in about 4' sections. Makes cheap dams that can divert water to the sump pump.

thanks, I used your advice with the fire hose. I made 15' sections though and it took me all day to make 4.
 
Well, they arent as heavy as you might think. I had 60 feet of 3 inch fire hose. I figured I would need 6 bags of sand but only used 2 bags. It works ok but some water still goes under. I need something better. Maybe I need to try the bigger fire hoses.
 
Have you tried heavy plastic put down first then lay the hose over then place plastic over again making S shape with plastic and hose. They do that down here when there is flood in central florida I did think would work but formed well kept water out of garage when we had four bad storms few years ago
 
A little bit of information for anyone that cares to listen! FORGET THE DRAIN BLOCKERS!!!!(if you can) Check with your EPA Dept. in your area and apply for a waste water discharge permit, if they offer it. I don't know if this is offered in every state but it seems as if it should be. They are expensive and you need one for every truck but you forget the drain blocking and waste water picking up. Granted you must stay within the water guidelines but with exterior cleaning that should not be a problem. This makes our washing go much faster not to have to bouther with the recovery game, not to mention how many customers use us instead of other wash companies so as to comfort thier worrie about EPA problems.
Most wash companies say they recover, but when the crews go out and eventually get caught by the company they are washing for with no recovery in place its not long before the company is looking for someone they can trust that they will be sure will keep the EPA off thier backs.
In most cases the permits are the only selling card you will need to land a new company.
 
Enviromental Truck Washing

Hi guy
This is my first reply ever so be gental. In New Hampshire full reclaim using recovery pads is the norm, all water must be pretreated then taken to a treatment center. It's lots of work but the right way to do it.
 
Hi guy
This is my first reply ever so be gental. In New Hampshire full reclaim using recovery pads is the norm, all water must be pretreated then taken to a treatment center. It's lots of work but the right way to do it.

good answer , welcome and I tried to be gentle
 
A little bit of information for anyone that cares to listen! FORGET THE DRAIN BLOCKERS!!!!(if you can) Check with your EPA Dept. in your area and apply for a waste water discharge permit, if they offer it.



I have heard of the permit you are refering to. I have talked to the epa here and they mentioned it but acted like it wasnt a good idea for some reason so I didnt ask any questions about it. I will ask about it. Maybe if I stay away from heavy degreasers, they will grant me permits.
 
As I said, I'm sure there are states that will not allow a permit.It is going to be mandatory to recover, but for those of you that didn't know about the permits they are well worth checking into, plenty of time saved and aggravation. The EPA are the ones that issue the permits so I don't understand why they would say they are not a good idea. If you follow the rules, stay within the guidlines and don't have to recover anymore how can that not be a good idea? I think I would have questioned his answer.
Anyhow, good luck to those of you that this can help.
 
Ground Water Discharge Permit

Hi
I looked to see if there was a such thing as a permit to discharge to ground and just asking made people in my area gasp.I was told its not going to happen! Here are some pictures of what we have to do to make a buck, Hope fully i did this right
 

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All I can say to a permit for getting away with no recovery is "GOOD LUCK". It is ashame that with the CWA being a Federal law, that many Municipalities have no clue as to what it really means.
I used to advise people to talk to their local authorities, but it has become apparent that they do not even know which direction to look in.
 
Thanks Magazine
We take great pride in all are fleets and washum like we own um.
 
Water Recovery was a big issue last wek at the Hospital where we were cleaning a 7 story trash shoot.. They had a flow thru Drain system and did not want any trah in it at all.. So we set up my homemade pump vac in the lowest part of the floor.. We used plastic to channel the water into the pumping unit and ran it to the storm drain thru a garden hose.. We had to keep stoping to unclog the pump but it was defintly a challenge .. A job that should have taken 2 hours ended up taking a half a day.. I am in the process of inventing a squeege type vac water recovery system but things have been slowed down due to the foamer I have been working on... I am also building another surface cleaner this one is going to be 14 inches with a quick disconnect at the base so I can wash walls with it ... I got to much going on...
 
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