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Home -use solutions

washnshine

washnshine

Well-known member
 
Washing at home for most people is likely in violation of the law (although they probably don't know it) since that water goes in the storm drain and is not treated.

Same goes for businesses that wash their work trucks in the parking lot...
 
I have both DYI and regular customers. A few nights ago I pulled up the cameras at the right time and saw a car pull into the bay. He opened his trunk and pulled a garden hose out. Then proceeded to hook up to my outside faucet and use needle nose plyers to turn it on. Filled his bucket with soap and used my foam brush. Well, you know the rest. Add one more thing I've never seen to the list. Installing shut-off valves very soon.
 
AnalyticWash said:
Washing at home for most people is likely in violation of the law (although they probably don't know it) since that water goes in the storm drain and is not treated.

Same goes for businesses that wash their work trucks in the parking lot...
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Yes but the problem is that most municipalities will not fine or even approach homeowners. They will, however, respond to complaints if someone reports a business in violation of the Federal Clean Waters Act of 1972.

Where it gets interesting to me is when the local Fire Departments wash their vehicles outside on a regular basis. They have been doing it this way for decades! No one says a peep.
 
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Waxman said:
Yes but the problem is that most municipalities will not fine or even approach homeowners. They will, however, respond to complaints if someone reports a business in violation of the Federal Clean Waters Act of 1972.
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We need more municipalities to enforce this.


Waxman said:
Where it gets interesting to me is when the local Fire Departments washes their vehicles outside on a regular basis. They have been doing it this way for decades! No one says a peep.
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Some people can get away with everything...including introducing PFAS into our water supply since the 1960s
 
David Rolf said:
I have both DYI and regular customers. A few nights ago I pulled up the cameras at the right time and saw a car pull into the bay. He opened his trunk and pulled a garden hose out. Then proceeded to hook up to my outside faucet and use needle nose plyers to turn it on. Filled his bucket with soap and used my foam brush. Well, you know the rest. Add one more thing I've never seen to the list. Installing shut-off valves very soon.
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They have hose bibs that require a "key" to operate for commercial buildings, another option to prevent abuse. All of our hose bibs are inside the equipment room.
 
Keno said:
They have hose bibs that require a "key" to operate for commercial buildings, another option to prevent abuse. All of our hose bibs are inside the equipment room.
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That's what we have installed currently. They either have the key and a good pair of needlenose plyers.
 
@David Rolf
We had a scummy customer do this at our wash a while back. He used our water through his own hose that he routed all the way around our building and his own bucket and soap. Then to add insult to injury as he was rolling his hose back up he swung the end of his hose against our wall busting a huge hole in the most visible part of our hollow core paneling of the self serve bay. Just a gem of a human...
 
Waxman said:
It's federally illegal everywhere but not enforced mostly for homeowners in my experience
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Please provide a link or source which says it's illegal to driveway wash under Federal Law. My understanding is that it is illegal to allow contaminated water to run into storm drains that can contaminate waterways. Cook County's Water reclamation district has combined storms and sanitary sewers and except for severe weather events all water goes thru the treatment plant so the prohibition is inapplicable.
 
Waxman said:
www.epa.gov

Summary of the Clean Water Act | US EPA

The Clean Water Act regulates discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters, and controls pollution by means such as wastewater standards for industry, national water quality criteria recommendations for surface waters, and the NPDES permit program.
www.epa.gov www.epa.gov
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Exactly - as stated if the Driveway runoff goes to a storm sewer that goes to the treatment plant - not prohibited.

The CWA made it unlawful to discharge any pollutant from a point source into navigable waters, unless a permit was obtained:
  • EPA's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program controls discharges.
  • Point sources are discrete conveyances such as pipes or man-made ditches.
    • Individual homes that are connected to a municipal system, use a septic system, or do not have a surface discharge do not need a NPDES permit;
    • Industrial, municipal, and other facilities must obtain permits if their discharges go directly to surface waters.
 
Waxman said:
Well Read this:
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Not really sure how that article changes anything Storm water in Chicagoland all goes thru the Metro Water Reclamation District Treatment Plants along with the Black Water for treatment. So driveway car wash water goes thru the plant as well. Same place as the wastewater from commercial Car Washes, Laundromats etc.

What is interesting is the toxicity of Chlorine is mentioned yet the EPA dictated that the MWRD use Chlorine to further treat wastewater before discharged from the plant.
 
well...

asphalt is porous so some chemicals go into the ground.

maybe it's like cannabis; it is federally illegal. however, states are legalizing it.

so laws can be in place but it's up to state and local law enforcement to enforce the law.
 
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