Help....Pit Odor !

[Rudy]

Help!!!

This time of year, RV's and even Carpet Cleaning Services dump their messes into our pits. We have a hard time catching them....it's the worst during Sept./October.

Apart from catching them....what's the best thing to dump into the pits to try and negate the odor? We usually use bleach, but this year even that hardly works.

What works for you?

 

[MEP001]

If someone dumps anything that smells especially bad, I drop a pool chlorine tablet in, which has always worked to kill it. The worst was when someone dumped a cooler full of dead shrimp.

 

[mr-gte]

I run fresh water from a garden hose in the bay for 1.10 hr per 1000 gal Tank, Last about a week
cost me $5.00 per bay

 

[lag]

We dump in about in 1/2 to a gallon of bleach to kill orders , until normal bay usage can run enough water through them, to delute them down.

 

[Ben's Car Wash]

Bleach will only temporally kill the odor. There are several "fixes". As one posted said, flush out the water by pumping down the tank and add fresh water.... or let the tank fill if you aren't using the suction line for a reclaim system... or refill it above the low water float switch.

When the carpet guy dumps this water... it is full of skin cells, pet dander and other biologicals. Just like leaving water in a carpet extractor overnigh, the bacteria quickly start to breakdown the bio-mass and release a gas that causes the foul odor. To stop this odor, you need to keep "good bacteria" alive by aerating the tanks. You can do this by installing a commericial air pump from a fish pond supply company (I use AREA AERATION in Homestead Florida) or open a valve from the reclaim out line into a bay to keep the water circulating. By keeping the oxygen level up, you will prevent the bacteria from switching over into anerobic producing sulfide gas.

There are also enzyme packets that promote "good bacteria".... but without adiquate aeration, they too will die. Bleach will kill ALL BACTERIA causing a HIGHER biolgical load as the dead cells sink and the clorine evaporates in a day or two. That's why the smell comes back.

 

[Rudy]

I don't have a reclaim system. The pits simply allow the dirt to fall to the bottom, and the septic line has a inverted "el" about a foot below the surface so that oil is not drawn into the sanitary lines.

I put a pool chlorine disc (3") in, and I'll see how it works.

 

[MEP001]

There are also enzyme packets that promote "good bacteria".... but without adiquate aeration, they too will die. Bleach will kill ALL BACTERIA causing a HIGHER biolgical load as the dead cells sink and the clorine evaporates in a day or two. That's why the smell comes back.

So far I've had no real troubles with pit smells returning after dropping in a chlorine tablet, possibly because by the time the chlorine is gone, normal use of the wash has flushed out the offending material.

 

[1337noob]

H2O - Cl =Au?

I run fresh water from a garden hose in the bay for 1.10 hr per 1000 gal Tank, Last about a week
cost me $5.00 per bay

Perhaps there is a "green" solution. The effort could attract more sales. Chlorine, herbicides, lime to dissolve the runoff. Any roadkill? Any special sewer tax?

H2O - Cl =AU

I'm brand new to this board so please don't flame me. I'd like to bring up the "GREEN" angle. I am not an operator (yet).

Hal F. Wit

 

[mr-gte]

H2O - Cl = AU

For me, car wash atomic structures have not produced any pots of gold, leprechauns, or pretty rainbows. In my circle of car wash friends we agree, car washing is more like a ball and chain prison sentence. Employees and equipment distributors are needed to handle the workload. After you pay your distributors' invoices no money is left to pay employees or owners. Proforma's never have a line for owners and the equipment maintenance line item is so far off someone should be in math class.
I am not quite sure which atomic structure can help a stinky 1000 gallon concrete self serve bay tank. I understand salt can encapsulate the odor producing bacteria. Unfortunately the tank is made of concrete...
Any suggestions from a waste water scientist?

 

[MEP001]

I've altered from my practice of dropping a chlorine tablet into the pit to wrapping it with baling wire and hanging it in the water a few inches below the surface. I only do it if there's a noticeable smell. The tablet lasts about a month, and so far the smell has only returned to one pit since I tried this six months ago. It got bad right after they were pumped, probably from the large amount of stagnant water, but by now they're half full again, and the one that began to smell has the least mud (and the most water). The auto bay has never been a problem, probably from the huge amount of water that flows through it every day.

 

[Danny]

Check with your chemical supplier. Many of the soaps are formulated to keep the bacteria down and inturn keep smell down as maintenance. However I do not think these are made to handle the dumping of coolers of shrimp (ewwww) and dumping of RV waste (ewwwwww).