OT: Disposal of carwash chemicals/cleaners?

[J Tiers]

Well, the resolution on the matter has been found.

He put it on CL, and the whole lot of it is now GONE, without any effort except typing and watching over the other stuff in the garage. Everyone is just as happy as a clam in mud!

Much simpler than the other possibilities. Thank you for the suggestions and info in any case, it could have come down to havig to deal with the stuff directly.

[J Tiers]

Put it by the curb, gone by the next morning. I would think if it were still viable to use in car washes the ex owner if he still has car washes would want it. Has anyone contacted him?

His name and location are not known. He rented some time ago.

Those issues are really not the point.

Just suppose the place was bought as a foreclosure, and you will understand. Sort of like what the guy who owned the machine before the guy you bought it from did..... Got it?

[flylo]

Put it by the curb, gone by the next morning. I would think if it were still viable to use in car washes the ex owner if he still has car washes would want it. Has anyone contacted him?

[J Tiers]

If the chemicals, so called, are soap, that should be no issue. Otherwise, not known.

As for the "he shoulda known" stuff, well, it's worth every penny I am paying for the advice. It's not my problem, and I figured to ask as a favor to my friend and see if anyone who ACTUALLY KNOWS about the carwash biz and the cleaners etc, would answer. So far, well..... The cleanup on the ones I have checked out end up with basically "soak up as much as possible, wash the rest down the drain", so there you are.

I will have to look up the MSDS on Dawn detergent.... Bet it says about the same thing.... "obey all local and state etc regulations......" with a list of protective clothing, etc. It tends to be standard boilerplate text, put in as a CYA, since NOBODY will put in a statement that anything is harmless and safe to put down the drain.

Yep, about as expected.....

http://www.eu.pg.com/productsafety/sds/SDS_2016/Ultra_Dawn_Original.pdf

Anybody else see a tiny little oval over the first 'a' in 'available' above? ...what's with that? You got a bad keyboard there, J Tiers?

Hmmm.. now it looks more circular in my post.

Sorry, using the new national keyboard here, never had to do that before we seceded.....

[Glug]

Consider that the buyer surely saw the large quantity of chemicals before buying the property. It is assumed they received a discount in price in exchange for assuming the liability of proper disposal. Though it is not clear whether that aspect of the transfer was lawful, that's a lawyer question.

You can't buy this stuff in the store because it is typically highly concentrated and potentially toxic. Some of it, due to age, may now be outlawed for use. Concentrated hydrofluoric acid? Concentrated phosphates?

Someone should report the renter to the appropriate state regulatory agency. He likely had a permit to operate and use those chemicals, and he may seek renewal or new permits in the future. It makes you wonder how he disposed of other waste.

Commercial businesses require wastewater discharge permits. Getting those permits requires a disclosure of the specific chemicals. and an approved treatment and disposal plan. Depending on type and condition, they may require filtering or other pre-treatment and neutralization. Or they may require commercial hauling.

Loading that stuff in a vehicle and driving around with it? It very likely requires a DOT number, possibly appropriate badges on the vehicle and maybe a CDL.

The 'just dilute it and pour it down the drain' suggestions are offensive, especially without knowing what is present. That shifts the burden (of this profit) to the community and other taxpayers. The fines for that could be huge, and as mentioned it could have serious consequences at the wastewater treatment plant.

Also, diluting it to 'acceptable levels' may require tens of thousands of gallons of water. How could anyone reasonably do that? Maybe a siphon setup that adds 5 three drops to your toilet each time it is flushed. In ten years, it will be done?

[lynnl]

........ Much info "not هvailable".

Anybody else see a tiny little oval over the first 'a' in 'available' above? ...what's with that? You got a bad keyboard there, J Tiers?

Hmmm.. now it looks more circular in my post.

[Arcane]

Dumping large quantities of the concentrated product down the drain might create severe problems at the sewage treatment plant such as poisoning the bacteria used in secondary treatment.

[A.K. Boomer]

Just do what Andy would do - poor in toilet, push handle,,, that simple

all jesting aside, esp. you flat landers have to be extra careful what your throwing down the pipes or it just comes back to haunt you,,, there is so much stuff in the water now and it's doing some crazy things, our water here is in much better condition that way but we've got our own worries with more natural compounds such as arsenic and cyanide from past and present mining operations,

but at least things like prescription drugs and birth control are at a minimum due to being higher up on the water table chart and taking it directly from the river,,, still have a few smaller towns upstream but we also have lots of CFS throughout the year to damper the effects,,, this is water that has been put through a distillation process and is in the form of either rain or snow melt...

it's not just my imagination that when I go back east to visit family there's allot more guys walking around with "moobs"

so much so that many could seriously use a sports bra, some is due to not only whats in the water but also things like plastic bottles that contain a chemical that mimics estrogen...

there is also the fact that I live in one of the leanest states in the U.S. (and believe me that's not saying much) and this only compounds the problem back there as the extra weight gain does not help...

[JCHannum]

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Carwashes do dilute the products in use. If they are similarly diluted, disposal in sanitary drains is probably OK. Dumping the concentrated product not so much.

[J Tiers]

Interesting... searched for "MSDS" in site search and got nothing. (Yes I know about that old law, likely repealed now, or soon.)

The first one I checked referred to local , state etc laws for disposal. Much info "not هvailable". But the upshot seemed to be it can go in the drain, so long as it is not a storm sewer. Not that dumping is a good idea.

[JCHannum]

Armor All MSDS sheets;

http://www.armorall.com/sds/

Carwash products about halfway down. By law, they must be available to the public.

[Puckdropper]

BTW, the armorall site is all "fluff" and way light on things like MSDS.... they don't have any. Probably, since there is a "call if you are a business" number, you have to be a business to get that level of info. When he gets back, he may want to make that call.

Don't over think qualifiers like that. Just try to find the right line (saves hassle on both ends) call the one most likely to have your info. If they don't, they can probably give you an educated guess as to who to ask next.

[J Tiers]

The prior owner seems to have been technically in foreclosure, the bank agreed to a short sale. That is not like the usual sale, and I do not know how much influence he new owner can have. Likely not much, so he is probably stuck with getting rid of it himself.

It's not too complicated here, really just trying to discover if typical carwash cleaners and "sealers" have any unusual disposal requirements IF they cannot be somehow presented to someone who actually wants them.

BTW, the armorall site is all "fluff" and way light on things like MSDS.... they don't have any. Probably, since there is a "call if you are a business" number, you have to be a business to get that level of info. When he gets back, he may want to make that call.

[Illinoyance]

1. It should have been the seller's responsibility to remove them. Try to force him to do it.
2. If the seller will not dispose of them, check for your local hazardous waste disposal site. Most larger municipalities have one.

[J Tiers]

And if been opened may not be the same product as original.

That is true, and is also true of the "apparently unopened" ones,for that matter. We do not know they are not radioactive waste, as I have not checked (and I no longer have a Geiger counter). Actually got no info from any carwash folks, who I figured would at least know if similar products are considered hazmat when by themselves, without all the nasty stuff from the undersides of cars.

The renter apparently operated a couple of carwashes, so actually the "provenance" of the stuff is credible. I rather doubt if the containers are full of dioxin masquerading as carwash chemicals. You cannot tell that to the local disposal folks, if they do not know, they assume it is radioactive poison gas and take appropriate precautions. Which I suppose they have to do, as they deal with stuff, and probably with folks who come in with a pack of lies about what they have, too.