Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

[Jossy92]

Saw this post in a recent thread concerning engine degreasers:

.....biodegradeable? If I wash this off my engine, will I be putting oil or lubricants on the ground?

Have had same problem. My first attempt:

-99 cent plastic drop cloth on garage floor. (folded)

-$4 bag of Walmart oil absorber in horse shoe pattern to cover under wheels, engine.

-Pulled car over tarp and jacked up front end

-Covered electrical and used 4 gal garden sprayers (the type with hoses: APC 10/1 then 4/1.)

-Did not use brushes. (Next time....)

-Moved absorbent around as needed.

-Sprayed everything off with garden sprayer,

-Pulled car out of garage and misted off minute amount of soapy water onto ground.
Was struck by lightening.

-Lifted the edges of the tarp toward the center to form a ball of wet absorbent. Rolled up tarp, double bagged it.

-Will need to reapeat with brushes on trouble spots. But should be pretty easy to maintain thereafter.

Hope this 1st time attempt helps.... Thanks.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

Sounds like an inexpensive DIY solution to a potentially messy, environmentally negative situation.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

I found a plastic pan that I use. It's about 3 ft X 5 ft and 3/4 inch deep. I believe I got it a Pep boys and it wasn't very expensive. It works pretty well.

I too use the garden sprayer and that works well too.

[Black1]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

"Struck by lightning"....

You Kalifornia folks crack me up.

[cnfowler]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

...-Lifted the edges of the tarp toward the center to form a ball of wet absorbent. Rolled up tarp, double bagged it.
...

What happened then? Hopefully you didn't throw it in the trash can. Otherwise, you just wasted a lot of time and effort since it'll just end up in the landfill. In the ground at your house and in the ground at the landfill is the same thing.


Colin

[Malo83]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

"Struck by lightning"....

You Kalifornia folks crack me up.

Only the tree huggers

[Jossy92]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

What happened then?

I threw it over my neighbors fence.

Naw...I can only do so much and I just didn't want it to get in the rain gutters. There is a Pep Boys with oil change facilities. I left it with them with a note.

I found a plastic pan that I use....

I thought of doing that, might try it. Did you put an absorbent in it?

[Jossy92]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

Sounds like an inexpensive DIY solution to a potentially messy, environmentally negative situation.

Thanks, I am working on it.

"Struck by lightning"....

You Kalifornia folks crack me up.

Only the tree huggers

[TOGWT]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

Environmental Commitment

Contamination of surface waters arises from the residues discharging to storm drains, which in turn most commonly drain to rivers and lakes. Chief pollutants include phosphates; cleaning chemicals (degreasers, etc) oil and grease. This is almost exclusively an issue for home/driveway washing.

You should never assume that aqueous solutions can be disposed of untreated via the storm drainage system. Pending regulations are in place (Clean Water Act and Ground Water Pollution and various city ordinances)
to limit the amount of contaminated water that is allowed to be discharged into storm water systems (i.e. street vehicle washing) always responsibly dispose of all non-biodegradable materials from your vehicle cleaning in a responsible manner.

Waste management is a serious concern for water authorities in most states and cities. It is no longer acceptable to allow chemicals into the storm drainage system. This means that a detailer must have a containment and water reclamation system when using any chemicals that are not biodegradable and safe for aquatic life.

California uses a 2-gallon rule. If a detail requires more than 2 gallons of wash water, the water must be contained. Waste run-off must be disposed of in accordance with federal, state and local environmental control regulations.

Be sure you are compliant when washing cars; check with your local government municipal office or the EPA regional office in your area to see what you need to do to be compliant when washing vehicles at businesses and residential neighbourhoods.

Disposal of Aqueous Solutions

One should never assume that aqueous solutions can be disposed of down the drain. The storm drain system takes all the water from outside homes and businesses (rain, overwatering of lawns) and sends it untreated straight to our local creeks, rivers, bays and eventually the ocean. The storm drain system is designed as a flood control system to allow water from heavy rainstorms to flow quickly to our waterways to avoid flooding of our streets, homes and businesses. However, the rainwater can pick up pollutants as large as shopping carts or as microscopic as pesticides and fertilizer and flush it all into our waterways damaging the fish, plants and other living things in our eco-system.

With few exceptions, it is illegal for anyone to throw, dispose of or allow anything other than rainwater into the storm drains. Try to divert car wash water to a landscaped or planted area. Be cognizant that some State or local guidelines forbid discharging water on to the grass and into the flower beds; their contention is that it pollutes the ground water table, always check before discharging soiled water

Your local water treatment authority or publicly owned treatment works will have information on treatment and disposal of these cleaners. Adjustment of pH and dilution are usually required before disposal to a drain. Always comply with current water usage and disposal regulations / water usage restrictions.

A car care product may be biodegradable and environmentally safe but it’s not about what’s in the wash per se; just remember the dirt, oil and road grease you are cleaning with it are not, once rinsed off the vehicle paint surface the resultant solution is no longer biodegradable or environmentally safe

[DogParkGuy]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

In some places, improper disposal of petroleum products could result in an expensive clean-up. Thanks for your work in disposing of the byproducts of engine cleaning.

[buda]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

It is against the law, the Federal Clean Water Act to discharge anything but plain water into the storm sewer or on to the ground, simple as that. The Federal EPA requires each state to set up their own equivelant of the EPA which then monitors the regulations within the state. The state requires each muncipality and county to monitor the regulations in their jurisdiction.

Because some local governments do not strictly enforce the law does not mean it is "not against the law."

You are polluting and violating the law if you discharge water with chemical (any chemical) or water with grease on to the ground or into the storm sewer.

If you do not think these laws apply to you that is a good example of what is wrong with today's American society, "the sense of entitlement," that people have today, "those laws don't apply to me," or "it is inconvenient for me to obey the laws," or "why should I have to obey the laws, I am only dumping a little on the ground...," etc. etc.

And, then when you get caught, "Damm system they drove me out of business, a guy can't get a fair break in this country anyway..."

Just some well intentioned thoughts.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

It is against the law, the Federal Clean Water Act to discharge anything but plain water into the storm sewer or on to the ground, simple as that. The Federal EPA requires each state to set up their own equivelant of the EPA which then monitors the regulations within the state. The state requires each muncipality and county to monitor the regulations in their jurisdiction.

Because some local governments do not strictly enforce the law does not mean it is "not against the law."

You are polluting and violating the law if you discharge water with chemical (any chemical) or water with grease on to the ground or into the storm sewer.

If you do not think these laws apply to you that is a good example of what is wrong with today's American society, "the sense of entitlement," that people have today, "those laws don't apply to me," or "it is inconvenient for me to obey the laws," or "why should I have to obey the laws, I am only dumping a little on the ground...," etc. etc.

And, then when you get caught, "Damm system they drove me out of business, a guy can't get a fair break in this country anyway..."

Just some well intentioned thoughts.

So what is your solution on how to properly handle engine cleaning?

[buda]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

If you are a professional detailer washing cars and cleaning engines then you have two choices:

a. Put in a drain system in your shop with a oil/water separator connected to the sanitary sewer.
b. Or if you are mobile or have a shop where a drain system is not feasible then use a effluent containment mat or a vacu-boom system to contain the effluent and then dispose of it in a legal manner.

If you are home cleaner it is much simpler, go to a self-service car wash that have all the necessary chemicals, pressure washer system and have a proper connection to the sanitary sewer sewer. For a couple of dollars you can clean your engine and be completely legal and environmentally responsible.

As a matter of fact, when we operated a detail centre without a proper discharge system we took our customer's cars to the self service car wash and cleaned the engine.

Hope those suggestions help.

[RDVT4ME]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

Thanks Buda, that is certainly helpful.

For the home guy...if you did the cleaning in your garage and collected the runoff with some kind of absorbant....any idea of how to properly dispose of the absorbant?

I assume it may be different from state to state, but have you found any ways to dispose of these types of items?

[buda]

Re: Engine Cleaning - Runoff experiment

The lease expensive and most responsible way would be to contact a local self-service car wash operator and ask them if you would dispose of your waste water in their drain for a small "fee."

If you do detailing offer to detail his car's once in awhile for the privilege of dumping your waste water.

He might appreciate your asking since you could probably just go and do it when no one was around anyway.

But, honesty is always the best policy in all that you do.

Regards
Bud Abraham