Waste Water...Where to dump it...

[bubba]

Here is a question I am having trouble finding the correct answer to.

What are we supposed to do with our waste water from cleaning homes?

I have had differing answers...

I've been told it's illegal to dump it in the grass because it's TOXIC waste water... So what's in our homes is now toxic!

I've also been told by someone at the DEQ to dump it in the storm drain which I know is a no no. I've also questioned them about RUG DOCTORS... The biggest waste of plastic known to carpet cleaners...They told me that the waste from it is okay because it's for a consumer.

I've asked the Department of Environmental Quality where they want me to dump it at and they just tell me... A permitted Facility or Sanitary Sewer System. My home is of course on a septic tank as we are in the country... and they told me I can't dump it there either.

Now here is the kicker... I have several acres at my home. From time to time I had dumped it in my back pasture. Then one of my darling neighbors complains to the DEQ telling them I'm putting RAW sewage in the street. My driveway is an easy 1500 feet long so there's no way it's reaching the street. I don't even dump it in the front yard. They have no idea if I use cleaning agents or not... so I told him it's just water & dirt and he said that because it's industrial it's considered toxic & it's illegal to dump it in the pasture. He also told me I can't use a comm. pressure washer to wash my car unless I have somewhere for the water to go.

So what do you guys suggest? Where do you dump it at? Anyone in Tulsa, please let me know what your doing. This is driving me insane as I want to do what is right, but I can't get answers anywhere. I've called the City of Tulsa & the city of Broken Arrow and both were stunned & puzzled.

I asked the place I buy supplies from & the city has told them the grass but won't put it in writing.

 

[floorguy]

I had the same thing..the so called "experts" hadnt a clue where to put it..just not storm drains..

car wash place if you have a big enough tank..

main thing is figure it out locally...

because in utah, we dont have them nifty clean out ports by the curbs...

 

[Scott Rogers]

Every Town, city, Provence and county have their own specific regulations.

You can call the fire marshal and ask him or the number of the agency in charge of waste water regulations as it pertains to carpet cleaning.

As far as toxic substances in the dump tank, you really have no idea what you extract of a home. The main reason agencies are concerned with our waste water is actually the phosphates in our cleaning solution, if the reach a water way they have the potential to create a algae bloom. But here is always a concern of other contaminates that have been extracted.

Where I am located it is legal to disperse on a yard, field or flower bed as long as you have written permission from the property owner. (Who actually does that) or you can dump into a sanitary sewer.

Best of luck.

Ps. It sounds like you have a crappy nosy neighbor.

 

[Jim Martin]

there has been a few that I know of that have been spending time in a court room because they have dumped in the street or street drains......

Tucson is pretty strict about this.......

 

[Scott S.]

if your cleaning in town put it down the toilet if its going into a treated sewage system. where i live they suggest this because it gets treated before it is reintroduced into the environment.

 

[bubba]

Thanks for all the replies. This has driven me insane. haha.

I think just to screw with the lady who reported me, I'm going to send every neighbor in my subdivision a post card offering to clean their home free & put that it's only valid through the end of the month... then she'll see me cleaning all these houses and it'll drive her insane.

I did find on the city website last night that you can just dump it in the yard of landscaped area so long as you have the owners permission. I have every customer sign a contract before I start work, so I can put this into my contract & I'm set. I did ask if I could buy a permit to dump in my own..."flower garden" & this guy told me no. Turns out, he is the brother of the guy across the street from me who is causing the problems.... his wife anyway.

So tomorrow I'm going to send a letter to the regional office. I can't believe I've been accused of intentionally damaging the environment... I guess they don't know I recycle my water bottles. lol.

 

[bubba]

Also, in terms of putting it down the toilet... Every home we clean is usually in an elevated area. We don't have a pump out yet on our waste tank.

I've never really had a need for it until now. Slowly but surly, I'm getting there.

 

[Guest]

Just drain it their flower beds! and be done with it

 

[Guest]

If your tank has a filter and most do, Ask to local car wash if you can work out a deal with him. Not always the most convenient. But it is legal and would work until you get a pump out on the truck.

 

[packfancjh]

you can also dump in rv dump stations and at some truck stops. Or at least you can around here. Some places differ.

 

[Guest]

No its not legal to dump at the car wash, its private property. One year in Michigan I had a agreement with a carwash to drain water there. He charge me $500 a year and that paid for the rebuilds for his pumps

 

[bubba]

Can't dump in the car wash. I know the people that own the one 3 miles from me and they said they don't mind occasionally but do it at night when no one is around. DEQ has a regulation against that too.

I did see that I can pay a small fee of $25.00 and apply for a permit to dump it at home. I'll even put in another septic tank if they'll let me. I just want to be able to do it at home or close by.

I have also read on line that this is becoming a huge issue.

I found a 75 gallon stainless steel waste tank with a pump out for $125.00. I should probably go pick it up tomorrow as I'm sure it's a good deal.

 

[Ron Werner]

it's industrial it's considered toxic

I find this always irritating. In Victoria we are "required" to dump to septic sewer but ONLY after it has been filtered through a screen that is 1/4mm mesh (100 mesh is what you southerners might be familiar with) This is to remove the sand etc.

The kicker is that Victoria has NO septic treatment other than filtration. Everything is pumped to deep water in the ocean and the process is known as a solution by dilution. So if our water is "toxic", and they "require" us to dump to sewer and thus to the ocean, they have written a law which requires us to pollute the ocean!

Personally, I think the best place for the waste water is some flat ground a long way from any surface running water. I've seen grass grow 5x higher in one week.

 

[The Great Oz]

Your waste water is classified as industrial waste, and as you've heard every municipality has their own rules. If you have any questions you should start with the departments of fish and wildlife and ecology.

As a general rule of thumb you should dump in a sanitary drain first, then ground dump at least 100 feet from any surface water. If you're going to ground dump in dry weather, I'd recommend pre-watering the area before dumping, and water again after. Dry grass and shrubbery can suck up your normally harmless waste water and die.

If you find a private business that allows you to dump, at least filter out the carpet fiber. It wrecks the pumps.

 

[floorguy]

I use to piss by this tre once...at a job we did once a mth for like 6 yrs...(had to wait for the floor finish to dry..and couldnt go in the building duh)

anyway...in that time, that tree grew to be the biggest of all of them by at least half again

 

[Spurling]

waste water

I wonder if you could mount a 100 gallon waste tank,or a couple of tanks connected with hoses under your van to pump into until the end of the day ..something made of plastic easily removable ...one with an electronic gate valve .. so when you pull into the car wash ..you can just let it rip..that would be cool

 

[campusman1]

waste water

leave all your waste water in the tank until night time and then drain it on your property that's what i do . or here we can dump into the mushroom cap in the front yards i called the water authority and they told me i could dump into the mushroom cap as long as i had a filter and i had filtered the water. they said they would rather have me do it at night because of the neighbors watching out the windows at night. if your in a pinch some days go wash your truck .then dump it i go there and hose out my waste tank.