I am working with a few Condominium Owners Associations on washing the driveways & sidewalks in multi unit (100 plus) neighborhoods. In this municipality, SH & surfactants are not allowed in the storm drains. Around here, sidewalks & driveways (concrete) can be cleaned easily by applying a fairly mild (2% or so of SH & a bit of soap) solution, dwell, cold water surface cleaner, & rinse.
My current equipment set-up for application is turbo pump & pro-portioner. My surface cleaner is Whisper Wash 19" powered by a Pressure Pro 4GPM, 4000 psi (cold only).
My thought is to collect the water and deposit in mulch beds around trees as I move from unit to unit through out the neighborhood.
Firstly, can I add vacuum fittings to my Whisper Wash or do I need to look at another surface cleaner that comes outfitted for recovery?
Secondly, what is good make/model recovery & discharge unit for this application?
Thirdly, any critiques of my approach are welcome.
Thanks.
Whisper wash does not make a recovery surface cleaner that im aware of, so if you want to go that route then you will have to buy another SC. But in order to use a recovery surface cleaner you now have to buy an expensive recovery unit.
Cheapest route is to block off sewer and damn the water in certain spots, then use a sump pump to discharge to landscape. Do not pretreat the driveway with anything though or else you will be killing landscaping when you discharge it. Use water only then do a post treatment to kill any tannin stains left. Make sure the sump pump you buy can be ran dry for long periods, just in case
Thanks Donte55,
My thought was that with the fairly weak solution, evaporation during dwell time, & 100% H2O from the surface cleaner it would be safe to discharge into mulch beds around trees. I would put down some potash pellets as well. Not sure how quickly they actually begin to interact with the SH & neutralize though (anyone?).
If I get the work, I am thinking of buying the IPC Eagle pump & discharge unit (any reviews on this unit are welcome) & another surface cleaner with proper vacuum fittings. That seems to be about the most cost effective unit out there for this fairly small scale recovery situation. But, I may try your suggestion first. I am always weighing the time vs money factor with equipment upgrades. If I think it will save me time & make me money, I’ll usually go for it.
If anyone with a lot of experience thinks discharging as I have described is “bad news”, please chime in. I don’t want to buy any trees.
I have been warned about Japanese Maples. I have washed several houses with them quite close but no issues for me so far. I am not sure if it is the foliage or the roots or both that make people nervous.
My Dad was a ground water engineer & he often said soil is a great filter.
- Thanks
Whenever I have recovery situations I use a 12 volt transfer pump. You can transfer to a tank or use a longer hose to transfer to wherever you wan. Cheap and easy
Did you ever kill any trees? I am also considering discharging into large planters with trees and think if I flood with fresh water hard after that it will wash down the 2% to almost nothing…
