I’ll do my best to make this short and sweet as I’ve got tons of questions on the topic haha. I’ve done a lot of reading here on the subject and I may be overthinking it but I feel unsure when it’s necessary to recapture. Or as I’ve read “capture and release” onto landscape. I’ve seen a few points from @Innocentbystander, like how paint cannot be washed to the curb or into a storm drain. As far as typically used chemicals (SH, soaps, degreaser) say they did not reach a storm drain, would they become insignificant if they were to dry on surface? Or even insignificant running into a storm drain after rinsing? Is there a typical list of things that call for recapturing? When it is necessary I’m curious on how you guys go about pooling the run off. I continue to search and read, but if any of these have been answered already my apologies! And thank you in advance!
If you really want to be compliant but no over regulate yourself I’d talk to your local municipal drain supervisor. Your area might be heavy on the regs and some areas not some much.
You’ll get 200 different right answers here when it comes to reclaim
Yeah will do. That’s what I’ve noticed. I actually saw a post where you mentioned turning the car dealership down because of all of the storm drains. You think the soaps you use wouldn’t have been in compliance where you’re at?
Some places, like Colorado, you can’t dump ANY soap down the drain. I mean anything, not even a kid charity car wash using eco friendly chemicals! They allow nothing!
Others could be in a watershed, like the chesapeake bay area, they have super strict rules.
Other’s don’t care as long as the pH is between 4-10 (SH is in the 11-12 range).
I get at least 10 phone calls a year on his topic, what Patriotswashing said about contacting the local drain people is 100% accurate.
Also, let me dispel a myth. I get a lot of questions about caustic cleaners, people are under the impression that by the time it is diluted the pH goes down drastically, that is NOT the case! 1% of sodium hydroxide has the same pH as 50% sodium hydroxide. So please, PLEASE don’t count on your 1:20 dilution bringing down your pH level!
When neutralizing does the same concept exist?
Can I apply a citric acid at 50-1 and to achieve the same result as 10-1 if my only intention is to neutralize the PH of the bleach?
pH is a tricky thing. You have to think of it like there are a bunch of these little blocks in liquid. There are red blocks (acid) and blue blocks (base). Depending on what shade of color you want (or what pH) you have to add more red or blue blocks. If you have a completely dark blue block (pH 14) and you are trying to get to purple (pH 6-8), then you have to add in a LOT of red to counteract all the blue. otherwise you get a lot of red/blue or blue/red but not really purple.
Same concept with citric acid neutralization. You would use 5 times as much 50:1 as you would 10:1 citric, but yes it could be neutralized that way. Some would argue that is the safer way actually, since there is less of a violent reaction that is likely to occur.
