fbpx

Wastewater Treatment for Car Detailing Businesses

oily wastewater, oil water separator

Wastewater Treatment for Car Detailing Businesses

Just like other parts of your business, it is important to create a wastewater treatment plan for your car detailing business, or you can get caught in compliance issues. Detailers who have not planned the water treatment discharge properly could be breaking environmental laws and finding themselves at the other end of paying hefty fines. In this article, we will explore how discharge wastewater from a professional  detailing business in a way that is environmentally friendly and compliant.

Why is Wash Water from Car Detailing Business a Concern For the Environment?

Professional car detailing businesses have contaminants in the wash water that can have a great impact on the environment if not properly treated and discharged.

Contaminants in wash water from detailing businesses include oil and grease, which contains hazardous materials like benzene, lead, zinc, chromium, arsenic, pesticides, nitrates and other metals.

Detergents and degreasers in the wash water could be poisonous to aquatic life. Detergents contain phosphates that could cause excessive growth of algae in water bodies. Chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid and ammonium bifluoride products, and solvent based solutions can be harmful to living organisms.

Finally, sediment and debris can clog the sewerage system as well.

Wash water from car detailing businesses can therefore be harmful to humans, plants and animals if released untreated.

Have You Taken Care Of Preventing Stormwater Contamination?

Every car detailing business must take the steps to prevent discharge of contaminated wastewater to stormwater drains. In order to do that, businesses are required to discharge to holding tanks or treated water to sewers in compliance with regulations. Enviro Concepts provides a wide range of Oil Water Separators as well as the popular, modular, skid-mounted Solids Interceptor Oil Separator (SIOS) that comes with a tank, pump and OWS. This makes it easier for car detailing businesses to stay compliant.

What Do You Need To Know To Choose The Best Wastewater Treatment System?

As discussed above, the toxic materials in car detailing wash water must be reduced. One of the best solution is to use an oil water separator system to treat the wastewater before discharge.

There are however some questions that you need to address when you are sourcing for the right OWS (or our modular SIOS) for your wash water. Some of these questions are:

  • What is the expected wash effluent flow rate per day?
  • Capacity and type of wash equipment (i.e. pressure washer at 20 Litre per minute)?
  • Frequency of washes per day?
  • Duration per wash?
  • Expected components or pollutants in wash effluent? Do you have or can you provide water quality analysis report?
  • Purpose of treatment or where are they going to discharge the treated water? (i.e. to recycle the water, council sewer, irrigation field, waterways, etc.)
  • What are the discharge water quality requirements? (i.e. tabulated water quality parameters from their discharge license, normally from their council or EPA or etc.)

For a full list of questions and for your wash bay wastewater checklist, download here. You can also speak with our of our consultants for a free estimate on wastewater treatment project for your car detailing business.