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Austin Under Pressure

Interesting Question

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Hi Again,

I spoke with a vendor today and they told me something that was very interesting. I was wanting to know more about this. He said the I can clean with just hot water and pressure with no additional chemicals / degreasers needed. He mentioned that just the hot water and the pressure will be able to clean just about any concrete / asphalt surface. Is this true?

Can any of your provide me with some advice. Here is the issue I am facing. In order to dispose of the recycled wash water I need to either not use soap and dispose in a sanitary sewer or use soap and evaporate the leftover water. ( City Reqs ) The more I see the city politics, the further away I am from getting started. They are truly making some ridiculous suggestions. Problem I am facing is that when I recover the water I can filter out everything but the soap/detergent/chemical and solvent. This is the part they are concerned about dumping in the sanitary sewer.

I have found an evaporator unit but its big dollars in addition to what I already have to purchase. I can really use some solid advice. All the cities around here advised against dumping at a local coin-op as they would fine me for it.

Is not using degreaser a realistic option to clean flatwork surfaces? I am pretty sure I will need it for buildings without a question. Additionally the comment was made that hot water and pressure will kill mold spores and remove mold at 180 degrees. Any validity to this as well?

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Scott,

There are many situations that you can clean concrete with hot water alone, but it will be at your discretion. I do not encounter to much mold, so do not have much to say there, except that it can be removed from concrete with hot water, whether it is killed or not is another question. Bleach is commonly used for this, and by the time you are done, should be very diluted, as to not cause a problem with the sanitary system.

I am looking into adding a sand filter similar to what is used for swimming pools to see if it will add anything more to my current filtration system. In my area, I have no problem, dumping to the sanitary sewer in most cases.

I try to stay away from harsh chemicals and solvents as they are usually not needed, and also do not filter out in my water recycler. I try to reuse my water when I can, and I do not want to run extreme things thru my pump.

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My take is that if the concrete is not excessively oily, then hot water alone will often do.

I do some drive thru's at fast food restaurants, and the area by the order box, and the pickup window are usually pretty heavy with drippings, and hot water alone does not achieve satisfactory results.

However, the length in between these areas usually does not require chems.

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