Your Water Reclaim System: How Conservation Can Be the Pits
When you decide to open a new car wash, there are many concerns for you to address. What are you going to name your business? Where will you locate yourself? How do you keep costs down and profits up? How do you conserve water and chemical resources to improve profit margins?
Previously, we posted about 5 business tips for new car wash owners and tips for preparing your car wash for an OSHA inspection. This post will give a basic overview of what water reclamation is and why it matters.
What Water Reclaim Used to Mean
Like the 90’s era pagers that barely resemble the sleek brick cell phones of today, water reclaim systems began as a chunky and limited technology that had to reach a point of maturity before widespread adoption.
Early systems prior to 70s and 80s weren’t worth the hassle. The water that was reused was full of oils and dirt and could only be sparingly used for the undercarriage and less visible sides of the car. Any widespread use of reclaimed water would result in an inferior wash quality.
In-Ground Reclaim Tanks
That’s when car washes began to develop basic filtering systems. In-ground reclaim tanks still in use today rely on sand settling to the bottom of the first tank while the clear water at the top overflows into the next tank and so on to get the dirt out.
With early iterations of this system, busy days did not allow for heavier particles to settle to the bottom of the tanks and the inferior water quality limited the use of reclaimed water
As water and sewer costs rose in the 70s and 80s along with greater awareness of water pollution, the car wash industry began investing in better water-recovery equipment. Each new advancement promised better quality of water to meet the increasing standards of new regulation.
Why it Matters for a Brighter and Cleaner Future
Until the 90s and onward, cost-effectiveness often took a backseat to environmentalism as the driving force behind water reclamation. Once the advantages of saving 80 to 90 percent of water usage became readily apparent, car wash owners everywhere invested in better water reclaim
According to Brandon Gaille, the car washes of today wash each vehicle with an average water consumption of 38 gallons. This may not sound like a small amount of water but it is right around the same amount of water as you use to wash an average load of laundry.
Water reclaim systems will continue to get better at helping you to get the most out of every drop of freshwater you use but it’s your job to keep them running correctly. Always remember to pump your car wash pits on a regular basis. The regular maintenance of cleaning used to be a hassle and still is for many car wash owners who try to do it themselves. But, just like how water reclamation technology has improved to output better wash quality, pit cleaning technology has developed to take the hassle out of this undesirable task. Give Pit Crew a call to learn how they’ll send a specially designed truck to get in, get it all clean and get out fast.
