Working at the Car Wash

Grit traps holding contaminated water and sand provide a huge pumping challenge to overcome … but they can also provide a profitable revenue stream.

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This feature in Pumper reports noteworthy conversations that take place at the Pumper Discussion Forum, an online forum for industry professionals found at www.pumper.com. Pumper Discussion enables exchange of information and ideas on septic and drainfield installation and maintenance, trucks and equipment, portable sanitation, chemical and additives and much more. Information and advice in “Overheard Online” is offered in good faith by industry professionals. However, readers should consult in depth with appropriate industry sources before applying such advice to a specific business situation.

Question:


I’m sure I am not the only pumper interested in targeting the car wash pit market. I have secured all the necessary permits within my state and identified private water treatment facilities that will accept the waste, but I’m looking for someone to share their experience, things to be careful of, and things that you learned the hard way. I’m also interested in how you based your fees and what kind of price breaks you provide to one-time customers versus contract customers.

Answers:


Pumping car wash basins is kind of a pain. After pumping, the sand is in the bottom of your tank and the water sits on top, packing it in. So you should at least have a truck with a hoist. And when pumping, always pump through the lowest valve on the truck to keep a path for water to drain from. A full-opening rear door is the only truck I would use for this work. Billing is figured using a few numbers: Your hourly rate, disposal of water by gallon and disposal of sand by ton. The sand is considered contaminated soil, at least in Wisconsin.

I looked into this myself. In Michigan, car wash waste is also considered contaminated waste, and requires a manifest and another permit to haul. You almost need a hoist and opening rear to empty properly. If there are enough car washes in your area to make it work, be sure to charge enough to make money at it. Here there are not enough to pay for the extra permits.

These replies are absolutely true and happen to be why this is my favorite part of our industry. You really have to charge enough or you won’t be pumping grit traps for long. Grit traps tend to quickly weed out the guys who like to work cheap. Because it is hard work, you can demand a king’s ransom and get it. I pay 25 cents per gallon for disposal and I charge $1.25 per gallon for liquid but $5 per gallon for solids. It doesn’t take more than a few good customers to have a profitable business.



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