In looking over the many choices we have as
builders of furniture and what not, for
finishes, I was curious what do many of
you do to dispose of finishes that are unusable
or needs to be discarded? Particularly,
oil-based finishes.
I live in the country and we have
a septic system. When I lived in
the "city" I would NOT put any oil-based finish
down the drain, but had no problem with
water-based paint going down it.
I would save the petroleum products for
the annual chemical hazard pickups the
county had. I didn't think the water based
paint was a problem.
I am interested to know what those who
are on a septic system, do for correctly
disposing their finishes. Save them for
the chemical hazard cleanup days that
some municipalities run (ours does) or
down the drain? or dump into a drum and
then periodically have it hauled off?
Suggestions?
MJ Wallace
Jon Endres, PE wrote:
> You do have
> the septic tank cleaned out every two to three years, right? If you don't,
> the scum layer, with all the grease, oils, and non-volatile components of
> the finishes, will eventually find their way out of the tank and into your
> leach field, where things will clog up but good.
I want to give you benefit of the doubt, since you said that you design
septic systems...but this statement goes against my very limited experience.
Our house was built in 1978. We bought it in 1999. The previous owners,
who had purchased it new, could not remember every having the tank cleaned
or drained. There was a septic inspection by the county prior to sale that
passed with no issues. I assume the county inspection only checked the
leach field to ensure the tank was draining properly.
When the septic-cleaning company came out, we found out why the previous
owners had never had a the tank cleaned or emptied. After 20 minutes of
searching, he could not find the tank and left. I had three other companies
out - they all gave up - one spent an hour pounding a 3ft stake into the
ground looking for it. Eventually, I hired a guy with a backhoe to follow
the line. We found the tank - it was nearly 5ft below the surface. I told
the guy who cleaned it that it had never been cleaned in 22 years - he was
suprised, he said that the tank looked fine.
The previous owners raised two children in the house - it was a 2000 gallon
tank, IIRC.
--
************************************
Chris Merrill
[email protected]
(remove the ZZZ to contact me)
************************************
Jerry Gilreath wrote:
> The jerks at our local HAZMAT facility won't take anything but water based
> paints. He told me to mix in some cat litter or sawdust or even dirt to the
> consistency of bad oatmeal and put it in the regular garbage. By adding that
> stuff, it becomes a solid form, so he says. I wouldn't dump it anywhere for
> fear of runoff water contamination.
Are you sure that they will only take water based paints? Ours won't take water
based paints. For water based products they recommend popping the tops, allow
it to dry out and then disposing in the regular trash.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
(Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
Jerry Gilreath wrote:
> Yep, your right. My fault indeed. I got it bass akwards. They take the oil
> base, not the water base. Still don't make any sense to me. Looks like if
> they take one, they'd take the other? I must be missing something.
I questioned it as well. I was told the water based finishes do not pose a
hazard to the environment. They only handle the nasty stuff.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
(Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
On Tue, 17 Feb 2004 01:04:18 GMT, "Jerry Gilreath"
<[email protected]> brought forth from the murky depths:
>Yep, your right. My fault indeed. I got it bass akwards. They take the oil
>base, not the water base. Still don't make any sense to me. Looks like if
>they take one, they'd take the other? I must be missing something.
Latex paint is gathered by most cities for painting over graffiti
or repainting low-income properties. If your city doesn't collect
it, you could also spread it out on papers (to dry it) and send the
hardened layers/chunks to the dump safely. Or just leave the can
open in a dry outside area and it'll harden on its own in a week or
less. Then dump it.
-
Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.
---
http://diversify.com Website Application Programming
The jerks at our local HAZMAT facility won't take anything but water based
paints. He told me to mix in some cat litter or sawdust or even dirt to the
consistency of bad oatmeal and put it in the regular garbage. By adding that
stuff, it becomes a solid form, so he says. I wouldn't dump it anywhere for
fear of runoff water contamination.
--
"Cartoons don't have any deep meaning.
They're just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh."
Homer Simpson
Jerry© The Phoneman®
"MJ Wallace" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In looking over the many choices we have as
> builders of furniture and what not, for
> finishes, I was curious what do many of
> you do to dispose of finishes that are unusable
> or needs to be discarded? Particularly,
> oil-based finishes.
>
> I live in the country and we have
> a septic system. When I lived in
> the "city" I would NOT put any oil-based finish
> down the drain, but had no problem with
> water-based paint going down it.
> I would save the petroleum products for
> the annual chemical hazard pickups the
> county had. I didn't think the water based
> paint was a problem.
>
> I am interested to know what those who
> are on a septic system, do for correctly
> disposing their finishes. Save them for
> the chemical hazard cleanup days that
> some municipalities run (ours does) or
> down the drain? or dump into a drum and
> then periodically have it hauled off?
>
>
> Suggestions?
>
> MJ Wallace
Jon Endres, PE wrote:
> If you don't abuse your system, keep as much non-natural solids (read:
> anything but human waste and t.p.) out of the system, go easy on chemicals
Does that exclude Hotwheels cars and cigarette butts then? :)
> conservation or low-flow fixtures, then you may never need to pump your
> tank. Notice I said "need". It's still a good idea every two or three
On this subject, my parents are the original owners of their house, and the
tank has never been pumped since 1983ish. They passed a law in 1990ish,
when we got annexed out here, making it illegal to have septic tanks pumped
now that there's a sewer to connect to. When the crapper's full, you have
to shell out $5,000 to hook to the sewer.
Good motivation to take care of the septic system. They came out a few
years ago and cut in a sewer stub going right up to the edge of my parents'
property, hint hint hint, but their crapper is still working just fine, and
they plan to tell the town to piss off indefinitely.
> OBWW: It's a bad idea to flush excessive quantities of sawdust.
OBWW: They marked the location of the sewer stub with a wooden stake.
--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan <[email protected]>
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
"Chris Merrill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1n7Zb.18702$%[email protected]...
> Jon Endres, PE wrote:
> > You do have
> > the septic tank cleaned out every two to three years, right? If you
don't,
> > the scum layer, with all the grease, oils, and non-volatile components
of
> > the finishes, will eventually find their way out of the tank and into
your
> > leach field, where things will clog up but good.
>
> I want to give you benefit of the doubt, since you said that you design
> septic systems...but this statement goes against my very limited
experience.
OK, thanks. :)
> Our house was built in 1978. We bought it in 1999. The previous owners,
> who had purchased it new, could not remember every having the tank cleaned
> or drained. There was a septic inspection by the county prior to sale
that
> passed with no issues. I assume the county inspection only checked the
> leach field to ensure the tank was draining properly.
That's virtually a guarantee.
> When the septic-cleaning company came out, we found out why the previous
> owners had never had a the tank cleaned or emptied. After 20 minutes of
> searching, he could not find the tank and left. I had three other
companies
> out - they all gave up - one spent an hour pounding a 3ft stake into the
> ground looking for it. Eventually, I hired a guy with a backhoe to follow
> the line. We found the tank - it was nearly 5ft below the surface. I
told
> the guy who cleaned it that it had never been cleaned in 22 years - he was
> suprised, he said that the tank looked fine.
I'd be surprised as well. BTW, My own septic tank is 5 feet in the ground.
I used the same method to find it.
> The previous owners raised two children in the house - it was a 2000
gallon
> tank, IIRC.
That's a big part of the equation right there. A 2000 gallon tank for four
people is oversized to be sure. Standard for a single family, three bedroom
home is 1000 gallons. With a 2000 gallon tank, you have quite a bit more
surface area for bacteria to work and for solids & chemicals to break down.
Two kids and two adults is not a really big load on a septic system, either;
especially if the soils are good.
If you don't abuse your system, keep as much non-natural solids (read:
anything but human waste and t.p.) out of the system, go easy on chemicals
such as chemical soaps and bleach, and keep flows down either through
conservation or low-flow fixtures, then you may never need to pump your
tank. Notice I said "need". It's still a good idea every two or three
years. To keep things in perspective, it's now a State requirement where I
live to provide an outlet filter and access to grade for all new septic tank
installations, to prevent exactly the problems associated with failure to
pump the tank.
OBWW: It's a bad idea to flush excessive quantities of sawdust.
--
Jon Endres, PE
Reply To: wmengineer (at) adelphia (dot) net
"Chris Merrill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> I want to give you benefit of the doubt, since you said that you design
> septic systems...but this statement goes against my very limited
experience.
> Our house was built in 1978. We bought it in 1999.
> We found the tank - it was nearly 5ft below the surface. I told
> the guy who cleaned it that it had never been cleaned in 22 years - he was
> suprised, he said that the tank looked fine.
The experience of one house does not correlate to the real life happenings
of tens of thousands of others. Just ask the people that recently spent
thousands of dollars to have a new septic system put in because of
contamination of the old one beyond safe use. MOST people are wise to have
their tanks pump on a regular basis depending on their use.
Ed
.
>
>> I was curious what do many of
>> you do to dispose of finishes that are unusable
>> or needs to be discarded? Particularly,
>> oil-based finishes.
>> Suggestions?
I just take the top off and let it dry out. Then ig goes in the regular
trash.
--
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
> I am interested to know what those who
> are on a septic system, do for correctly
> disposing their finishes. Save them for
> the chemical hazard cleanup days that
> some municipalities run (ours does) or
> down the drain? or dump into a drum and
> then periodically have it hauled off?
>
Our hazardous waste site takes both oil and water-based paints,
so that's where mine go. I do wash the brushes with water-based
finishes under a faucet and that does go into a septic tank.
It must not be enough to be a problem, we've been here 16 years
and the tank's been pumped only once or twice. And that's a
tank shared with two other retired couples in a seniors mobile
home park.
--
Where ARE those Iraqi WMDs?
"MJ Wallace" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am interested to know what those who
> are on a septic system, do for correctly
> disposing their finishes. Save them for
> the chemical hazard cleanup days that
> some municipalities run (ours does) or
> down the drain? or dump into a drum and
> then periodically have it hauled off?
I am and have been on a septic system my entire life, and as a person who
designs them for a living, I'll tell you that the best thing you can do is
save them for the county hazmat cleanup day. It's worth it to find a small
crate or box and store the stuff until the day arrives. Around here it's
usually the first week of May, and then again in October.
The oil-based finishes, especially ones that harden, like polyurethanes and
varnishes, tend to clog, gum up and generally cause systems to fail. The
only saving grace is that they tend to float, and thus would tend to be
sucked out by the pump truck that cleans out your septic tank. You do have
the septic tank cleaned out every two to three years, right? If you don't,
the scum layer, with all the grease, oils, and non-volatile components of
the finishes, will eventually find their way out of the tank and into your
leach field, where things will clog up but good.
If I were you, I'd even save the water-based stuff. Thin it really well so
that it's almost milk consistency, and then paint something with it - I have
a recycling shed that gets "painted" once a year with a random color of old
latex paint. This works for oil paints too. Just make sure it's not
something that you or the neighbors want to look at every day - maybe the
back side of a garage, or the dog's house, or a tree house. Latex paints
generally won't hurt anything if you thin them so they're watery and then
pour it on the back lawn. The pigments stay on the grass, the soil filters
the rest, and you have funky-colored grass until the next time you mow the
lawn.
Jon E
Yep, your right. My fault indeed. I got it bass akwards. They take the oil
base, not the water base. Still don't make any sense to me. Looks like if
they take one, they'd take the other? I must be missing something.
--
"Cartoons don't have any deep meaning.
They're just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh."
Homer Simpson
Jerry© The Phoneman®
"Nova" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Jerry Gilreath wrote:
>
> > The jerks at our local HAZMAT facility won't take anything but water
based
> > paints. He told me to mix in some cat litter or sawdust or even dirt to
the
> > consistency of bad oatmeal and put it in the regular garbage. By adding
that
> > stuff, it becomes a solid form, so he says. I wouldn't dump it anywhere
for
> > fear of runoff water contamination.
>
> Are you sure that they will only take water based paints? Ours won't take
water
> based paints. For water based products they recommend popping the tops,
allow
> it to dry out and then disposing in the regular trash.
>
> --
> Jack Novak
> Buffalo, NY - USA
> (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)
>
>