ECO for enthusiasts

[reparebrise]

Seeing as many of the participants here are enthusiast detailers I felt it good to start a thread on how we can all lessen our impact on our environment. the following is just a brief essay on the subject, please feel free to add, question and comment, the more it gets out into the open the better off our grandchildren will be.



First line of attact is products, when purchasing products take a few moments to consider there impact on the environment. This is also very important when it comes to your own safety, if it`s harmfull for the environment good chances are its not great for you either. Many products are billed as eco friendly, ask and read the MSDS sheets that come with the products, and avoid those that can`t provide MSDS sheets. Also look for products that will help in reducing your chemical usage and water usage, this reduction will also help your pocketbook.



Another important part is the reduction in water use, witch automaticaly helps waste reduction as well. Many enthusiasts are not ready to invest in such things as vac berms and containment matts to reduce the waste impact. Reducing water consumption is the best defense against waste creation. There are many tools available to the detailer that not only reduce water consumption, but also the time needed to clean the car. Washing the car is the part that most of us like the least, prefering to move onto the polishing and waxing. Using such items as a waterless wash or a rinseless product such ae ONR or QEW helps greatly in reducing our water usage, and contibutes in getting past the wash phase faster. For those who prefer a traditional wet wash look at getting a reduced flow nozzle for your pressure washer. Also if you don`t have a pressure washer, Christmas is comming soon, so try to get one that has a low water output, and as a bonus noramly the lower the flow the lower the cost. One way that is a possibility of even consuming no potable water is rain water collection.



Once you have reduced your water consumption, reducing your waste will be the next logical step to eco friendlyness. A quick look at the many pictures shown on this forum are enough to cause an code inspector to have a heart attack, cars covered in phosphate rich foams, slowly making there way to the street(and then the storm drain), driveways soaked with water and soap, and many more great examples of waste going where it should not. As a minimum do your washing on the lawn, this will allow you to possibly be in harmony with local code, and the lawn will filter some of the harmfull chemicals. The next possibility is to wash inside your garage(if you have one) when doing so make sure your drain is connected to the waste watrer sewers, and not the storm drains. Another possibility is do youn pre-wash at a coin op carwash that has proper drain connections.



So as mentioned above this is only a starter to hopefully a rich and diverse thread, together we can make detailing safe and fun, for us and future generations.

[Relaited]

Yvan,



Good idea. I believe that in 2009, California will require the professional and enthusiast to be an Eco Detailer. A great deal will be around the reduction of water used and the requirement to capture and properly dispose of it. But there are lots of other things one can do to be green and eco oriented.



Thanks for starting the thread.



-jim

[Bigpikle]

some good points :2thumbs:



as a non-chemist, what should we be looking for on the MSDS sheets that indicates eco-friendly or not?

[reparebrise]

When reading an MSDS sheet read teh whole thing, under every category you will fiind signs that the product is safe or not(even the MSDS sheet for water would contain warnings, so don`t be alarmist). A carefull read of any MSDS sheet will either raise some flags or not, if a mental flag is raised in the reading then consider your alternatives, if after reading you would let you grandchildren handle the product then... you get the idea. If a company can`t provide MSDS info then you need to consider something else, the product may be safe, or very bad, but without the info you will never know



Here is a web guide on reading MSDS sheets, How to Read a Material Safety Data Sheet | CMHC (http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/maho/gemare/gemare_012.cfm) while as interesting as reading your roll of toilet paper for most, it should be required for everyone. Knowing what we are working with is important, and aquiring a basic knowledge of the MSDS sheet may someday save your life. For professional product users, you must at all times have the MSDS sheets at you and your employees disposition, preferably in a weel identified location, and for every product you have in your building or inside your mobile unit. We have a place that is well identified(beside a fire extinguisher) and every MSDS sheet is in the file, plus on the outside of the holder the emergency contact numbers for all products is identified.





Here is a link to a product MSDS sheet that is quite safe, for you and the environment

http://www.chemicar.com/cardetail_wax.pdf



here is one I would avoid



http://www.simonizusa.com/business/images/customer-files/msds/Jack%20Wheel%20Cleaner%2Epdf

[Bigpikle]

thanks - will check these out.



I`ll be asking for some of these in future I think .....



EDIT:the MSDS link is dead, but I found a slightly different one (http://www.lungusa.org/site/c.dvLUK9O0E/b.23033/k.399/How_to_Read_a_Material_Safety_Data_Sheet.htm) that might be useful...