There is a service that is needed in every city known as spill response.
We have been cleaning spills since 2016 when I was first contacted by a tow truck company in Pasadena Texas. A tow truck picked up a vehicle that was involved in a motor vehicle accident. After he towed the vehicle he went to a parking lot near the scene of the accident. The wrecked vehicle leaked Hydraulic Oil into the parking lot and the property owner was unhappy with the tow truck company. They contacted us and asked if we could clean up a spill they left behind so that they wouldn’t be fined. We responded and that is where we added spill response to our list of services we provide. Texas Commercial Wash now offers spill cleaning for a variety of industries including but not limited to: Trash companies, tow companies, repair shops and restaurants. These types of companies make up over 90% of who we wash spills for.
What causes spills? Most of them are caused by commercial vehicles. The most common spills are from garbage trucks.
There are a wide variety of spills that are made by the trucks. In our experience we have cleaned a variety of spills and would like to break down how each one is handled.
Who do you contact when there is a spill? We recommend contacting your local garbage company to advise of a spill(note it doesn’t always come from a garbage company but generally they will investigate the spill to see if it came from one of their vehicles). Many instances people will call the police department to complain about a spill. As a former police officer I can tell you now, we didn’t know what to do other than take a photo, make a report and move on. They MAY or MAY NOT figure out where the spill came from or be able to hold anyone accountable. Trash companies have a system and process for this issue and generally know how to handle it in the event the spill came from their company. For restaurant owners they should know who they use to haul their cooking oil off. Instead of contacting the police department when there is a grease spill, we recommend contacting the company that picks up the oil so they can address the issue.
Oils: There are several ways to dispose of oil, home owners can dispose of their Hydraulic Oil (the type you have when you change the oil in your vehicle) at a local Walmart or automotive shop that will not even charge you for your oil. Below are the ways we clean the most common oils we see spilt.
When you are dispatched to an oil spill, recommend to the customer to pour kitty litter on the spill. Kitty litter will reduce run off, tracking and severity of stains. We recommend shoveling the kitty litter into garbage bags BEFORE you power wash the spill so that you don’t shoot sand everywhere (I have gotten it on my own truck and it will cause pitting on your paint job like a sandblaster).
Hydraulic Fluid
Hydraulic Fluid is spilt frequently because the hydraulics on a trash truck periodically will fail and cause it to leak or even spew on the ground. What we have found is it is imperative to clean this within 24 hours or it will permanently stain the concrete. Even with a response as quick as 6 hours we have seen it leave a shadow and may not come off entirely regardless of what chemical and pressure you use. Hot water with a sodium hydroxide based degreaser (R Soap II) works best for this type of spill.
Hydraulic Oil
This is the most notorious spill. We don’t just get these from trash trucks, we also get them where trucks are repaired and sometimes oil will spill on the property and have to be cleaned. You need to be aware that 90 percent of the time Hydraulic Oil stains will not come out. There are some aggressive chemicals that can take off layers of the concrete to remove the stain, but in general it is there to stay. We have found some companies will rent a “diamond grinder” to remove the stain which essentially sands the concrete down. Cleaning this with Hot Water and a sodium hydroxide based degreaser will yield the best results. But once again, have the expectation that the shadowing left behind will be there to stay. We have found that “sealed” concrete can prevent this from happening.
Cooking Grease
This is spilt from a variety of trucks (and even sometimes a human error at a restaurant or neighborhood) and is cleaned very similarly as Hydraulic Fluid. The same application for Hydraulic Oil will clean Cooking Grease.
Paints: We discovered the proper way to dispose of paint for a homeowner is to take the lid off the pail and let the paint dry entirely. Once it is dried you can throw the pail away and it won’t spill when the trash truck hauls it off. Paint is arguably the most common spill we see in residential neighborhoods.
Water Based Paint
This is a common spill from trash trucks as a result of someone throwing a pail of paint in the trash. Water Based Paint is cleaned with the same a similar process as Hydraulic Fluid with the substitute of a paint thinner or graffiti remover (Taginator, Worlds Best Graffiti Remover or Undun). We find a turbo nozzle is an effective tool for accelerating the cleaning process, a surface cleaner does not work as well unfortunately.
Oil Based Paint
This is also a common spill from trash trucks. These are harder to get out and generally take 2 to 4 times longer to remove. The same process as removing Water Based Paint works on this.
Latex Paint
This is arguably the most frustrating thing to clean. We have found even with a paint thinner like Taginator or Undun, hot water and a turbo nozzle that this can take a real long time to clean. Latex Paint in all honesty will take about 10 to 15 times longer to remove as Water Based Paint when figuring the amount of time it takes to wash per square foot. In some instances sanding may even be faster than using a power washer unfortunately.
Garbage Juice
This is arguably my least favorite thing to wash because of the profound smell it leaves behind, which is generally why a trash company receives the complaint in the first place. Removing Garbage Juice that comes from trash trucks can be removed using the same process as what is used for Hydraulic Fluid. There are so many variations of Garbage Juice it is hard to say if it will be easy to remove. In some instances there is rust embedded in the Garbage Juice and will require an acidic rust remover to clean this type of spill (once the initial washing is complete). Rust removers like Oxido will work on the rust left behind on a Garbage Juice Spill. We recommend using a fragrance afterwards which will help the residual smell fade away (Wash Grip works for this).
Now there are other ways to clean these spills that may work for you, but this is how we remove them. There are other varieties of spills you may encounter but overall these are what we see the majority of the time we are called out.
If you are a responder to these spills it is important you go to these spills as quickly as you can. Do not schedule it for next week. It isn’t just a disservice to your customer, it will also cause you to work harder. Most of these spills will be tracked by vehicles in the area and leave tire marks of whatever the spill is (Hydraulic Oil and Hydraulic Fluid will track for days after the spill). So, it is in your best interest to clean these spills immediately.
Also note you likely won’t be able to use anyone else’s water. Assume you will need to bring a full tank of water to the site.
Another important note is to have a way to recover this water. We have found the Batguard is a great tool to use to filter the water so you can pick up cleaner water and not have Garbage Juice going into your waste tank or bucket. We also will use sand dams to prevent the water from entering the storm drain system. Note it is an EPA violation to push these spills into a storm drain, and can yield a hefty fine.
For people who don’t have a recovery system, you can also use a Suttner Sludge Sucker to siphon the water using your pressure washer wand, just note you will produce more waste water than desired.
As far as equipment we recommend having to do spills are the following:
A hot water 4-6 GPM belt drive power washer (8 GPM produces too much waste water and doesn’t get as hot).
A 200-500 gallon water tank on a tandem axle trailer.
Sand Dams
Water Filter (use water socks or a Batguard)
120+CFM Vacuum system OR a Suttner Sludge Sucker (it is best if you have both in the event your vacuum system fails on site).
100 gallon waste tank
Turbo Nozzle
Rubber Gloves
A hard bristle brush
A respirator (you’ll appreciate this on the garbage juice spills)
Pump Up Sprayer (we recommend higher concentrations of chemical application for spills than you would use for general parking lot maintenance, 1:1 ratios work best with most degreasers).
The next question people will ask is what to charge for this service, and honestly there is not a good answer for this. There is a level of severity(how bad the spill is), what the spill is, distance, traffic volume and time requirements to factor in when you price a job like this. Also consider the fact you will have to provide your own water and that you need to capture the waste water.
Now when a spill exceeds 55 gallons of waste we recommend referring this type of work to a larger industrial cleaning company (Clean Harbors is a national brand that is known for this type of work). But for small spills in a residential neighborhood or local fast food restaurant can be handled by a small cleaning company and doesn’t require the additional equipment.
Although spills are not the most appealing jobs to take on, they are a necessary service needed in every city in every state.
For spills call or text 281-512-5223
