Pressure Washing Best Management Practices
Pressure washing generally refers to the practice of using water sprayed through a nozzle at high pressure to clean or strip material from various surfaces. This technique typically produces contaminated wastewater that can flow into a nearby waterway without proper intervention. This course describes pressure washing best practices and steps to take to avoid polluting open water.
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Course Details
Learning Objectives
• Define pressure washing • Describe the equipment used for pressure washing • Describe some of the hazards present during pressure washing • Describe the primary environmental hazard posed by pressure washing • List some best management practices to mitigate the environmental impact of pressure washing • List some of the techniques used to increase the efficiency of pressure washing • Describe some methods of wash water collection • Describe some methods of wastewater disposal
Specs
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pressure washing?
Why should pressure washing waste water not be allowed to go into storm drains?
What is the greatest safety hazard posed by pressure washers?
In addition to collecting waste water what important step can reduce the environmental impact of pressure washing?
Why can some pressure washing waste water go into a sanitary sewer, but not into a storm sewer?
Sample Video Transcript
Pressure washing generally refers to the practice of using high pressure water flowing at high velocity through a handheld wand and nozzle to clean a variety of surfaces. The mass and velocity of the water provide an effective cleaning mechanism for quickly and efficiently removing material such as paint, grease, mold, and dirt from a variety of surfaces. Pressure washing is particularly useful for cleaning irregularly shaped or textured surfaces. One difficulty with this technique is that it generates a volume of water which is contaminated with the undesirable substances which were removed during washing. Without intervention, the pollutants in this water will eventually make it into a nearby waterway. This is bad for the environment and also illegal in the United States. This module will introduce the topic of pressure washing and cover how to accomplish it in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.
Additional Resources
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) – www.osha.gov
- OSHA Decontamination – https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hazardouswaste/training/decon.html
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – www.epa.gov
- EPA Water Pollution Prevention & Control – http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/
