# Where do you clean up?



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

I was washing some buckets from a recent tile job. Some had grout in them, some grout water, others had mortar and the tray for the tile saw.

I am curious as to where everyone washes their crap out. I usually scrape all of the solid debris from the buckets and tray and then rinse them out in a discrete location in the yard or in a wash out tub in the laundry or basement. Any where that I do it, I feel like I am doing something wrong.

What are your thoughts? Where do you do your washing business?


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## Chasing Dreams (Oct 12, 2009)

Buckets get caped off for the ride back to the shop. At the shop we will dump off any solids in the dumpster. Any grout water gets poured in our gravel parking lot away from the building. We never wash out down the sink.... Can cause problems down the road. I don't really like doing a "wash out" at a customers house unless we have made prior arrangements with them. Much like yourself I feel like I'm doing something I shouldn't tell my mother about:laughing:.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Never dump a waste bucket down a drain.

That said, try working in the basement of a high rise building in the Loop :blink:

I get to dump UNDER State St, that great street....


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

cement based product cleanup water is done off site unless I have an agreement where I can dump it.


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## DManchester (Apr 20, 2012)

*cleanup*

I'm with you Rob,
I do pretty much exactly what you do. Although lately I've been letting all the grout, thinset, or cement based stuff harden, then bang it out of the bucket with a hammer once it dries. I would like to have a portable "wash station" but don't know how much of a PITA that would be.


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## iDAHOchris (Feb 11, 2012)

If we have a bunch of muddy water we will dig a hole and dump it in there. Gypsum is great for soil


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## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

DManchester said:


> I would like to have a portable "wash station" but don't know how much of a PITA that would be.


I was thinking the same thing. It's just a PITA to lug buckets of crap around.

Like I said, I get all of the solids out of the bucket. The only thing that gets dumped is slightly soiled water. Mostly just cloudy water.

I was thinking of an bucket insert that would filter the water out when you pulled it out of the bucket. The filter could then go right into the garbage or be made to reuse. But reusing just poses the same problem, you have to clean it out somewhere.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

If there's no where to get ride of solids then they stay in the gorilla tubs to set up then I just hit them with a hammer to break all the solids up but if theres dirty water then I just use the hose and rinse out in the yard and then rinse down the grass to stop it going white/gray. Also rinse my grout cleaning bucket out in the yard also.


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## DManchester (Apr 20, 2012)

*Sludge Buster*

There is this,
The Sludgebuster






It's kinda expensive, but will get a lot of use. Just leave it on the site until you are done. Maybe even upsell it as a wastewater treatment , or just use it to promote your cleanup practices. Or, I'm sure you could create a similar system using a series of 5 gallon buckets. Just don't know about the chemical additives to "clean" the wastewater. 

Dave Manchester
Stonecaststudios.com


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## charimon (Nov 24, 2008)

for the most part I switched to Rubbermaid Roughtotes. the 18 gal is as heavy as i want to mess with loaded with tearout. You can mix 2 bags of mortar and roll it around on a mini dolly. *They are soft and flexible enough that you can let your mortar dry and flex it out the next day and use it again*. Even better you can load mortar with your trowell :thumbsup: no more digging with a margin. The dark green ones are the most durable and will last for 6-8 months. I have 8 of them that I use for trash, tools, mortar,grout, whatever. I use the lids under toilets as they keep everythign clean and the last bit of water dosnt drip all over the floor, you can also set the lid on a mini dolly and roll the toilet with out the spill or wax. 5 gal buckets are just silly once you use rough totes.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

Solids in one bucket... spray/cap... rinse the others...


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## davitk (Oct 3, 2008)

I ask the customer at the start of the job, where they want the wash out. Typically I suggest a place close to the curb, sometimes they request a special place like by the lot line where it'll drain into the neighbors yard.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

I don't know what's in thinset, grout, drywall mud, cement etc etc as the patch of grass where I wash stuff out all the time at my own house is nicer than any other part in my back yard.


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## katoman (Apr 26, 2009)

The neighbors yard ? :whistling


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## Groutface (Jan 20, 2011)

All leftovers,grout ,mortar,drypack,whatever,get put in a tote,and dumped at the shop bin. Nearest sewer drain gets the grout water and other wastewater.. Then washed with clean bucket of water to not piss off neighbors.


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## CrpntrFrk (Oct 25, 2008)

Lots of hills around here so it is not uncommon to have a retaining wall at the job-site. Behind that wall is the best place for us. 

The video DManchester posted looks cool. But I am getting sick of hearing that every f**king thing causes cancer.


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## angus242 (Oct 20, 2007)

Yeah, concrete sludge is a lot different than thinset or grout residue.


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## tileman2000 (Feb 14, 2011)

I ask the customer first. If noone's around to ask, I look for areas where it wouldn't be noticeable. Under decks,gravel driveways or nearby woods usually.


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## asbestos (Mar 22, 2006)

I dump plaster and thinset in the client's washing machine, concrete goes in the neighbor's driveway, but I don't get much repeat business so you may not want to listen to me


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## Ethos (Feb 21, 2012)

I typical scoop out as much as I can by hand into the trash can I bring along with me, then give it a good brushing / spraying out in the side yard, preferably somewhere with gravel / mud / mulch where I won't be hurting any grass as mortar is fairly basic. I try to dilute it as much as possible and spread it over as big of an area as possible if I have no other choice by on the grass. Haven't had any issues thus far.


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## aptpupil (Jun 12, 2010)

i always have a bucket going that is the trash bucket. clean everything off at the end of the day within the bucket itself and dump the cleaning water out into the trash bucket(s). the next day all the sludge is at the bottom of that bucket and the clean water is on top. dump the clean water off in a corner of the yard just to be sure. repeat for each day you're on site. at the end of the job you'll have a bucket or two of the nasty sludge and solids. that goes into the dumpster.
using this method you're never dumping anything other than the very least cloudy water out and all the bad stuff gets condensed into one or two buckets.


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