SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® was engineered to provide a quick, legal, and effective dry cleaning solution for outdoor parking spaces, fuel islands, fast food drive-thru’s, greasy backdoors, and dumpster areas. Travel plazas, convenience stores, restaurants, and virtually all facilities have to contend with removing oil, grease, and all types of liquids from their lots. These areas are typically cleaned with alkaline or acidic degreasers and most recently with dry products “marketed” to clean. Extensive labor and pressure washing is normally required.
Let’s take a deeper look at what really happens when cleaning these “drip zones” from concrete or asphalt:
1) Liquid degreasers are normally purchased and instructions say use full strength or 1:1 (that’s 50/50). Check the MSDS sheet and odds are the pH is high or low (this means the product is “hot” and will likely etch the concrete). It is applied to the spot – brushed in – and rinsed or pressure washed. Now instead of a dark stain there is a light stain. If the stain appears to be removed the area is very white on the concrete. This is because you just removed the top portion of your cement with your “hot” chemical!
2) The employee could spend many hours on this project. Company liability is high for: slips and falls, chemical burns, overspray onto customers or their vehicles, and environmental impact.
3) Now… where does all the rinse or waste water go to? If you are thinking the sewer, ditch, or storm drain; think twice. Check for yourself. According to EPA Storm Water Phase 2 this waste water must be treated and released with a permit or PICKED UP AND REMOVED AS HAZARDOUS WASTE. Granted, enforcement to date has been minimal but it is the law.
4) There are several dry cleaning methods that have been introduced to the market. They all are applied over the stain and left to work. They are time driven (often claiming that microbes will consume the oil). Many companies have tried these and continue in some cases to use them because there is no alternative. Here are a few problems reported: 1) the powder is not picked up after applying and according to the EPA you are introducing more contaminates to the environment 2) the powder tracks into facilities and consumer’s cars 3) it merely covers-up the stain 4) residue can burn employee’s wet skin due to alkalinity and 5) most are basically a Portland cement mixture that can potentially mark good cement and bring unwanted silt to oil water separators.
What is at issue regarding cleaning outdoor stains? The answer is lots of labor, EPA regulations, company liability, and consumer perception of cleanliness.
SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® physically removes the topical oil, grease, or liquid from concrete or asphalt. The product is then picked up and normally disposed of as trash (follow all regulations). The left behind residual will leave the surface even cleaner after rainfall due to the introduction of BG-Clean™ 401, listed with the *EPA National Contingency Plan for treating spills in waterways.
SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® resolves outdoor spot cleaning issues as follows: 1) Labor is potentially cut in half (for spot cleaning) 2) SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® is removed therefore no EPA Storm Water violations can occur 3) SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® is neutral (will not burn skin) and actually increases the co-efficient of friction 4) SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut®’s proprietary ceramic chambers lock in contaminates and produces little to no tracking 5) Consumer perception of cleanliness is quickly resolved even in winter months 6) SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® can be implemented into EPA Storm Water best management plans
Today’s facilities now operate with fewer employees. It is difficult to find the hours to clean fuel islands, parking spaces, or drive thru’s. Yet one’s store front presentation can easily persuade a consumer to “go down the street”. Fast food drive thru lanes can represent 2/3 of the stores total business. Allowing consumers to view a dirty exterior is literally a financial risk. This is why SafetyFlame™ with FlameOut® was created…another quick fix that works!
* Not to be considered an EPA Endorsement.
