Professional Carpet Cleaners Can Help Protect Our Water

Professional carpet cleaners can help protect our water by following new recommendations from the Department of Ecology. Members of the carpet cleaning industry worked with Ecology to develop best business practices for keeping the toxic chemicals and dirt in carpet cleaning wash water out of Washington waters.

Now Ecology is sharing the information with carpet cleaners and the people who hire them.

“Carpet wash water isn’t just dirt and water. It also may contain the very toxic chemicals we are trying to prevent from entering our environment,” said Brook Beeler, an Ecology environmental educator from Spokane. She and Justine Asohmbom, from Ecology’s Bellevue office, developed the information.

Wash water can be loaded with PBDE’s (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), a toxic flame retardant. PBDE’s come in many household products including televisions, mattresses, and the carpets themselves. Heavy metals can bind to dirt tracked in by our pets and shoes. Grease, oils, and detergents are also common in wash water.

Carpet cleaners usually operate as mobile businesses. If they don’t have the capacity in their vehicles for all the wastewater from a job, they may be tempted to dump the water into a ditch or street drain. This is illegal and adds to big pollution problems. Water from street drains and ditches is usually not treated. It winds up in our lakes, rivers, and streams – and the pollutants may ultimately show up in someone’s drinking water.

For better ways to handle wastewater from carpet cleaning, and other mobile businesses, visit the Washington Waters—Ours to Protect education Web site. Go to the @Work – Best Practices for Businesses section. Here you will find the two
page Focus on Carpet Cleaning and a shorter version of
carpet cleaning quick tips.

If you have questions, contact Brook Beeler or Justine Asohmbom.