Maybe this is a question for the pro section....?

[LinLee]

But what does everyone do with the waste water? From the wet saw,
the thinset, grout etc.
I'm sure it doesn't go down the drain.
Linlee (waiting for a reply with her big bucket of wetsaw muck )

[Mike2]

Throw it on the neighbors lawn.

[Brian in San Diego]

LinLee,

If you pour the water off the bucket into another, the "muck" can go into the trash. The water should go down the drain so that it goes to a sewage treatment plant. You definitely don't want to put it in a storm drain where it would go to streams, lakes, rivers or oceans. If there is still some particulate matter and you're worried about clogging drains, I'd put it in the toilet and flush it. In San Diego, the guvment gets uptight if you put anything into the storm drains...they tell you to wash all your paint brushes (latex, of course) in the sink so the paint doesn't get into the storm drains.

Brian

[ddmoit]

LinLee, even on the coldest days in Michigan, I haul my thinset and grout contaminated water out to the back yard. Now that most our snow melted today, I can see just where I have been tossing it.

[LinLee]

Thanks,
I was wondering if the 'gray' water could go down the drain if I let it settle out...now I see it's ok.
I'm not so sure about dumping it in the yard...my hubby is a lawn maniac
and if he saw colored patches of cement drying about, I believe that
my days of tileing would come to a screaching hault.

Mike2,
Shame on you Mr.Official Host, Moderator
Bad advice...I've tried that and unfortunatly I'm not fast enough.

[Mike2]

LinLee: Now that day light savings time is upon us, do it early in the morning. Much safer that way.

Seriously though, I personally would shy away from putting any of that down the drain, even the neighbors drain. Dig a hole someplace in the back yard. Cover it back up when the project is done and in the meantime, tell hubby to get use to it.

[Brian in San Diego]

Mike is probably right...a hole in the backyard, but what if you don't have a backyard, is the front yard O.K.? Allowing the water to leech into the soil is probably o.k., but I still would separate the solids, let it dry out and put it in the trash.

Brian

[ddmoit]

I don't think sand and cured Portland cement is going to hurt my yard, but now you have me thinking about the modified portion of the thinset. I may have to modify my procedure.

[LadyGodiva]

I was wondering about this myself and won't put it down my sink or toilet. We've had two floods already from that sucker and I won't tempt him again.

Neighbor's tile setter routinely threw that muck on his lawn. He cussed up a storm for weeks

[jeepdarla]

If you have left over globs of thinset or grout it is fun to make little monster sculptures adding stones or other materials for eyes and mouth.

I don't like the idea of rinsing any of it down the drain...especailly the gunk in the botton of the wet saw pan. You know how heavy and sticky that is. I have been rinsing mine outside using plenty of water to dilute it.

[Mike2]

Great idea Darla. Here's a little yard bunny I made from left over thin set.



Don't ask me what that thing is sticking to it's tail. Something I just found in the driveway and decided it belonged there.

We ought to have a Yard Bunny contest. You up to it LinLee? After all, you started all this.

[tileman2000]

Hi Linlee,

I usually ask the homeowner where to put the mess.They always seem to find a spot where it's not noticeble.If you are the homeowner then try to do the same thing and i wouldn't pour that messy water in any drains.Also,i'm in for the yard bunny contest.

[LinLee]

But if you're doing this stuff all the time in your
own yard you're gonna have to come to a point of saturation sometime.
I can see a one time dump on a job (yuck) but what if your workshop's in your own garage? Then what?
I do have a spot where I can dig holes and dump. But what about the person who's not so lucky...or an on the job site where you need to clean
up the thinset portion and move on to the grout. That's a lot of gunk.
?

[opiethetileman]

2 funny about the hole in the yard. I was on a remodel last month walking thru the yard ok. Just crusing along and WHAM My foot slipped in a hole went down to my knee. The ediots who did the sding dug a hole and poured 8 gallons of paint in there along with some nails and other crap. YES its not legal. LETS just say PAY BACK is a B****H. I called the building inspector who is a family freind. They had a hefty fine and had to get the mess removed BIO HAZZRD STYLE

[ddmoit]

OK, there seems to be a pretty strong consensus here that pookie remnants have no business going down a drain. No one has said why though.

Let's start with Portland cement. Obviously, putting uncured Portland cement down the drain is going to have predictably bad consequences. But, what if it's been sitting in a bucket of water for 3 days? Isn't it already cured by now? How can that white, silty sludge hurt the drain?

What about the modified portion of thinset? Some of it is latex, some of it is acrylic, and who knows what else? I bet thousands of people across the country are cleaning latex paint off their tools and washing it down the sink on any given weekend.

What about epoxy grouts and thinsets?

Because I don't know, I don't take any chances; but I wonder if we're being overly cautious in some cases?