Spring2020_SSCWN_web

TRICKS OF THE
Presenting some of the best discussions from the Self Serve, IBA and General Discussions sections of CarwashForum.com. To view more
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(Note: Some posts feature minor edits for readability.)
Bye Bye birdies
Metal screens, Netting,
Bird Be Gone, Rubber snakes
How do you guys get rid of birds? They are all over
the place right now and making a huge mess. NOOB
I am dealing with the same problem. I have installed
expanded metal screens and bird spikes.
Both worked. At this point, the small areas are becoming
a roosting spot. I just bought netting to see
how that goes and thinking I should have done that
in the first place. Will know in a few weeks. THECKIE
I used to have problems with barn swallows
roosting at the car wash. The only thing you can
do to get rid of them is to seal up the building. On
the areas that they’d land or roost on I ended up
putting metal and wood cut at an angle so they
couldn’t land or roost. Any nest I found I got rid of
it right away. I think pigeons are the worst, nothing
more than a rat with wings. RANDY
I live trap the sparrows and starlings. Pigeons get
it with air rifle. Living in a rural town I tend to get
away with stuff that others can’t. SWAMPDONKEY
I used to use a product called Bird B gone. Came
in a tube that fit in a caulking gun. It was basically
a substance you applied and it stayed effective for
How I fixed it!
THE PROBLEM
(SUBMITTED BY CELICA):
After many years, my R.O. membrane needed replacement. It
went from 1.5 gpm to 3.5 gpm instantly. Bits of the membrane
were found in the storage tank. The TDS was at 90 in the storage
tank. I installed a new membrane. When I first pressurized the
new membrane it was flowing at 3 gpm @170 psi. I let it sit overnight
and tried it again. This time it flowed at 2 gpm @170psi.
After a couple of days, I checked the storage tank and it was at a
TDS of 20. But today I noticed the membrane flowing at 3gpm
@170psi. The output TDS is reading 70.
maybe 6 months. It was just real sticky stuff that
the birds hated. BB guns are also effective if you’re
a good shot. MAC
I 2nd Mac on Bird B Gone. Take a full rainy day
& 2/3 tubes of that stuff & put it EVERYWHERE
they land. They will be gone in 48 hrs & stay gone.
Will cost you about $40 & the problem is gone!
SOONERMAJIC
Recently, at our rural location, we had a buzzard
get into the mechanical room, scaring the
you-know-what out of our city boy mechanic. He
left the mechanical door open and returned many
minutes later to find the buzzard gone. I hope it’s
not an omen for something. WASH4LIFE
I think I saw it on the forum before we tried
it but rubber snakes from the dollar store have
seemed to make a real difference for us. We have
a flat roof so I threw a couple up there and on top
of the walls between the bays. BERT79
High
membrane
flow
Metal
screens
Netting
Rubber snakes
Bird
Be Gone
SSCWN EDITOR CHIMES IN:
Before anyone loads their firearm
or slingshot, it’s important to know
that all wild birds (except pigeons,
English sparrows and starlings)
are protected by federal and state
laws, according to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. This means
you cannot trap, kill or possess
protected species without federal
and state permits. And, even if
you are allowed to harm a pigeon,
there’s a better way to handle them
(killing of pigeons could lead to a
PR nightmare…) The first step,
according to the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is to identify
the bird and determine why it is
attracted to your property.
THE SOLUTION: I remembered that when I took
the old membrane out, I noticed the O ring in the cap was
partially dislodged. I put it back in the groove and then installed
the new membrane. When I woke up at 2:30 in the morning I had a hunch that the
excessive flow rate and high TDS was water partially getting past the membrane.
I pulled the cap off and found the O ring was partially out of the groove again. I
grabbed another O ring and installed it, and things are running normal. It was
untreated water getting past the O ring and causing high “flow” and high TDS
readings. The old membrane that I took out is most likely fine. I will look at putting
some adhesive in the O ring groove to keep the O ring in place if this happens again.
This O ring is hit with 170 psi when the pump starts up.
34 • SPRING 2020