Capture all of it and take it to the same place you take your oil, tell them it's coolant and they will dispose of it properly. Please do not put it in the toilet or storm drain.

 

And, again, the storm drain is an absolute NO. in fact, it is illegal. you could be fined in most municipalities.

i imagine exposure to coolant would have immediate toxic effects on aquatic life.

remember, fluids that enter the storm drain go straight to the nearby waterway with absolutely ZERO treatment.

 

Well, after the chlli my wife made last week with Habanero peppers, I may have inadvertently compromised our water system here in Houston!!!

 

That is NOT true in all cases. Some municipaalities have combined sewer systems that take all the storm and sanitary sewage and combine it then on to the trewatment plant. They are getting away from this as it is costly to treat sewage and storm water does not really need to be treated.

All this said, after draining, maybe flush it out into your yard, but never direct into the sewer or street

 

hah, i knew someone on here would correct that.

yes, there are CSOs. but most people (nearly 100% of people who don't live in urbanized areas) drain to an MS4 (separate system). i am a hydrologist and most of my clients are stormwater agencies.

for god sakes, don't pour it in your yard either.

 

The thing is though even if it gets treated they are not going to remove the chemicals they just sanitize it with bleach let the solids settle off and maybe filter it. There is nothing to remove the antifreeze so it is getting in your drinking supple like prescription medication and whatever other chemicals get flushed.

I dispose of the actual coolant properly. I usually do not worry about the diluted coolant. though, I don't have sewers or drain sewers around though

 

around here auto parts stores will not take used coolant, you have to take it to a radiator shop.

 

you can make a delicious ice cream for all the kids in the neighborhood.

 

Indeed it does.

 

I am now for sure not going to let the "hose water flush" go down the storm drain (and I never intended the straight dex-cool to leave my oil catcher pan in the first place). But everything I have read says that dex-cool is BIODEGRADABLE and will not harm pets, children or wildlife.

Someone is lying...either the EPA is correct or dex-cool manufactures are correct. Honestly, I don't know.

Also, I want to know what the radiator shop does with old coolant or the county dump where I have to take my old dex-cool to. I know they recycle oil...but what about coolant?

I'm curious, does anyone have any ideas on catching all of the flush plus the original straight old coolant? I'm thinking I will need at least a 10-15 gallon liquid catcher to get it all. Maybe a plastic storage bin will be big enough.

Thanks for everyone's input.