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Seeing Green: Can a Car Wash Be Earth-Friendly?
Mar 10 2008 by Emily Hansen
3/10/08
Green Options Assuage Wash-Waste Guilt
Mommy Guilt comes in many forms. One that’s plagued me recently is guilt over taking my car through the local car wash, worrying if I’m single-handedly destroying the planet for my children. A little dramatic, I know, but it’s all I seem to think about while I sit idling (gag) in line at my local wonder-wash.
There are a few eco-conundrums associated with washing a car, from all the water it takes to the nasty chemicals that are subsequently washed into local waterways, not to mention the energy used in the process. These problems exist whether I wash my car at an auto-wash, a self-spray place or in my own driveway.
Here are a few things to consider when choosing where to wash your car.
At Home:
Pro:
• Kids expend their energy to clean the car.
Cons:
• Estimates indicate most people use between 50 and 150 gallons of water (depending on how much fun you let your kids have with the hose) when washing a car at home.
• Most likely, when you wash your car at home you don’t reclaim or recycle much, if any, of the water you use.
• Household soaps and many car-wash products contain phosphates and other dangerous chemicals that get rinsed directly into storm drains when you wash your car. Essentially, that dirty chemical water isn’t treated before it pours back into your local streams and lakes.
At a Commercial Car Wash:
Pros:
• Water, while still used copiously, is often reclaimed or recycled.
• Most waste water goes to a water treatment plant through a sewer system.
• Chemicals vary greatly, ranging from eco-friendly to toxic.
Cons:
• Chemicals vary greatly, ranging from eco-friendly to toxic.
• The energy used to run wash equipment (including giant oscillating dryers) has a significant eco-footprint.
So what can we do to alleviate some of the self-reproach we feel about washing the car? For starters, if you choose to wash your car at home, consider using a waterless car cleaner. There are several brands on the market, including Eco Touch, Biokleen, No-Wet and Lucky Earth.
Otherwise, you can use a biodegradable soap like Dr. Bronner’s in a bucket of cold water. Wash the car on the lawn to recoup some of the water runoff, and minimize the amount of water used by putting a sprayer on your hose and only turning it on when rinsing the car.
If you go to a commercial car wash (either the self-serve kind or the spa-day-for-your-car type) be sure to ask some questions. Does the business reclaim or recycle its water? Is its soap eco-friendly? Has it reduced or eliminated the amount of time its dryers run?
Finally, if you’re in charge of this year’s car wash fundraiser, consider hosting it at a commercial car wash instead of in a grocery-store parking lot. Many car washes will work with you to make sure you raise a fair amount of money. Imagine the peace of mind that comes from not rinsing dirty water into storm drains — and not watching your teenage daughter wash cars in her bikini top and short shorts.
User Comments
One of the car stations here in Ontario Canada claims that it has an Eco-wash. But it leads me to wonder if it is actually an eco-wash or just a tricky name?
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this is dan doing a campaign on behalf of bywater services. i have found the information very reliable and if you have any additional info i would be greatfull.
Here in San Jose it’s technically illegal for you to wash your car in your driveway and allow the water to run into the sewers. Not that they really enforce that one. And all the commercial car washes are required to reclaim their wash water. NO car wash guilt here.