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Although no elbow grease is required, using a commercial car wash is an environmentally viable alternative to washing a car at home. Professional car wash operators use less water and treat contaminated wastewater.

How to use a commercial car wash

Despite a sometimes soggy, unsustainable reputation, commercial car washes in North America are required under the Clean Water Act to drain wastewaster into sewer systems (instead of storm drains) where it’s treated before reentering the water supply. Commercial car washes also use advanced, computerized pumps and nozzles to control water output, reducing the amount you use by up to 60 percent compared to a home wash. And some even recycle and reuse water on-site.

But some suds are greener than others. Although patronizing any local commercial car wash will do—in lieu of taking a more wasteful, polluting DIY driveway approach—some are more active in practicing environmental stewardship.

• Wayne Autospa in Wayne, New Jersey, is powered by solar panels, uses advanced filtration systems to treat wastewater, and is heated by oil procured from on-site oil changes.
• The Brown Bear chain of car washes in the Seattle metro area is proactive in exposing the dangers of driveway car washing.
• ECO Car Wash locations in the greater Portland, Oregon, area boast state-of-the-art water control systems and biodegradable soaps and polishes.
• ProntoWash franchises present a “we bring the car wash to you” concept by situating themselves in locations such as shopping mall parking garages. Aside from being convenient for harried shoppers with “WASH ME” messages permanently inscribed into the sides of their cars, ProntoWash systems use ¼ gallons of water per cleaning and biodegradable products, making them an ecologically-sound choice.
• For those visiting the UK and employing a motor rental, book an appointment with Aquanought, a waterless car wash service that offers cleaning options ranging from "Express" to "Extreme" while posing the question "why should a spotless car cost the earth?"
• The green-minded folks behind North Vancouver, British Columbia's Easywash consider their car wash to be “the world’s most eco-friendly carwash”—it uses advanced water conversation and recycling techniques, harnesses power generated from hydrogen fuel cells, and is housed in a green structure. Even more notably, Easywash offers an automated, touch-free wash, dubbed “the cabin,” exclusively for cleaning canines and kitties.

If there are no overtly green car wash facilities in your area, or you're unsure of the ways that your local car wash protects waterways and conserves valuable H20, just ask! And if the very thought of paying someone else (or a computerized machine) to wash your car keeps you up at night, there are steps that can be taken to make a traditional at-home car wash as as green as possible.

Using a commercial car wash helps you go green because…

• In the US and Canada, it's required that the wastewater produced at commercial car washes is drained directly to a water treatment or drainage facility where it's stripped of chemical pollutants coming from the car itself (exhaust residue, oil, fuel, etc.) and cleaning agents.
• Less water, around 60 percent, is used at a commercial car wash than washing at home with a garden hose.[1]

Slightly more than half of Americans opt to clean the exteriors of their vehicles at commercial car washes (there are an estimated 100,000 of them) rather than at home in their driveways or curbside.[1][2] This is the more environmentally sensible option, as by law commercial car washes in the United States and Canada are forbidden to drain wastewater directly into storm drains. Once in storm drain systems, toxic wastewater can enter local lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans where it becomes a threat to aquatic life.

The contaminants found in car wash wastewater are twofold. Firstly, there are the residual chemicals and matter—more severe than run-of-the-mill dirt and dust—that are freed from a car’s exterior when washed. These substances can include oils, greases, rust, trace amounts of benzene, and residues from brake pads and exhaust fumes. Secondly, the wastewater can include chemical residues originating from the cleaning agents (soaps, degreasers, sprays, wipes, etc.) used in the car washing process.

In terms of the volume of water used, commercial car washes use less than 45 gallons per car. At-home washing requires between 80 and 140 gallons per car.[3] Additionally, special nozzles are used that combine half water and half air to create pressure that effectively cleans without requiring large amounts of water.

Glossary

• benzene: A flammable solvent used to make many household products, including detergents, nylon, paint, furniture wax, lacquer, resins, and oil (although its use in many other household products was banned in 1978). It is poisonous when ingested.

External links

• Carwashing.com
• Clean Car Campaign
• Green Car Congress
• International Carwash Association - Carlove.org
• RiverSafe Carwash Campaign
• Stormwater: The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals - Take Me Out to the Carwash