I don’t see many people outside washing their cars anymore. This might be due to the mandatory water restrictions we now have in San Diego, but I certainly don’t miss the gushing gutter water flowing down our street. In San Diego, you can still wash your car at home before 10am and after 4pm with a bucket and a hand held hose with a shut off nozzle. California is in a drought.
Did you know that residential car washes are the 2nd largest source of residential water consumption in summer months behind irrigation? I’ve read that washing your car at home can use between 80-120 gallons of water, depending on how cautious you are. That’s totally astonishing. Not to mention that the dirt, grime and residue washed off your car goes directly into storm drains. The pollutants that enter storm drains are not treated at plants before being discharged into local waters. Even some biodegradable detergents can have a toxic effect on a wide variety of marine life, which I will get into more detail below. Think about that next time you dump something into the gutter. If it’s not toxic, dump it down the sink instead where it will then be treated before entering the waterways.
When you decide get your car washed, you have choices. If you’re environmentally sensitive, then you might want to look into what your car wash of choice is doing. According to the International Carwash Association, professional car washes discharge their water into a separate sanitary sewer or treat and/or recycle it. It’s a federal requirement now. They also use an average of 35 gallons of water per car. I used to take my car to a car wash nearby where they don’t recycle water, they just treat it. I didn’t know this until recently. I then took it to a car wash about 15 minutes away that uses 9-15 gallons of water per wash, treats and recycles water used. It’s double the price of my old car wash. I don’t mind paying it. Other people pay it too, because it’s usually crowded. There are also self service car washes which I read use an average of 15 gallons of water per wash, but then again that depends on how careful you are too.
Back in the day, I used to hear about car wash fundraisers. I think my Girl Scout Troop even had one back in the 1980s. In Seattle, a local professional car wash company hired an environmental company a few years ago to test the untreated run off water resulting from a a car wash parking lot fundraiser. Results were measured by fish mortality. In 100% of the dilutions of untreated water used, the fish died. The detergents stripped their protective mucus membranes Detergents (even biodegradable ones ) can also damage gills and wash away natural oils that help fish absorb oxygen. All of the fish survived in the treated water. You can read more about the study here. But not to worry, a lot of professional car washes offer fundraising services too.
I’d never really considered any of this until I moved back to La Jolla and had a car to worry about. I also wrote a post about an eco friendly, local car detailing service called CARBONita Detail, for the times when your car needs a full detail and not a basic wash. Read more about that here.
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That’s crazy how much water washing at home can waste. I’ve never thought of that before. I read that caffeine and pharmaceuticals are also hazardous to marine life.
Cindy´s last blog ..Let’s try this Santa’s lap thing
Indeed, all good points, and you can have a car wash without polluting or wasting water, I wrote a nifty little book on this topic if you are interested?
I wash my car at the gas station drive through. It uses less water and saves my time. Win, win
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