Well, we are getting to that time of year again and many people are beginning to look at the slushy roads and at their dirty cars, making the decision to begin washing them. For environmentalists, this creates a dilemma. While they want clean cars and cars that are not rusting away beneath them, they also want to protect the dwindling water supplies on the planet. They have two choices, washing the car by hand or washing the car at a commercial car wash. Which is better for the environment?

I was wondering this myself so I did a bit of research and was quite surprised by what I found out.

First of all, washing your car at home uses between 80 and 140 gallons of water, unless you do a dry wash which is only effective for small clean up jobs. Now, if you go to a commercial car wash, you will use less than half the water, only 45 gallons of water. In addition to that, federal laws in the United States and Canada require that the waste water used in commercial car washes be put into the sewer systems, where it is processed and treated and then discharged back into the environment as completely clean water. When someone washes their car at home, the waste water and soap goes down the driveway and into the storm sewer, which goes untreated into the environment and causes environmental damage to lakes, streams and river eco-systems.

Many commercial car washes want to make money and using water costs them money, so they have systems in place to save themselves money and, by extension, help the environment. Commercial car washes have control systems in place that will minimize water usage, and many car washes will recycle and reuse the rinse water.

So, when you ash your car this year, make sure you wash it at a car wash and not at home. You will be doing your car and the environment a big favor. In addition, you can limit how much you drive and where you drive so that your car does not get as dirty. The less dirty the car is, the fewer times you have to go to the car wash and the less water you use as a whole.