Did you know taking your car to a car wash saves not only gallons of water but also traps all that dirt and other nasty pollutants? Here are just few reasons why coming to Autowash is good for the planet!
• Professional, commercial car washes use water management technology developed through industry and university research that enables them to wash cars thoroughly with a fraction of the water a home car wash uses.
• A ten minute home wash can use as much as 140 gallons, based on engineering studies that show a 5/8” hose running at 50 psi uses 14 gallons of water per minute (WCA figures). Other estimates: San Francisco Water Dept- 180 gal. San Antonio Water System- 150 gal. City of Toronto- 116 gal.
• Professional car wash equipment can clean a car in just a few minutes, using between 15 and 60 gallons, depending on the equipment used, especially conveyor wash.
• Comparison with other water uses: Dripping faucet: 25-30 gal./day Toilet flush: 5-7 gal. 10-minute shower: 25-50 gal. Washing machine at top water level: 60 gal. Brushing teeth: 2 gal.
• A car washed professionally does not waste water. There are few industries which use water as a resource that carefully manage water as well as the modern car wash.
• For most people, their car is their second most valuable asset. Keeping it clean extends the life of the car.
• Wastewater from driveway and parking lot car washing flows into the stormwater system and then into our waterways.
• Driveway and parking lot car washing discharge consists of oils, grease, elements from brake linings, rust, trace amounts of benzene and possibly chromium. Adding soap to the mix introduces phenols, dyes, acids, and ammonia
• The Seattle Stormwater Grading and Drainage Control Code listed unregulated car washing second in the eight high-risk pollution-generating activities.
• Past EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman has been quoted as saying, “It may seem like a small amount of oil and grease, but collectively, these little sources add up to (the equivalent of ) 23 Exxon Valdez oil spills in the contental United States per year.”
• Effluent from professional car wash facilities is filtered and piped to the sanitary sewer system.
Aside from environmental reasons, most detergents people use to wash their car in the driveway damages paint and leaves it vulnerable to the elements. Save the headache. Save the environment. Do your part! Come see us at Autowash!
