Daily Detox: Working at the Car Wash

When it’s time to wash the winter off of your car consider this: it’s better for the environment if you go to the car wash rather than washing your car at home.

Commercial car washes are required to drain their wastewater properly. This means the runoff from your car – which can contain all sorts of nasty contaminants – heads to a wastewater treatment facility instead of the nearest stream or groundwater source.

Washing the car in your driveway can send chemical soaps, toxins and other unmentionables directly into the environment and damage ecosystems.

Some car washes even recycle rinse water and many use water conserving fixtures like special nozzles and pumps to further reduce water consumption. So the next time your car says clean me gather up the quarters and visit a commercial car wash – one small thing that can make a world of difference.