Auto Care Articles

Your Environmentally Safe Car Wash Options

As the price of fuel rises, sales of new vehicles tend to fall. And many of us are driving around in cars that are not, perhaps, as sexy and new as we would like them to be. For now, all we can do is cross our fingers in the hopes that water-fueled engines are just over the horizon... and keep our older-than-desired cars as clean as we can. Which means a lot of trips to the car wash.

A car wash, however, can harm the environment and use up lost of water. If you want to be environmentally friendly while keeping your car clean, it can be hard. And for those of us whose math skills do not allow us to instantly calculate how many gallons of water are gushing out of a hose, it can be hard to know what kind of car wash is easiest on the environment. The answer? All or none. To find out more about the good and bad effects different car wash types have on the environment, read on.

Driveway Car Wash at Home: When you wash your car at home, you have total control over what products you use and how much water you need. Some car wash products are particularly damaging to the environment. With a home car wash, however, you can control what you use, and use soaps and cleaners that dont do as much harm to the environment. Plus, you get a bit of exercise, some sunshine, and maybe a water hose fight... pretty fun. However, washing your car at home is also the option that uses up the most water. On average, a person washing his or her car at home uses at least 50 gallons of water. That said, its important to keep in mind that, if youd like to limit the amount of water you use, you can... you have total control.

Self-Serve Car Wash: The best thing about a self-service (generally coin-operated) car wash is that you'll use much less water than you'd normally use at home. At a self-service car wash, washing a normal sized car uses up about twelve to fourteen gallons of water (if its not too dirty). Also, when you go to one of those self-service car washes where you bring your own products, you're the one who chooses how environmentally safe those products are or are not. You lose the ease of a full-service car wash and the convenience of washing up at home, however.

Professional Service Car Wash: A full service car wash has a lot of pros. For one, its super easy and convenient, of course. A professional car wash also requires less water than using the hose at home; 11 gallons or so for a small car, and 20 gallons or so for a truck or sport utility vehicle. However, some full-service car washes can be unfriendly on the environment. Many use products and soaps that leech into the ground water and harm the environment in general. Others, however, are more environmentally friendly... you just have to choose wisely.
 

About the Author

Article obtained from: free automotive articles

Further Resources

For more projects