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Sudsing up your car in the driveway may get your hub caps to sparkle, but the untreated wastewater can also run off Ol' Betsy straight into storm drains and eventually into rivers, streams, lakes, and wetlands, where it can degrade water quality and poison aquatic life.
The average home-brewed car wash uses more than 500 gallons of water, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (For a sense of scale, it takes 25 gallons of water for a 5-minute shower and 35 minutes to fill a regular-size bathtub.)
Commercial car washes, on the other hand, use around 32 gallons of water per car, according to the International Carwash Association. They're also required by the 1972 Clean Water Act to drain their wastewater into sewer systems, where it gets treated before it's flushed back into the environment. Plus, many commercial car washes recycle and reuse their rinse water, which they send blasting through a computerized system of high-pressure nozzles and pumps to minimize water use.
Another alternative: The waterless car wash, which can be wiped off without the need to rinse. Eco Touch, Freedom, and Lucky Earth are just a few of the water-saving options that will get your auto gleaming like new.
Difficulty level: Easy
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