With more than 260 million vehicles on the road in North America, car washing is big business. It is estimated that there are some 75,000 car washing locations, not including your own driveway. Whether they are automatic, self-service, coin-operated, touch-less, or served by a group of bikini-clad beauties, the traditional car wash has not exactly represented the pillar of environmentally friendly practices. And while washing the car isn't likely to get the Sierra Club stamp of approval anytime sooner than say, mowing the lawn or burning tires, eco-minded procedures and regulation have reached this dirty corner of the auto industry.
For many years the primary cleaning agent employed at the local Super Suds was hydrofluoric acid with a toxic rap sheet rivaling that of spent plutonium. Mix this with a continual flood of phosphorus, sodium hydroxide, and diluted oil & grease and you have a contaminant cocktail worthy of Jersey run-off and as potent as anything DuPont or GE could come up with.
And when you consider that millions upon millions of gallons of this stuff were directed into common storm drains and sewers for decades, it is a wonder we aren't all running around with two left feet (which admittedly would make for some very effective heel-toe footwork).
Racing-friendly anatomical anomalies aside, it is a very good thing that the car wash continues to clean up its act as polluted groundwater has been found to be the host of multiple health, nature and socio-economic problems. Today, many facilities are governed by tighter state control and adhere to industry guidelines including the use of less harsh cleaning agents. Additionally, in many areas car washes are required to recycle and/or treat their wastewater before it enters public drainage.
This means that cleaning your own car at home is actually the worst offender in terms of waste and disposal. Short of using a bio-soap and washing your car with a downpour, your best bet may be to go to a local wash.
Wash owners and operators can now go one step further however, according to PC&D Magazine. For anyone not in the know, that would be Professional Carwashing & Detailing, which can be found at www.carwash.com. The article describes how used motor oil can be used in a specialized furnace to heat water, physical plants and in helping to power a car wash, auto dealer, lube shop, etc…
This idea makes especially good sense for the independent garage that is required by law to collect used motor oil anyway. For those who must procure the oil from a shop, just ask anyone with a converted diesel VW for tips on going around to local businesses to find fuel oil.
It is very promising to see additional parts of the industry go green from recycled tires, to automotive fluids, to the vehicles themselves. And while it is unlikely that practice of moving people around in their independent vehicles will ever be environmentally neutral, with a little effort we can do far more than we ever have before.
To see a description of the different types of car washes and their evolution, click here.
To see an article about used motor oil as a furnace fuel, click here.
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