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Green Ways to Wash Your Car

Most of us think about expensive alternative products and solutions when we think about doing things the “green” way. It’s not all too surprising that the idea of changing over to a more environmentally-friendly way of doing things can be met with some resistance. The solutions and alternatives can wind up being expensive and sometimes a whole lot more work. But as we get smarter as a people and more conscious as a nation, we’re all beginning to realize that looking out for our planet has absolutely got to become one of the things most important to us. There simply isn’t any other option.

Car washes can be a blast — it’s one of the rare chores that winds up being as fun as it is necessary — but often results in a pretty good amount of environmentally-unfriendly behavior that we might not intend. You’ll be glad to hear, however, that the eco-friendly alternatives that can make washing your car have much less of a negative impact on the environment are largely free, and not at all hard to achieve.

Typically, washing your car uses up between 80 and 140 gallons of water, which is no negligible puddle. Public fundraising car washes are the worst, using up a much higher degree of water and depositing a solid amount of chemicals and pollutants into storm drains and sewage systems that often drain into the ocean. The same problem applies to your one-person driveway car wash, but to a less extensive degree of course.

Both of these problems can be avoided with very inexpensive solutions. To avoid dumping a bunch of chemicals and pollutants into lakes and rivers, opt for inexpensive biodegradable car wash solutions. They’re readily available and not very expensive — car wash runoff has nowhere else to go, so specific cleaners have been designed to be eco-friendly and effective. If you can wash your car on a grass or gravel surface you’ll be able to have the runoff simply absorb into the ground instead of traveling to lakes, rivers, or streams via the sewer system.

Another incredibly simple, yet effective tool is a nozzle for your hose. This can help you regulate how much water you use, and reduce those larger numbers we talked about earlier. It’s another perfect example of how genuinely easy it can be to reduce your impact on the environment if it’s something to which you’re really, truly dedicated.

You can find anything from green auto care solutions to cheap insurance rates online, if you simply know where to look. Many of the most effective solutions for reducing our environmental footprint are simpler and more affordable than we might realize. By putting in a little extra effort and being mindful of the products we buy and use, we can all make sure we’re effectively doing our part to make sure we have as little a negative impact on our planet and environment as possible.

Clay Miller
the authorClay Miller
I am the creator/writer of Ways2GoGreen.com and Ways2GoGreenBlog.com. I'm an advocate for oceans, beaches, state parks. I enjoy all things outdoors (e.g. running, golf, gardening, hiking, etc.) I am a graduate of the University of Kentucky (Go Wildcats!!). I'm also a huge fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I was born and raised in the beautiful state of Kentucky.

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