So much has been said about environmental degradation and its effects on human health and the entire planet as well. One of the effects of such degradation is the contamination of ground water brought about by the runoff of detergents, gasoline, grime and oil. These contaminants typically come from gasoline stations, car washes and homes. Hence the need to choose a green car wash over a regular one.
Three Types of Car Washes and How They Affect the Environment
DIY Car Wash
Some people do their car washing by themselves for various reasons. Some believe that they get to save a lot of cash from not paying for car wash services, buying fuel for the car or from other related expenses like eating out or impulse buying. Others want to do it out of their love for their cars. These are the car aficionados who feel that nobody can do a better job of cleaning their cars but themselves alone. Well, that was acceptable a century ago, when there were only a few cars in existence. But with a total of 300 million cars to date (HowManyAreThere.org), each using up anywhere from 15 to 150 gallons of water and spewing contaminants in the soil and ground water, DIY car washing is no longer satisfactory.
Regular Car Wash
Did you know that if every American car owner takes his vehicle to a regular car wash, we can save as much as 8.7 billion gallons of water? Yes, doing little green things like this can really make a difference. This seems to be a good alternative considering that these establishments have water treatment facilities as mandated by car wash regulations and environmental laws. These facilities enable them to filter the sludge out of their used water and recycle it for future use.
Plus, these car washes have tools and equipment that make car washing faster and more water efficient. They attach different types of nozzles to their hoses in order to clean the most difficult areas with the least amount of time and water. They use vacuum extractors to make carpet cleaning faster and easier.
Although regular car washes use less water than DIY car washing, these still use huge amounts of the valuable resource. And to make the entire process of car washing faster, some of these car washes use auto detailing supplies that contain harsh chemicals that can damage car paint and may even pose health hazards to car owners like you. And, there’s always the chance of untreated water seeping from leakages.
Eco Car Wash
In an effort to save water and the entire planet as well, eco car washes employ different tools and techniques and use environmentally-friendly cleaning products as well. Among the tools and techniques used is steam cleaning which uses two gallons of water for washing up to fifteen vehicles and waterless car washing which makes use of as little water as possible.
But Do Eco Car Washes Really Save the Planet?
In reality, choosing to have your car cleaned in eco car washes over DIY or regular car washes can only do so much to save the planet. But if half of the world’s population chooses to do so, what a huge difference it can make.
Would you like to explore the theory behind eco car washes? Schedule an appointment with green car washes in your area. They will be very eager to share their knowledge with like-minded individuals like you.
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