How to Conserve Water at a Car Wash

Most car owners want to keep the outside of the cars looking as good as possible. For this reason, many owners take their vehicles to a professional car wash. Many people know that the soaps used by these places are (supposed to be) better for the environment than a normal wash you would use at home. But you should also be conscious about water usage. Here are some ways to conserve water at a car wash.

Instructions

1. Begin by finding a “green” car wash. This means more than a car wash that uses “environment-friendly” soaps. Many car washes actually recycle the water. You can search for these local car washes online or you can find the numbers of car washes in the phone book and contact them yourself to see if they are environmentally-friendly.

2. Use a low-pressure setting for the hose whenever possible. Most manual car washes will allow users to “blast” the hose or simply stream water. Use lower amounts of water pressure for the pre-soak portion of the wash. Only set the hose for high-pressure when you're trying to remove dirt and grime from a specific area of the car.

3. Bring a bucket with you and place the hose in the bucket when you're not using it. Regardless of the setting or what type of hose is found at the car wash, water will drip from the hose once you have finished using it. Placing the hose in the bucket will allow the water to drip into the bucket, thus giving you the option to use it while hand-washing parts of your car (if you wish to do so).

4. Only use as much water as you possibly need. Many people will allow the hose to continue running even after the car is completely rinsed to simply “get their money's worth.” If your car is fully rinsed, shut the hose off. Doing so will save gallons of water.

5. Allow your car to drip-dry in the car wash before leaving. While you shouldn't sit there until your car completely dries, allowing excess water to drip in a car wash that recycles water allows the water to go through the system properly. Going out on the road with a car that is dripping wet will waste a good amount of water.