Dear EarthTalk: What is the most environmentally friendly way I can wash my car: doing it myself or going to the local car wash? – Jim, Denton, TX

Few people realize that washing our cars in our driveways is one of the most environmentally un-friendly chores we can do around the house. Unlike household waste water that enters sewers or septic systems and undergoes treatment before it is discharged into the environment, what runs off from your car goes right into storm drains — and eventually into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc. After all, that water is loaded with a witch’s brew of gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes — as well as the harsh detergents being used for the washing itself.

http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivingdesign/a/car_wash.htm

Using a commercial car wash helps you go green because…

• In the US and Canada, it’s required that the wastewater produced at commercial car washes is drained directly to a water treatment or drainage facility where it’s stripped of chemical pollutants coming from the car itself (exhaust residue, oil, fuel, etc.) and cleaning agents.
• Less water, around 60 percent, is used at a commercial car wash than washing at home with a garden hose

Conserve Water and Save the Planet With Commercial Car Washes