Benefits of cleaning your vehicle at the car wash

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) — The weather was great weather this Labor Day, and people were motivated to wash their cars. 

Bringing your car to a car wash to get it cleaned is more environmentally friendly than doing it yourself. Washing your car on your own driveway will use more water than a professional car wash would. This rinse water runoff from your at-home car wash along with all the chemicals it contains will go directly into groundwater, storm drains, and eventually into rivers and streams affecting aquatic life and ecosystems. 

“The water conservation is the most important part,” said Antonio Debarros, general manager of car wash operations at Balise Car Wash. “So, the water conservation is all car washes, they use the least amount of water to wash a car, which is a process which they apply the chemistry by using high-pressure pumps and also by using nozzle's that cuts down the amount of water you need to wash a vehicle.” 

The water saved at car washes helps prevent pollutants from entering the local water source by treating it before it returns to the environment. It also only uses 40 gallons of water, which is less water than a typical at-home washing machine.