Wash Me!

Jose Lozano
City of Ithaca Environmental Lab

A wisely chosen location makes car washing a more lake friendly activity! Image courtesy of Alabama Clean Waters Partnership.

The spring ritual of getting the salt and grime off cars is now in full swing. In fact, it has been estimated that 25% of us wash our cars at least once a month. That translates to some 30,000 carwashes each month, right here in the Cayuga Lake Watershed! There is nothing wrong with washing your car, but please consider using a controlled commercial car wash. Or, if you wash it yourself, take a few simple steps to avoid polluting.

Washing your car not only removes salt, but a host of other substances, including grease, oil, sand, brake dust, and heavy metals. No less worthy of consideration are the detergents and other cleaners used to facilitate the task. Any of these compounds that find their way untreated into storm sewers or streams will ultimately wind up in the lake. When you use a commercial car wash, however, wash-water is pretreated and piped to your local wastewater treatment plant for additional purification. This is especially important if you plan to clean your engine, or the bottom of the car, where high-strength detergents may be required and particularly troublesome materials can build up.

If you do wash your car at home, do it on the lawn, a gravel driveway, or on some other permeable surface, and keep a distance from your well. A few preventive measures will reduce the impact to our creeks and lake:

• Direct wash-water away from nearby storm drains, and toward a place where it can slowly evaporate or soak into the ground. Don’t forget – if you block a
  storm drain, uncover it when you are finished!

• Collect especially soapy water and dispose of it separately into a drain connected to the sanitary sewer system. (I.e. sinks, bathtubs and toilets)

• Use biodegradable, phosphatefree and nonylphenol-free soaps.

• Use hoses with nozzles that automatically shut off when unattended.

• Save your engine and undercarriage cleaning for the commercial car wash.

With these simple guidelines, your organization’s fund-rising car wash doesn’t have to be shunned, either. Contact the Network to get more information on planning a responsible car wash event. Remember – wherever you live, you are a part of the watershed. The water that washes your car just might end up in your kitchen tap in the not-so-distant future.