SHOULD WE WASH OUR CARS IN OUR DRIVEWAYS?

 

SHOULD WE WASH OUR CARS IN OUR DRIVEWAYS?    

Washing your car in the driveway seems like a fairly acceptable and benign act. 

 All kinds of people will wash their cars in their driveway thinking that it’s less costly than going to a commercial car wash.  

Before washing your car in the driveway, please consider the following facts:

·       Everything you use to wash your car goes directly from the storm drains into lakes and rivers.

·       Cleaning products for cars may contain nonylphenol ethoxylates which strip away fishes’ protective mucous coating, causing them to absorb more chemicals and making them more susceptible to disease.

·        High concentrations of NPE’s can actually kill fish and kill the eggs of invertebrate species and the NPE’s can penetrate the oils birds need to maintain a dry layer of insulating feathers.

·       Detergents may contain phosphates which are responsible for algae bloom which has contributed to the disappearance of cold water fish such as trout from Lake Simcoe.

·       Rinsing engine and wheel wells can send engine oil and anti-freeze into our water supply, all it takes is one drop of engine oil to contaminate 25 litres of water making it undrinkable.

·       Washing your car in the driveway wastes a great deal of water that taxpayers have paid to be treated for drinking.

·       A garden hose pours out 60 litres of water per minute, so depending on how long you hosed down your car, you could be using up to 500 litres of water specifically treated to make it drinkable! In most municipalities the more water you use, the higher the cost of the water.   Remember, all this water has to be pumped to your house using energy paid by all taxpayers.  So when your neighbour washes his car in the driveway, we all pay for the water to be pumped to his house.  

·       If you take your car to a self-service facility known as wand washes only 50 litres of water is used per vehicle!

·       Automated car washes use 110 litres per vehicle.

·       Look for the CCA logo (Canadian Carwash Association) as they do not use NPE’s, reuse water, ship sediment to a licensed hauler, and ship grey water to a treatment plant.

·       By using a commercial car wash you will help keep water clean for everyone.

·       If you absolutely must wash your car, do it on the lawn and use eco-friendly soaps, the lawn can help filter potentially tainted water before it reaches the water table, and use a nozzle so it can be shut off easily.

·        We can’t afford to take water for granted. Without a healthy supply of drinkable water the quality of our lives will be greatly diminished and thousands of species of wildlife will disappear at an alarming rate.