Car Washing

This page is for Master Watershed Stewards considering a Behavior Change campaign in their communities. To learn more about what you can do as an individual click here.

Pollutants and toxic detergents are washed into creeks and rivers even when it isn’t raining! When people wash their cars it can cause a whole host of problems for the Bay. Firstly, car washing uses a lot of water—up to 100 gallons every time you wash your car. If you wash your car on your driveway or another hard surface, the water runs off into storm drains or creeks and gathers oil, gas and other pollutants from your driveway. It also carries the sometimes harmful detergents and other pollutants that accumulate on your car and tires.

 Behavior: Wash your car only once a month.

You can save water and prevent the runoff of detergents and pollutants by washing your car less frequently.

Some of the common perceived or actual barriers to people washing their car only once a month include:

Some of the common perceived or actual benefits for people washing their car only once a month include:

1.      Convenient

2.      Saves water

3.      Saves money on supplies or on car wash fees

4.      Saves time

Behavior: Wash your car on the lawn or another pervious surface.

Washing your car on a pervious surface will allow water to soak into the ground. This will not only water your lawn and recharge ground water, but pollutants from your car will be filtered by the soil and by plants instead of running off.

Some of the common perceived or actual barriers to people washing their car on a pervious surface include:

Some of the common perceived or actual benefits for people washing their car on a pervious surface include:

1.      Water can soak into lawn instead of flowing down driveway

2.      Some detergents are good for plants

3.      Save water by watering the lawn at the same time you wash your car

Behavior: Use a shut-off hose nozzle.

Save water and prevent it from running off by only using water when you need it and not letting it run while you are washing your car. An easy and cheap way to accomplish this is to use a shut-off hose nozzle.

Some of the common perceived or actual barriers to people using a shut-off hose nozzle include: 

Some of the common perceived or actual benefits for people using a shut-off hose nozzle include:

1.      Saves water

2.      Less unwieldy

3.      Can spray water further and make a more powerful flow

4.      Saves money

Behavior: Get a professional car wash.

Professional car washes are responsible for reclaiming the water they use to wash your cars. This prevents the polluted water from running off and often saves water as well.

Some of the common perceived or actual barriers for people getting a professional car wash include:

Some of the common perceived or actual benefits for people getting a professional car wash include:

1.      It is convenient/ less effort than self-washing

2.      It saves water

3.      It saves time