Demonizing car washers

California water-worriers have found a new bad guy. People who wash cars at home. They say it's more water-wise to use a commercial car wash.

They're wrong. The notion that home car washes use more water than commercial washes is a myth spread by the car wash industry.

The car wash industry says that home car washes use 100 gallons of water -- but that's based on someone keeping the hose running the whole time. No one does that anymore; people have shutoff nozzles.

A hose uses about 10 gallons per minute. You hose down your car at the
start of a wash for about one minute (less if it's a small car), and one more minute at the end. You use two gallons in the bucket. That's 22 gallons of water -- much less than even the most efficient commercial car wash.

And if you water your car on your lawn, all the water runoff is put to use, something a commerical wash can't offer.

Finally, by simply choosing not to drive to a car wash, you're keeping you carbon footprint to a minimum. 
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