July 6, 2007
A Greener Way to Wash Your Car
Reading through the mayor's top 10 ways to get green, I noticed this item:Don’t wash your car in your driveway - The soap goes into the street, then into storm sewers and then into our waterways. Use a commercial car wash, or a gravel or grass area that will keep the wash water contained.
I hadn't heard this before, so I did a little research.
It appears that commercial car washes are required to dispose of the water through the sanitary sewer system. This prevents the dirty water from draining to the stormwater system, which flows (untreated) to our waterways. Washing your car on gravel or grass filters the water before it enters groundwater, storm drains, or creeks.
If you wash the car over grass or gravel, it's recommended that you use cleaners that are biodegradeable and contain no phosphates. I found this one on Amazon called Simple Green
.Labels: consumer choices, water
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Hey Tina,
You roused my curiosity as a chemist. I looked into the Simple Green stuff and was able to find the MSDS (material safety data sheet) to see if it was indeed biodegradable. It is. AND, it's only $3.59. Just for kicks, I looked into a comparable product from Turtle Wax ($6.99). I had to request the MSDS from the company. Let you know what I find.
You roused my curiosity as a chemist. I looked into the Simple Green stuff and was able to find the MSDS (material safety data sheet) to see if it was indeed biodegradable. It is. AND, it's only $3.59. Just for kicks, I looked into a comparable product from Turtle Wax ($6.99). I had to request the MSDS from the company. Let you know what I find.
Thanks, Dave! I'm not qualified to make the determination of biodegradeable, so I was relying on the package claims. I appreciate the confirmation!
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