I decided to write about a topic that gets a lot of lip service, but not much action: clean water and car washing. Now, don’t be confused, I’m not a tree hugger; I just think it’s time we all had some awareness on an issue that concerns us all. The answer to maintain the looks of you car is choosing a car cleaning products that works for you.
In 1972 the U.S. EPA passed the Clean Water Act (CWA). It is designed to be the “cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States.” In the early decades of the Act, efforts focused on regulating discharges from traditional point source facilities, such as municipal sewage plants and industrial facilities, with little attention paid to runoff from streets, construction sites, farms, and other sources. This has changed. Since the 1980s, efforts to address polluted runoff have increased significantly.
The EPA’s shift in focus from large volume runoff sources to small volume sources is beginning to have an impact on mobile detailers, who are supposed to use water reclamation systems. However, this Federal mandate is enforced by very few municipalities (mostly in Texas and California).
As the U.S. EPA continues its mandate to enforce the CWA, I believe both mobile detailers and residential home owners/renters will be tightly regulated to comply with the Act. The question for me is why must we wait to be told? If we know what car wash soaps and cleaners are doing to contaminate surface waters, do we not have a responsibility to do something about it now?
These questions have been rolling around in my mind for a while, so I have been thinking about the various methods we have to clean our cars without polluting our surface waters (or ground water, for that matter). Obviously, quick detail sprays have been around for a long time, and this is an option, albeit an expensive one. I guess this issue might have been the genesis for a dozen or more spray and wipe products that have hit the market for doing the “waterless wash”.
I suppose a spray and wipe waterless wash product is okay, and possibly better that washing by the traditional soap and water method, but I’m not sure. While this method does not pollute surface water, I don’t believe it conserves, either.
Consider that a typical spray and wipe waterless wash will probably require four to six microfiber towels and an equal number of ounces of spray and wipe product. Your car is clean, but now what? I mean, what are you going to do with those wet, soiled, chemical saturated towels? My guess is, most people are going to wash them.
Great, there goes the water conservation.
Water conversation? Yeah, I realize we were discussing surface water pollution, but if we’re talking water supply, how can we not address water conservation? As a Californian, I’m all too familiar with drought conditions that limit water usage. So, for me, discovering alternate methods of washing the cars is imperative.
Okay, back to the towels. Does running a load of laundry to wash the towels that cleaned the car conserve water? So as to not be accused of inventing my own facts, I will defer to the International Carwash Association, which claims that the average home car wash uses 80 to 140 gallons of water. I’m not sure if this is accurate or not, as it seems high to me.
How does this compare to the washing machine? According to Consumer Report and the California Energy Commission Consumer Energy Center, the average washing machine uses approximately 40-45 gallons of water per load. Plus, you use more cleaners to remove the soil from your towels, where it all goes down the drain to be handled by the sewage system.
Do you see why I’m skeptical about spray and wipe products being the right solution? Plus, I have not even mentioned all of those plastic spray bottles that get thrown away and end up in the land fill. Don’t get me started on that issue.
I think there is a better way to do the light duty cleaning of our cars. It’s the no-rinse car wash (sponge bath), and there are two great products that I’m aware of that make it possible: Quick and Easy Wash (QEW) from Protect All and Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine (ONR) from Optimum Polymer Technologies. Both of these products are in widespread use by Autopia.org members (primarily mobile detailers).
If you’re not familiar with the no-rinse car washing process, you simply mix a small amount of Optimum No Rinse or Protect All Quick & Easy Wash in a couple gallons of water and use the solution to give your car a sponge bath one area at a time. You generally start at the top and work down, keeping your wash mitt or sponge well rinsed as you go. After cleaning an area the size of a body panel, you dry to prevent spotting. In most cases, the process is actually faster than your regular car wash method.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with David Ghodoussi, chemical engineer and founder of Optimum Polymer Technologies, about the No Rinse Wash & Shine product. I asked him the following specific questions:
DB: Does No Rinse Wash & Shine have any cleaning properties, or is it purely a conditioner?
DG: No Rinse has the ability to trap and solublize (emulsify) oil like a surfactant. Additionally, it can trap and bond to dirt and gently remove them from the surface, something that soap can not do. This gives no rinse an edge in cleaning which is why less water is required.
DB: Is it [No Rinse] completely biodegradable?
DG: No rinse is readily bio-degradable and within 24 hours 98% is broken down. This is much better than most soaps specially if you consider that only 1 oz. of this product is required per wash as compared to 2-3 oz. of soap.
DB: Is No Rinse non-toxic for plants (in other words, if you toss your dirty bucket water on the lawn will it burn your lawn)?
DG: No rinse is derived from soy oil and is safe for plants and grass, therefore, the wash water can be used for watering the lawn or plants which is a plus specially in areas with water shortage. Alternatively, the wash water can be disposed of in the sewage system which is another safe method of discarding all the oil and grime from the wash process.
DB: What do you feel is the #1 benefit of No Rinse to the car owner?
DG: The biggest advantage of no rinse is that is is safer for the new paint systems than conventional soaps. As we all know, soap technology is over 100 years old while automotive paint has evolved into a highly sophisticated multi-layer system. No Rinse has greater cleaning power, more lubricity, and leaves a protective polymeric film that adds gloss and slickness to the finish. That is why you can use no rinse with much less water and get better results than a traditional soap. As a couple of side effects, no rinse will help conserve water and protect our drinking water from automotive contaminants.
After my discussion with David Ghodoussi, and learning how safe the product is for both the automobile and the environment, I feel confident that the no-rinse car wash method is the right solution for the future. What are your thoughts? Hit me up on Twitter.
David Bynon is the author of numerous computer science text books and articles, and the founder of Autopia.org http://www.autopia.org a social community for automobile enthusiasts. Bynon works as an independent web copywriter and search engine marketer. Follow David on Twitter http://twitter.com/DavidBynon
