Carwashing

[This page could go under Drought or Ecology equally well]

It's not a good idea to wash a car on the street with soap and a hose. The storm drains empty directly into Codornices Creek. If you are going to wash your car at home, either (a) just rinse off the dust and pollen with water, or (b) move the car someplace where water will run off onto your lawn or garden instead of into the gutter.

We are in a drought-prone area. Under 2014 drought restrictions you can be fined for washing your car using a hose, unless the hose has a nozzle that automatically shuts the water off when you release it.

If you MUST have a professional car wash find one that recycles their water. (see http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-wash10.htm)

Although there are a lot of claims that car wash uses less water than washing by hand, that all depends on how you go about the washing. On average, it’s probably true. This table is from http://www.lenntech.com/car-wash.htm:

Average water use in car washing

Stephanie Lovell suggests this method which uses WAY less water:

...the most water efficient way to wash your car is with a rag and a bucket...put a tablespoon of "green" dish soap in a bucket, add a gallon of water, then scrub down your car with the rag, cleaning the rag off periodically in the bucket- then you can dump the dirty bucket down your sink (no creek run off) fill the bucket again with a 1/2 gallon of warm Water, then rinse with another clean rag, then wipe you car dry with a chamois...

Alan Gould adds:

I use as little as 2 gallons of water to hand wash my car. I do not use soap because in general the car's surface is not greasy. A couple of other tricks I have found helpful in "hand" washing:

Using a kitchen mop (sponge-type) instead of rag makes washing "by hand" easier for me.
Using a towel or wearing cheap cotton gloves (instead of chamois) to wipe the surface dry makes for relatively streak-free result.

From Susan Schwartz:

A good way to stretch the time between car washes, and thus save water regardless of method, is to use an old towel, wipe up the morning fog or dew on your car, and use it to clean whatever looks dirtiest.