100 Ways to Reduce Your Impact

Step 33 Wash your car on the lawn

If you choose to wash your car, do it on the lawn. Not only will your car be clean, it will water the grass.

Your other alternative is to go to a car wash that recycles their water. (Which most do)

Try not to wash your car on your driveway. The water does no good there.

Comments

[KingArthurLOL]

Yeah, this is a very smart for people who dont use soap to wash their car:P or people who have enviromentally friendly soap- does that exist?- Anyway, most car washing soaps probably contain harmful ingredients that will harm your grass, potentially killing your grass, and leaving you with some ugly lawn.

[greenwink]

The major problem with soaps is when they contain phosphorus products - those are the major problems for the environment.  Soaps are actuall beneficial when gardening.  Used with moderation, as with everything.  The small amount used while washing your car won't do anything harmful.

Belkorin - As long as your lawn is flat & you don't use so much water that you flood it, the plants & soil help "strain" the water, letting cleaner water into the ecosystem.  Better than letting the wash water flow down your driveway.  

[belkorin]

Not to mention the fact that you're letting whatever detergents you use just flow into the ecosystem without any sort of water treatment.

[fwater]

Washing your car? Luxury activety. Letting soap run into your lawn? Bad. Double fail.