Did you know that every time you wash your car on the driveway or sidewalk, you are releasing toxic chemicals into the environment that are harmful to you, children, pets, and wildlife? Both car cleaning chemicals can leach into your property’s environment, waterways and freshwater sources, causing health problems for humans and marine animals.
The truth is, we often don’t think about
where the dirt goes after it leaves our cars. Commercial car washes often have to think about this issue because they have to filter the water coming from their facilities, but there are no such regulations for consumers. Nearly 30 million people in our country wash their cars at home every day, and each one uses 80 to 140 gallons of water that can carry toxins that are extremely harmful to humans and marine life. What is the concern about our car and water purifier? Well, there are several toxins to be concerned about when considering your regular car wash routine:
The soaps, waxes, sprays, sprays, wipes, and polishes you use to clean your car contain non-biodegradable hazardous cleaning agents that are harmful to fish and other marine and wildlife. Detergents are surfactants that break down the outer mucus layer of fish that protects them from parasites and bacteria. Fish exposed to water containing at least 15 parts per million (ppm) of detergent will die.
The National Water Research Institute (NWRI)
Ranks scrap vehicles as a major source of heavy metals, grease, oil and rubber leaching into the environment and our water supply. In fact, three-fifths of all highway runoff samples contain potential, confirmed, or highly toxic components.
Synthetic phenol-based surfactants (chemicals used to make cleaning solutions that wash off easily with water) that the US Environmental Protection Agency uses in many car cleaners as potential endocrine disruptors are called. Therefore, they can disrupt the natural reproduction system of fish colonies and reduce the population level.
Another possible contaminant in car washes is benzene.
It is a flammable solvent that is toxic if swallowed and therefore poses a risk to pets and children.
This is just a brief summary of some of the hazardous substances that enter waterways when we wash our cars and let raw water flow into our storm water systems.
You can do something about this problem by using a non-toxic, plant-based, water-based, waterless car wash system. This has two main advantages. First of all, no water is needed, which means that no oil, grease or other car fluids get into the environment. Second, even if you choose a natural herbal product, even if the rain washes your car, the ingredient will not harm the environment.
Laura Klein’s Green Bil rengøring System is the perfect solution. All products in this range are water- and plant-based and biodegradable, non-toxic, non-corrosive and contain no oil solvents, phosphates, nitrates, enzymes, sulphatesf or silicates. They are truly green car cleaners.