Should you wash your car at home or at a car wash?

With Rainy Season behind us, it’s officially South Florida’s Car Wash Season.

But what’s better, washing your car at home or going to a commercial car wash? The biggest benefit of washing your car at home is the cost.

A home wash can cost under $5 whereas a commercial carwash can charge $10-20 for the most-basic service.

Washing at home can also give people the ability to take as much time as they want to get rid of every streak and smudge.

But washing at home takes a lot more time, something that can be a drawback along with the fact that at home, it is much easier to accidentally scratch your car.

The biggest problem with home washing is that the dirty water, full of oil and gasoline and chemicals, can run off into storm drains.

Professional carwashes collect the dirty water safely instead of letting it run off. There is also the ‘amount’ of water.

The average home wash uses 116 gallons of water versus a commercial car wash that can use under 40 gallons because after being collected, the dirty water is treated, recycled and reused.

If you enjoy washing your car at home, there are a few things you can do to help limit the environmental impact.

First, wash your car on grass so that there is less runoff into storm drains. Next, try to find phosphate-free and biodegradable.

To limit how much water is wasted, use a bucket and soapy water, only using your hose to rinse your car and having a hose with an automatic shutoff.

And finally, empty the dirty bucket water into a sink or a toilet.