Don’t wash that car

Comes summer, and the Washington State Department of Ecology is at it again.   They don’t want you washing your car – at home – in the driveway.

DOE would prefer that you not wash your car at all, and if you did, they want you to use a professional car washing company.  But, if you have to wash your car at home – – don’t do it in the driveway.

According to DOE the soaps used in car washing are toxic as some chemicals used in industry and they kill fish.   The state agency says that if you wash your car at home – at least do it in the yard, where the grass and soil might leach out some of the harsh chemicals and stop them from entering the drainage system.

But they claim they are not going to outlaw car washing.  They just want to do a public educational campaign.   However they’re backing that campaign up with another campaign of their own.

They’re trying to get local governments to outlaw car washing, or at least place some restrictions on it.  To date, none of our local cities is proposing restrictions on car washing but it might be coming.