Here’s a conundrum for our metropolitan car capital. Typically, when drivers wash cars themselves, they not only use a lot of water (as much as 116 gallons), they contribute to storm water runoff that may be contaminated with phosphates from soap and oil and grit from the car and end up polluting our waterways.

The traditional solution to dirty DIY washes—and what the EPA recommends here –is to a.) wash your car at home if you can do it on grass or gravel (for filtration) with a phosphate-free, natural soap. Or b.) take your car to the neighborhood car wash facility where the management uses less water and is supposed to recycle and clean that water to boot.

The problem? In our car-centric city of close to 500 car washes, many, or at least some of them, are not doing right by the environment or their employees. In other words, if your option is a dirty professional car wash or a DIY variety done on pavement, you’ve got a conundrum on your hands.

That’s where the C.L.E.A.N. (Community Labor Environmental Action Network) Car Wash Campaign comes in. A project of labor, immigrant rights, religious, environmental and community organizations, C.L.E.A.N.’s purpose is to get carwash companies to pledge to clean up by complying with labor, health and safety, and environmental laws.

As it is now, many car washes operate under the radar of regulators. The worst scenarios involve paying workers less than minimum wage or only in tips, withholding breaks and access to shade and drinking water, exposing them to toxic chemicals like hydrogen fluoride and ammonium bifluoride and when the wash water is recycled, not properly cleaning it. This last one results in a build up of pollutant-laden sludge that can spill over into storm drains.

What can a car owner who loves a spotless set of wheels do? Encourage your favorite car wash to comply with labor and environmental standards to show that you care. And if you want to get involved with specific efforts and actions to clean up L.A.’s car wash industry, contact Nelson Motto, community organizer for C.L.E.A.N.

CONTACT INFO: For more information on the C.L.E.A.N. Car Wash Campaign, you can contact Nelson Motto at (323) 243-7565 or enmotto@gmail.com. Website: http://www.cleancarwashla.org/

---

ydtGiveaway: We’ve got four C.L.E.A.N. Car Wash shirts to give away. The first four ydt readers to respond with a water saving tip will win a tee!

---

Tags: c.l.e.a.n. carwash campaign, car wash los angeles, environmental car wash, fair wages car wash, health and safety car wash