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Ive read articles for years that mention car wash water picks up salt in the winter until the reservoir is changed.
There was this discussion a while ago, I contacted 3 in our city and they use fresh water only. This of course can vary depending on where you live.
San Jose area car washes are required to recycle their water. They filter it of course before reusing, but filtering is of no value for dissolved salts. Each time through the process the dissolved salts get more and more concentrated. The last thing I want to do is spray my car with a concentrated salt solution.
A few years ago when it was still legal to wash your own car, folks wouldn’t let water run down the gutter unused. They’d use a hose-end sprayer gadget that had a spring-loaded automatic shut-off. Water is pretty expensive here.
Where would salt come from in San Jose?
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Dirt & sand contains dissolved salts Agricultural pollutants. Sea fog.
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I wash my new car at home. I have RO water. car wash soap tends to deteriorate car wax faster because it is a stronger soap. also, you tend to get fine scratches from the car wash brush because the dirt from the last car is in it. I use a PH balanced soap in a snow foam cannon with a pressure washer and use a microfiber sponge. And I dry it with a battery-operated leaf blower and microfiber towels. But if you have an older vehicle and are not worried about your vehicle looking perfect then a car wash is a lot easier and faster.
In my Mid Atlantic area I’ve watched a slew of “$59 Hand Wash” car wash places springing up also offering at extra cost exterior waxing, interior cleaning and detailing and they seem to be doing a booming business with lines extending down the street.
Around here many people live on apartments, condos or town houses where diy washing simply isn’t an option but with vehicles running $30,000 plus, they understand the importance of keeping your car “looking like new” with the “personal touch” and I applaud their efforts.
I guess living by the sea is just as bad as salt on the roads, I dunno. At any rate no we don’t just let the hose run in the driveway. They sell things now called nozzles. Fits on the end of the hose and shuts the water off unless spraying. About $5. Some folks just need to get out more.
I could wash my pickup with 3 gallons of water. Do car washes use less?
Not everyone knows that ( RO water ) stands for Reverse Osmosis .
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The car washes at the car dealers here have large tanks of filtered water for car wash and rinse, municipal water leaves spots. If the car washes in San Jose are using salt water to wash cars, they must be giving out a lot of refunds.
How often do you wash your house? I need to pressure wash the north side of the house every other year to clean the mildew off. The roof gets treated yearly and the deck becomes a slip hazard if I skip a year washing it. My pickup may sit for 2 months at a time and there is moss growing on the bumper and window channels.
Different climates have different problems.
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Dang, I thought it was bad here. The house needs to be washed sometimes 2x a year. Pollen and then lichens, moss, mildew. But it only grows on organic materials here. The cars just have the pollen issue in spring…
Two day after washing, my black car is now yellow from pollen.
You must be situated much further South than I am.
Unfortunately, I will be dealing with the same pollen problem a few weeks from now. 
Yep, Florida Space Coast. Mature live oak in my front yard.
I’m jealous. I’m ready for spring. We have mud season next, then spring 
The biggest issue with pollen here is the 140’ pines. When the wind blows, it’s a thick cloud and covers everything- cars included.
Speaking of pines, was an absolute banner year for pine cones. More than I have ever seen before. The road was paved in them and so was my lawn. Squirrels are in heaven. They can sense it apparently. More squirrel nests than any year prior.
I love the look of a black car but not the maintenance. It’s hard to be lazy with them unlike the white and silver I have right now
A common problem I see on car forums when people are commenting on car topics is that 100% of the time people totally forget that they’re sharing the road with disabled drivers.
And truth be told, there are thousands, if not millions, of disabled car drivers and owners out there.
Washing a car ourselves is impossible, especially in my case as I struggle immensely with a physical disability.
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My vehicles get washed every time it rains. I do clean the windshields and windshield wipers regularly though.
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Good for you folks for cultivating and appreciating your trees and the local enviroment, wildlife and insect habitat, etc. Trees of course have both upsides and downsides; I’ve found you can tell a lot about a person by which side of the equation they stand.
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