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The Bulldog Car Wash off Atlanta Highway provides an eco-friendly car wash using recycled water, well water and rain water.

Car wash goes green, uses 'PurWater' to clean, conserve

By: CHRIS ANTHONY

Posted: 7/17/08

North Georgia is still experiencing an extreme drought. Although government regulations and increased awareness have lessened its severity, the dilemma still remains.

One Athens car wash, however, is providing an innovative service that allows consumers to maintain their vehicles while recycling almost all of the water.

EcoWash Detail Center re-opened its doors June 20 with a new name and a novel emphasis on the environment.

While using eco-friendly chemicals and offering customers the chance to recycle paper, plastic and glass products, the detail center, located on Lexington Road in front of Carmike Cinemas, also does something truly unique with its waste water.

"Probably 98 percent to 99 percent of the water is completely recycled," said Rick Phillips, general manager of EcoWash.

While most car washes can only recycle about 60 percent of the used water, EcoWash's PurWater Recovery System allows almost all of the water to be recycled.

Excess water is drained to underground tanks where debris is removed from the water. The water is then treated to the 5-micron range in the PurWater recycling system. Phillips said that drinking water is normally in the 7-micron range.

EcoWash's water bill is normally less than $100 per month, Phillips said.

EcoWash does not use any Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) - a unique accomplishment for a car wash.

"All of our chemicals now are completely eco-friendly, completely green," Phillips said.

Phillips also said that the detail center will begin to collect rain water to nurture organically grown produce and flowers for customers in the near future.

Although EcoWash's ideas and goals could be seen as revolutionary, other car washes have made some efforts to aid the drought as well.

Bulldog Car Wash & Express Lube no longer uses county water for its car washes. Instead, it uses water from its on-site well.

"Pretty much everything we do here conserves water," said Stephen Cooper, manager of Bulldog Car Wash, "We're the only [car wash in Athens] going off a well."

Cooper said that Bulldog Car Wash also collects rain water for car washes.

Although it does not match the reclamation rate of EcoWash, Cooper said Bulldog Car Wash is able to recycle 70 to 80 percent of the water it uses.

Although much of north Georgia is still facing a drought, businesses and homeowners in Athens have made significant strides in the last year to alleviate the problem.

"I think we've seen an across- the-board effort to reduce water consumption," said Gary Duck, director of the Athens-Clarke Public Utilities Department. "We're down several million gallons of water a day [more] than we were this time last year."

Duck said that many businesses, including car washes, "have made pretty significant reductions" in water usage.