I'm washing my new car more than my old one. Which isn't really giving you much information except to say I'm washing my new car more than never. Anyway, its something I do periodically and puts me into yet another consumer group. People who want clean cars.
But that also conflicts with the side of me that tries to limit waste. Lately I've been taking note of how much potable water we waste and trying to reduce my personal [over-] consumption. I turn off the water while I brush my teeth. I make sure my laundry loads are properly filled. I've stopped flushing the urinal at work unless it needs it. (Mens-roommates: yes that's me, please stop freaking out. It's gonna sit there for what, 65 seconds, before getting flushed by the next guy? Who are these dudes that flush before they go? Do you really need to pee into a pristine white bowl of clear drinkable water? Its rhetorical, don't answer.) Anyway, my newly acquired indulgence is obviously pretty high up on the waste-o-water list.
So when I read about this husband and wife in California who created an environmentally friendly waterless carwash I was intrigued. First off: waterless carwash? Apparently its not such an obscure thing; cleaning chemical companies have been making them for a while. They're just targeted at car collectors and such, using mostly dangerous chemicals to get the job done. Think of it as auto dry cleaning. So they figured out a way to get the same job done using more natural chemistry. (There's some tear jerking back story about how their daughter was chronically ill, and it turned out she was allergic to harsh cleaners. So the couple developed this hypoallergenic carwash. My solution would have been to stop bathing her in carwash soap.)
So I ordered it nearly immediately (hint to businesses: if you accept paypal I'll make impulsive purchases more often) and it came in the mail this week. It was shipped in biodegradable materials, although I imagine I'll have to recycle the bottle as it looks like normal plastic. $23 seems like a lot for a bottle of cleaner, but 7-10 car washes per bottle make it seem more reasonable. Especially when you consider the roughly 80 dollars I'd spend on 10 car washes with a less personal touch. ( I actually threw down 20 bucks at the car wash on Connecticut a couple weeks ago and though 20 towel handed soap jockeys caressed every crevasse, I was a little appalled at how quickly it was over. I mean, tease it out guys. Give me my money's worth) So I'm saving about 60 bucks, 300 gallons of water, and I get to spend some quality time outdoors with my car. Win-freakin-win-freakin-win. Fortuitously, its been raining lately, so I haven't had a chance to test it out yet. I'll let you know how it goes.
1 comment:
"hint to businesses: if you accept paypal I'll make impulsive purchases more often"
dude totally!
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