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In celebration of Earth Day each year, Cobblestone Car Wash honors their commitment to sustainable, environmentally conscious practices in the car wash industry. When it comes to conserving water—our planet’s most abundant and vital resource—Cobblestone makes every effort to reduce water usage across all of its eco-friendly car wash locations. From using washable cloths instead of disposable paper towels, to investing in water-saving technology that could help improve the industry as a whole, Cobblestone treats every day like it’s Earth Day.

Did you know it takes an estimated 100-120 gallons of water to wash your car at home? That is a vast difference when compared to the average 25 gallons per car at Cobblestone! Cobblestone is an eco-friendly car wash dedicated to showing customers that it’s possible to get premium car care at any of their 72+ locations across Arizona and Colorado without increasing your water usage.

It’s a priority for Cobblestone to clean and care for customer vehicles while maximizing water-saving practices. Here are a few ways the car wash company helps conserve water and make a difference:

• Reducing water usage. One easy step that Cobblestone takes to reduce overall water usage is to safely and minimally choke off the water supply from the city. Rather than have the water valve open at full speed, it is slightly reduced to minimize the amount of water provided to the car wash. While a slightly uncommon practice, it’s a simple step that is likely overlooked especially from similar car wash operators.

• Investing in new water-saving technology. Cobblestone is researching ways to upgrade and implement advanced technology, such as reclaimed water systems, that would save water and reduce fresh water usage by over 300%. The company is looking into all options for clean, safe and effective water recycling that could potentially establish new industry standards in the car wash business.

• Encouraging employee support. Cobblestone works with their employees so that everyone involved in the business feels like they can contribute toward the goal of reducing water usage, from reporting any water leaks on-site, spraying down cars with water only when necessary, to bringing in their own reusable water bottles to work.

Of course, there are other ways to get involved for Earth Day beyond water conservation. Here are a few additional ways that Cobblestone is making a difference in their communities:

• Offering clean and reusable towels. Prior to the transition to microfiber towels in 2019, there was a ton of trash. Before Cobblestone offered reusable towels, customers would bring their own paper towels to wipe down their vehicles after a tunnel wash, and it often generated unnecessary waste. Now customers are free to use the clean cloths that are safe and gentle on your car’s surface without scratching the paint!

• Timing the tunnels. Each tunnel car wash at Cobblestone is now on an automatic timer from 30 seconds up to one minute. This means that if there are no cars running through or using the wash after that period of time, the tunnel will shut down to conserve energy.

• Using safe soaps. As stated by their product partner, Blendco Systems, the car wash detergents and soaps used by Cobblestone are as biodegradable and safe as common household cleaners and do not contain toxic chemicals. When disposed into the sewer systems—which are standardized to process regular household cleaners—Cobblestone’s cleaning products will render harmless to the environment.

• Monitoring vacuum power. At each express car wash, Cobblestone uses computerized VFD (variable frequency drive) controllers to regulate the power usage and motor speed in handheld blowers and vacuums. When not in use, the VFDs will reduce the electric current by controlling the amount of power to the vacuums which ultimately helps save energy.

• Providing free travel trash bags. Sticky candy, fast food wrappers and plastic water bottles can pile up quickly during a road trip! In collaboration with Don’t Trash Arizona, an anti-litter campaign in Maricopa County, Cobblestone provided 125,000 free travel trash bags across 33 Phoenix locations for customers to use at their convenience to help keep their car clean and prevent highway litter.

To keep your car clean and spotless with less water, choose an eco-friendly car wash option like Cobblestone. Find a location near you.