WaterSavers n' Knoxville

Members of the International Carwash Association are in town urging drivers to go green when cleaning their cars. It's through a program called WaterSavers and 12 car washes around East Tennessee are already on board. They are using less water and recycling it after each use.

"Pavement washes can result in literally thousands of pounds of fuel and oils and phosphates getting into the natural system without treatment," said Eric Wulf, the CEO of the International Carwash Association. He said said those chemicals get back to rivers and streams and can be deadly for wildlife.

"If you do it at your house, you're getting all the chemicals and everything, and if any dogs or birds or anything gets it, I mean they're going to get sick," said Allen Hodsden who purchased a monthly pass at one of the participating car washes.

WaterSavers is trying to help.

"We use about 15 gallons of water to every vehicle that comes through here, and the average vehicle that gets washed at home is using about 100 gallons," said peter Howe, Manager of the Car Wash Clinic on Maynardville Pike in Halls.

"They're using less water than most people use at home and what most people use with their washing machines to get a clean car," said Wulf.

The water is used again.

"All of that water that is used after the wash process is treated professionally," said Wulf.

"When your car gets rinsed, all the water that gets rinsed goes down into the ground," said Howe.

After it goes into the ground, it's sent through three filtering processes, and then into a tank that send it right back out to the cars rolling through.

"We'll keep coming here for a while as long as they have it," said Hodsden.

"I think that they should try and implement it as mandatory through car washes," said Howe.

In order to keep this water out of the environment and in the "green" car washes.

"The more environmentally safe place to wash your car is one of our waterSavers car washes," said Wulf.

The twelve Knoxville area locations are located on the WaterSavers website.